The cannabis reform bill has been approved at committee stage: edging nearer towards the bill becoming law.

The Opposition, in yet another twist, did not propose a single written amendment.

I thank all those who participated and intervened during committee stage.#change

— •Owen Bonnici (@OwenBonnici) November 30, 2021

It would appear that despite the many reservations about the Bill raised in recent weeks, the Opposition did not put forward any amendments, which, while in a sense symbolic, since the government enjoys a large majority in Parliament, would have given it an opportunity to specifically state which provisions are problematic.

All that’s left now is a final vote before the Bill is presented to the President to be signed into law, marking the culmination of years of activism by many proponents of fairer drug laws. 

While it isn’t clear when exactly the vote will be taken, Bonnici has told Lovin Malta that it is his intention for the law to be in place before Christmas. 

Former Reforms Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar, who also played a key role in the reform, said in a post that the reform would be an issue that had been left under the carpet for far too long.

The cannabis reform bill proposes that people will be able to carry up to seven grams of cannabis on their person and grow up to four plants at home, with police unable to arrest them unless they have reasonable suspicion of trafficking.

Those found with between 7g and 28g of cannabis will appear in front of a tribunal instead of a criminal court, a significant reduction in the current 3.5g threshold.

The bill also proposes the formation of regulated “cannabis associations”, NGOs which will be licensed to grow cannabis on behalf of its signed-up members.

A new Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis will be set up and people convicted of cannabis-related crimes that are no longer criminal will be able to get these details expunged from their criminal record.

Do you agree with the proposed cannabis reform?