Time for Malta to take next step in drug politics and regulate personal cannabis use - AD

Green party Alternattiva Demokratika has expressed support towards the cause of regulation of cannabis, as it attended the launch of the “Releaf” campaign for the revision of cannabis laws.

In a statement released this morning AD reminded that in its electoral campaign, it had proposed the legalisation of personal cannabis use and that the users of hard drugs be treated as persons with medical and social problems, "not as criminals."

AD representative James Gabarretta said that the issue of dangerous drugs, particularly synthetic ones, “must be addressed at a social and medical level.”

“These drugs are causing great damage. The effects of cannabis, on the other hand, are known and can be controlled by regulations protecting those who decide to consume it,” he said.

Gabarretta pointed to a need for stronger social work structures to help people with drug dependencies. “Despite important improvements in Maltese law, the use of drugs has not been decriminalised. The police are still chasing drug users.” AD demanded a model with a social and medical basis that allow those susffering from real addiction to find timely and effective help.

AD insists that cannabis ought to be classified separately from other drugs, on the same level as alohol and cigarettes.

“Use of cannabis for medical reasons, despite the rhetoric, is still encountering great resistance. This resistance must end immediately.”

The party is advocating permitting licenced and regulated shops to cultivate and sell cannabis, suggesting that the tax revenue from this can then be used on health and social services.

It also demands the tax-free cultivation of cannabis for personal consumption and the legalisation of the drug for personal use, using the same regulatory structures used for cigarettes.

“We feel that the time has come for Malta to take the next step in drug politics- becoming politics with a human face and not one of repression,”AD Chairperson Carmel Cacopardi said.