Photo: Leafly

A Maltese cannabis lobby group has called for the right to privately grow cannabis at home as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to decrease the quality of products on the black market.

In a statement released ahead of 4/20, the unofficial international day of cannabis, ReLeaf warned that the right to health for cannabis users is being jeopardized two-fold: through current unsustainable legal provisions and the instability caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The group quote narcotics expert Godwin Sammut who warns that drug trafficking has been negatively hit by the COVID-19 crisis, which risks drugs becoming increasingly diluted or more dangerous for users.

They expressed “grave concern” at how the disruption of movement in the wake of the pandemic could “negatively affect the availability of natural and good quality cannabis and thus place the health and well-being of cannabis consumers at risk.”

ReLeaf thus released four proposals, including the call for recognition of cannabis users’ right to health which is intrinsically attached to the quality of the plants, its availability and consumption methods.

Beyond the right to grow, they also call for an informative harm reduction campaign regarding adult consumption and cultivation of cannabis for personal use.