Church schools urge MPs to prioritise wellbeing of youths over those who will profit from cannabis reform

The wellbeing of youth should take precedence over the interest of those who want to profit from the proposed cannabis reform, church schools said as they warned of the impact on mental health.

The association was reacting to the White Paper published by the government that proposes relaxing the rules on the use of cannabis for recreational purposes.

“The Secretariat and the CSA emphasise that priority should be given to the effect of cannabis on young people’s mental health and the way it will promote and strengthen a cannabis culture among our young today as well as entire future generations,” the church organisations said.

They appealed to parliament to safeguard the mental wellbeing of young people and not the interests of a few who will “enrich themselves at the expense of young people.”

The organisations said they fully endorsed the arguments put forward by Caritas Malta, OASI, and the Malta Psychiatry Association, which describes the negative consequences that the proposed law will have on young people and children in Malta and Gozo.

READ MORE: Cannabis reform: possession up to 7g, cultivation of four plants at home