Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1342444
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 FEBRUARY 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Valentine's Day arrest of a couple smoking a joint exposed the contrast between govern- ment's intention to go soft on recreational use of cannabis and reality. Despite changes in 2014 that introduced a non-criminal tri- bunal for people caught with small amounts of drugs, the law still empowers police to arrest pot smokers. Government has now been consulting stakeholders since 2017 over a softer approach, but its intentions have nev- er been spelt out clearly. The Prime Minister's commitment last week to present a White Pa- per laying out the intended di- rection suggests a way forward out of this impasse. It remains unclear, however, whether Robert Abela will go all the way in legalising the can- nabis market. In 2014, the simple possession of less than 3.5g of cannabis was partly decriminalised. Police can still arrest and interrogate smokers and while first-time offenders are liable to fines, re- peat offenders still have to ap- pear before a Drug Offenders Rehabilitation Board. On Valentine's Day, the police displayed zeal in publicising the arrest of the couple along with photos of a grinder, a small bag of cannabis, and a half-smoked joint. Although duty bound to act according to the present laws of the land, the police's actions jarred with Labour's socially liberal message, which includes a promise to regularise recreational cannabis use. This unease has found a voice in Labour's deputy leader for party affairs, Daniel Micallef, who has increasingly taken the role of guardian of the party's social liberal identity that was groomed by former leader Jo- seph Muscat. Reacting to the weekend arrests, Micallef ar- gued that cannabis users should be free to make their own choices in a safe and legalised environment. And in what ap- pears to be a strategic electoral calculation, he also pointed out that if all regular cannabis users were to congregate, the Floria- na granaries will not be enough to hold them. "I am speaking on their behalf because I know these people are not criminal, and I believe they should have a right to make their choices in a safe and legal way," Micallef said. Even Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, while insisting the police were obliged to act on reports they received, un- derlined the need for further le- gal changes "to ensure that cas- es like the one that happened over the weekend will not be possible to happen". And finally, it was the Prime Minister himself who reiterat- ed the commitment to present a White Paper that has all the trappings of further decrimi- nalisation of personal use rath- er than legalisation of supply. Abela said government was considering allowing the grow- ing of cannabis plants for per- sonal use and increasing the limit on possession. But if personal use and the growing of a limited number of plants is decriminalised, con- sumers who don't grow their own plants, will still have to rely on the black market to buy their stuff. This raises the question: what sense would it make for the police to clamp down on the suppliers of a product whose consumption is no longer ille- gal? Stalled reform The other question is wheth- er the process which has stalled over the past years can be final- ised by the next general elec- tion. So why has the government stalled on a reform which could see it curry favour among a por- tion of the population which uses cannabis, and one that is unlikely to be opposed by the Nationalist Party? PN MEP Roberta Metsola's recent statement decrying the couple's hotel room arrest, con- firms that even within Malta's centre-right, a more socially liberal outlook is slowly pre- vailing. This was confirmed by a party spokesperson who said that the party is in favour of "considering" the further de- criminalisation of the drug. In its bid to regulate canna- bis, government will have to allay the fears not only of so- cial conservatives but also of health professionals and NGOs dealing with the repercussions of drug use on social wellbeing and mental health. Still from a political angle, while liberalising cannabis laws may turn off some voters with- out necessarily altering their voting patterns it could be a popular measure among stra- tegic cohorts who may actually consider shifting their vote be- cause of this particular change, as was the case with LGBTIQ rights in 2013. Moreover, Labour has a man- date to come up with a clear legislative proposal, which re- mains lacking. And judging by the experience of other coun- tries, any such framework will need months if not years of consultations to ensure that the law enacted is adequate. A political mandate to leg- islate does not absolve a gov- ernment from presenting evi- dence-based proposals, which address the concerns of par- ents, medical professionals and rehab NGOs. Doing so on the eve of an elec- tion may be tricky even for the government as electoral cam- paigns are rarely conducive to a rational debate. The reality is that it would have made more sense to present the White Pa- per in the mid-term years. Labour's promise Before the last election La- bour promised it would initiate discussions on the use of rec- reational cannabis in what was interpreted as a commitment to legalise the drug as suggest- ed by former prime minister Cannabis legalisation No way forward without White Paper