Mixed reactions to drug decriminalisation proposal

Drug-users who do not feel they have an addiction problem should not go to prison, according to Charles Miceli, currently running a Church-owned Caritas home for persons serving a prison sentence with a drug problem.

“Why is it considered a problem if someone smokes cannabis if this person is not addicted to the substance?” Miceli told Malta Today. “If someone smokes but is not an addict, why should help be imposed on them?”

The eagerly-anticipated White Paper on the decriminalisation of drugs was issued earlier this week by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici. It proposes that first-time offenders are given help by the state to reform themselves, as opposed to the present system under which offenders are charged in court and could face a prison term.

The White Paper envisages that instead of being charged in court, first time drug users would appear before a justice commissioner, who in turn can either issue a warning or fine or if deemed necessary, refer the case to a social board made up of experts and police officers.

Miceli said that the persons who really are addicted to drug substances should be offered professional help but only if they agree to it. “I certainly agree that no one should be sent to prison for taking drugs,” he said. “But if this person has a substance for his or her personal use, they should not even be fined. People who are found to have committed self-harm are usually offered help but it is not imposed on them. The same concept should apply to possession of drugs for self-use.”

However, while citing alcohol as a substance which does “as much harm, if not more”, than certain soft drugs, Miceli was not in favour of legalising drugs like cannabis. “Legalising it will mean it could be sold. Drug users could then become businessmen, and that is something I am certainly not in favour of,” he said. “However, if we really want to make true progress, we should be asking what is leading these persons to take drugs.”

As explained by Owen Bonnici on this week’s edition of the television programme Reporter, the White Paper ensures that drug users will not be treated as criminals anymore but rather as victims of a bad habit. He said that the reform was driven by “common sense” and claimed that it would give the country “a clear direction, and strengthen help offered to drug users while clamping down on the traffickers.”

The law, however, makes a distinction between cannabis users and non-cannabis users. Those caught in possession of cannabis – perceived by many as being a “soft” drug – would instead be exempted from appearing before the social board, irrespective of how many times they are caught in possession of drugs for personal use. Nevertheless, the justice commissioner will be given complete discretion to make exceptions and refer repeat offenders to the social board.

Opposition deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami – also speaking on Reporter – said that the focus should be on “common good” rather than “common sense”. He said that making a distinction between ‘soft drugs’ and ‘hard drugs’ could encourage the consumption of drugs like cannabis.

“Classifying between hard and soft drugs would be unwise as it would invariably justify or encourage the consumption of the other so called inferior drug,” Fenech Adami said. “Nevertheless, drugs will remain an intrinsic wrong, and the government as well as society in general has the duty to help drug victims.”

Meanwhile, Fr Manuel Cordina, Director of OASI Foundation - a drug support group based in Gozo – seconded the argument that a distinction in the sanction between soft and hard drugs could lead to a higher rate of soft drug usage. He recommended that all drug users found in possession of drugs – even recreational drug users – should be helped and sent to counselling.

And in a statement issued yesterday, Caritas said that while a reform was necessary, it did not agree with the White Paper in its current format. It disagreed, for instance, that there should be a distinction between soft and hard drugs. “Drugs should all be considered intrinsically wrong,” the statement read, adding that traffickers should still be punished accordingly.

Caritas said that first-time offenders, caught in possession of drugs for their own personal use, should be penalised with an assessment later carried out by a Rehabilitation agency – made up of a team of professionals and experts - to determine the appropriate treatment for these persons.

Contacted by MaltaToday, one of the spokespersons for the soon-to-be-launched NGO, ‘A Voice for Drug Addicts’, Kevin Busuttil, said that while the White Paper was a positive one, there remained certain aspects of it which required further clarification.

“We certainly welcome the measure being taken and it is definitely a positive step forward that these things are now being discussed openly and publicly,” Busuttil, a recovered drug addict himself, said. “However, there are some technical details which need to be clarified.”

“It remains to be seen, for instance, what really constitutes a first-time offender,” he said. “When I was caught for the first time using drugs, it was not actually my first time using the substance. The question, therefore, is what can be done to help those persons who are doing drugs but who have not yet been caught?”

Busuttil expressed his belief that, while the government “got off to a good start” in issuing the White Paper, there was no real permanent solution to combat the problem of drug usage. “This is a progressive problem and any solutions proposed need to progress accordingly,” he said.