Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1363129
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 APRIL 2021 NEWS Delivery fee of just €1 per day for orders up to 5 newspapers per address To subscribe 1. Email us your choice of newspapers, recipient's name, address, contact number to production @millermalta.com 2. Forward cheques payable to Miller Distributors Ltd on address: Miller House, Airport Way, Tarxien Road, Luqa LQA1814 Queries on other news- papers and magazines, production@ millermalta.com maltatoday Same-day delivery of your favourite Sunday newspaper Monday-Friday MaltaToday Midweek • €1 BusinessToday • €1.50 Sunday MaltaToday • €1.95 ILLUM • €1.25 Support your favourite newspaper with a subscription https://bit.ly/2X9csmr Cases 29,548 Active 536 Recoveries 28,610 Deaths 402 Vaccines 237,806 LATEST COVID-19 www.maltatoday.com.mt/covid19 MATTHEW VELLA THE Labour MEP Cyrus Enger- er is proposing that Malta's de- criminalisation of recreational cannabis is accompanied by al- lowances for households to "pool their rights" to cultivate canna- bis at home, in social enterprises. Engerer explains in an opinion piece penned for MaltaToday, that a cultivation social enter- prise model similar to ones es- tablished in Uruguay can allow non-profit groups to be allowed to grow cannabis on behalf of registered members. Such a 'cannabis club', under strict security measures, would allow households to legally allow dedicated growers to grow can- nabis. Engerer said such cannabis clubs would be able to grow plants for citizens who do not have the means to grow cannabis in their own residence, due to is- sues such as cost, space or direct access to sunlight. Access to these enterprises would be only available to regis- tered members of the club who must be residents of Malta. "Members would be mandat- ed to go through intake inter- views where the social enterprise would need to find out more in- formation about the member as a cannabis user – such as their frequency of use, their personal history with cannabis use, infor- mation on in what settings they consume, their lifestyle and the measures they can take to ensure their consumption is responsible and safe on an individual level." He said such enterprises would provide specific information on the THC-to-CBD content and the specific effects that specif- ic strains can give to individu- als depending on the type and breeding of the strain. "This will ensure that consumers are choosing the right product for their needs, and will ensure that everyone in the country has fair and equal access to this civil freedom." Engerer has called for an open and honest discussion, not only with young people, but also older ones who have been using can- nabis for decades, about drugs and drug use. "Such measures could include educational and information campaigns which would stay away from the 'war on drugs' fal- lacies that create fearmongering, and instead be encouraged to use harm reduction measures, empathy and understanding to showcase clear, scientifically ac- curate information." Engerer tomorrow hosts a Eu- ropean Parliament, high-level conference together with the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies. Labour MEP: Households should be allowed to pool 'cannabis quotas' Cyrus Engerer says households who cannot grow cannabis plants should be allowed to let others grow on their behalf Cyrus Engerer