The assets of Jonathan Portelli, a 42-year-old Munxar resident, have been frozen for over a decade after he was found with just under 7g of hashish way back in October 2013.

As Malta’s laws were repeatedly updated and the nation received praise as a pioneer for cannabis legislation , Portelli had to watch on from the sidelines as his case dragged on at a snail’s pace.

Not only has he been left in limbo, but access to his own bank account has been severely restricted since 2015, when a freezing order was issued against him.

Although he has a full-time job, he is only allowed to withdraw €13,000 a year, from which he has to pay his rent, bills and other daily living expenses. The maximum amount hasn’t changed at all over the past decade, even though the cost of living has exploded, forcing Portelli to rely on charity from his family.

Moreover, the evidence against him is far from clear.

The police and Attorney General are convinced he is a drug trafficker based on the testimony of two of his friends – Joseph Grech and Christopher Bartolo. When arrested, the two men separately told police that they had purchased the hashish from Portelli, who denied the allegations.

The two friends were found with substantial amounts of cannabis, while Joseph Grech was also charged with and found guilty of possession of cocaine, ecstacy and heroin.

However, Portelli was only found with 7g of cannabis and some rolling papers, which he stressed was fo this personal use.

Yet, based on the testimony of his friends, the police dragged Portelli to court, where he has been kept in limbo for over a decade.

At one point during the case, Grech reported Portelli to the police for approaching him in breach of his bail conditions. Portelli was charged but found innocent.