Pain specialist Andrew Agius cleared of drug trafficking charges over CBD flower case

Chronic pain specialist Andrew Agius has been acquitted of drug trafficking and money-laundering charges nearly four years after his Paola clinic was raided in what became one of Malta’s most controversial CBD-related prosecutions.

The ruling brings an end to a case that saw the doctor’s assets frozen, his staff arrested and strip-searched, and the authorities’ attempt to revoke his medical licence.

The case dates back to early 2022, when police descended on Agius’ Paola Pain Clinic after a package of non-psychoactive CBD flowers was suspected of being cannabis.

Two receptionists, including one who is a grandmother, were arrested during the operation and strip-searched. The doctor himself was subsequently charged with trafficking, as well as money laundering, on the basis of the CBD buds allegedly falling within the legal definition of prohibited cannabis products.

The prosecution also sought to have Agius struck off the medical register, arguing that the products being sold at the clinic amounted to criminal drug distribution. However, the proceedings centred on what the court described as a “grey legal area” surrounding whether CBD buds that contain no psychoactive THC can be treated as cannabis for the purposes of Maltese law.

In today’s decision, the cout ruled that the material in question did not meet the threshold to be considered illegal cannabis under the existing legislative framework and could not ground criminal liability for drug trafficking.

As a result, Agius was cleared of all charges. The ruling also means that the freezing order imposed on his assets will be lifted in the coming days, drawing to a close years of financial and professional uncertainty.