Coalition Of NGOs Makes Last Gasp Appeal For Changes To Cannabis Reform Law
A coalition of NGOs and public figures are calling on MPs to make amendments to the cannabis reform law, which is set to pass into law imminently.
In a statement this afternoon, the NGOs accused the government of refusing to consider any recommendations they had made, adding that it was “adamant to pass a very weak framework”.
They are calling on MPs to increase the minimum age for one to consume cannabis from 18 to 25 years old as well as for fines for smoking cannabis in public to be doubled.
The amount of THC in cannabis consumed by Maltese smokers should also be regulated, they said.
The present law states that cannabis associations, where smokers can collect cannabis grown on their behalf, cannot be within 250 metres of a school.
The NGOs want this increased to one kilometre. They also want – and this is perhaps the most absurd demand – that anyone who happens to live next to a school not be granted the same rights as those who don’t.
It isn’t clear what danger cannabis being grown in a private residence poses to youths in adjacent schools, especially when considering that the cannabis plant cannot be smoked immediately after cutting and must go through a long curing process.
The NGOs are also calling on references to educational campaigns to be removed from Bill, which they said “should retain clearly the present situation whereby government campaigns on drug use focus exclusively on preventing measures explaining the risks of cannabis use”.
The coalition complained that the government had “listened only to one pro-cannabis organisation and ignored the many organisations, constituted bodies, medical experts, professionals, academics and organisations with years of experience in the drug prevention field”.
All of these stakeholders, they said, had raised serious concerns about the reform.
They called on MPs to “reflect on the far-reaching negative repercussions this law may bring and to introduce these mitigating amendments”.
While those opposing the reform have argued that it would have serious negative impacts on Maltese society, proponents of the changes have pointed out that cannabis is readily available to anyone who seeks it out in Malta and that any discussion must assume that those with a propensity for smoking are already doing so.
The reform, they argue, will bring cannabis consumption above board and easier to control while also reducing the flow of cash to the black market.
The petition is being supported by:
Caritas Malta, OASI Foundation, Malta Employers’ Association (MEA), Malta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Medical Association of Malta (MAM), Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN), Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, Gozo Business Chamber, Malta Association of Social Workers, Malta Association of Psychiatry, Secretariat for Catholic Education (SfCE), Church Schools’ Association, Gozo Tourism Association, Richmond Foundation, Zghazagh Azzjoni Kattolika ZAK, Azzjoni Kattolika, Malta Girl Guides, Home Away from Home, National Foster Care Association Malta, National Parents Society for Persons with Disability, St Jeanne Antide Foundation, Paolo Freire Institute, Millennium Chapel, SOS Malta, Dar Merhba Bik, Youth Alive Foundation, Social Assistance Secretariat, Kummissjoni Djocesana Djakonija, Dar tal-Providenza, Society St Vincent De Paule, Church Homes for the Elderly, Ufficcju Hidma Pastorali mal-Persuni Separati , Mater Dei and Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre Chaplains, RISE Foundation, Dar Hosea, Peace and Good Foundation, Migrants Commission, Kummissjoni Gustizzja u Paci, Osanna Pia Foundation, Fondazzjoni Sebħ, Life Network Foundation, Karl Vella Foundation, Malta CAN (Children’s Associations Network), National Association of Pensioners
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