140 complaints, but no fines issued over cannabis smell nuisance

There were reports of nuisance linked to cannabis cultivation in residential areas, but no fines were issued, officials said on Tuesday.

Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC) chief Joey Reno Vella said the authority received 140 complaints over recent months through its freephone line, 80002088, largely concerning inconvenience caused by the smell of cannabis.

He said the majority of cases were resolved after ARUC enforcement officers recommended remedial measures to address the nuisance, without the need for penalties.

New rules were introduced last year which saw the introduction of a €235 penalty for people causing a nuisance to third parties with odour from cannabis.

Vella stressed that the reform on the responsible use of cannabis was designed to protect not only users but also third parties living in residential areas.

“Responsible use must be exercised with respect and responsibility towards everyone,” he said.

Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms Rebecca Buttigieg said the government remained committed to discouraging the use of all drugs. She said the study being presented was not intended to promote cannabis consumption and announced that ARUC would invest €500,000 this year in educational and prevention campaigns.

The press conference also addressed the results of a scientific study comparing legally cultivated cannabis with cannabis trafficked illegally. The analysis was carried out at the University of Malta on samples collected at random from licensed associations regulated by ARUC and from the illegal market.

Forensic expert Godwin Sammut, who led the analysis, said the exercise analysed 24 samples, split evenly between legal and illegal cannabis, in what he described as the first study of its kind.

The tests found traces of pesticides in the illegally trafficked cannabis, while no such traces were detected in cannabis grown legally under the regulatory framework.

Buttigieg said the findings provided further evidence the reform was achieving its aims by reducing health risks linked to illegal cannabis through strict controls.

“This analysis has given reassurance about the effective controls carried out by ARUC on associations, which are prohibited from using any type of pesticide in the cultivation of cannabis plants,” she said.

She added that illegal cannabis often posed a greater danger to public health, as it could also be synthetic.

Vella said the study was conducted under a cooperation agreement between ARUC and the University of Malta, adding that the two institutions would continue to collaborate on further research.