A Maltese woman has been sentenced to six months in prison for a measly 6.5 grams of cannabis, but Malta’s parliamentary secretary heading cannabis reform Julia Farrugia Portelli has refused to answer any questions on the issue.

Marie Claire Camilleri was sentenced at the end of October, despite admitting that she used the cannabis to personally deal with anxiety and that she smoked around 6 joints per day.

While the law has still changed significantly to decriminalise personal use, draconian measures still exist when it comes to cultivating the plant.

According to law, any person who is found guilty of growing more than one plant of cannabis will be liable to a minimum six-month sentence regardless of the weight.

In Marie Claire’s case, she would have been better served with one massive plant, rather than the six small ones she had at her home.

In handing out her decision, Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras even criticised the current wording of the law, because it “fails suitably distinguish between who truly deserves effective imprisonment.”

Lovin Malta immediately sent questions to Julia Farrugia Portelli, along with two spokespersons at the Office of the Prime Minister.

However, it appears that the person tasked with ushering reforms for recreational cannabis has washed her hands clean of the case refusing to answer any questions, despite telling parliament that she saw “no problem” with an adult who smoked the occasional joint.

Her silence is questionable, especially as the country gears for a debate that was expressly called for in the Labour Party’s manifesto. It appears, that despite the extremely harsh sentences being dished out to some cannabis users, any push for sustainable reform has a long way to go.

It’s not like the issue is even new, having been raised by the same magistrate in the past. Meanwhile, top criminal lawyer Franco Debono, who headed at attempted justice reform, has flagged this a number of times, especially the ‘one plant’ rule, among other anomalies.

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