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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 MAY 2021 NEWS KURT SANSONE THE cannabis reform White Paper at- tracted more than 350 submissions from organisations and individuals when the public consultation closed last Tuesday, MaltaToday has learnt. Government is proposing full decrim- inalisation for adults in possession of 7g or less of cannabis for personal use and proceedings before the Commissioner for Justice, rather than the criminal court, for those with more than 7g but less than 28g. The White Paper also proposes allow- ing the cultivation of up to four cannabis plants per household and the expunge- ment of cannabis related criminal re- cords. Sources close to the consultation pro- cess said the feedback was "encouraging" and reflected the public sentiment. "Many agreed with decriminalisation but were against legalisation but there were responses criticising the White Pa- per for not going far enough in providing a legal framework that would completely cut out the black market and also create safe spaces outside the home for cannabis users," the sources said. Several organisations have published their reaction since the White Paper was unveiled in March. On Friday, government's own anti-ad- diction agency, Sedqa, accused the gov- ernment of "sitting on the fence between decriminalisation and legalisation". Sedqa, which opposes the legalisation of "any psychoactive substances", said that if government allowed the cultivation of cannabis plants at home it might as well consider legalisation. The agency warned that cultivation without having legal channels to obtain the seeds would lead to the "necessary co- operation with the black market". It agreed with decriminalisation and insisted that if government wanted to le- galise cannabis it should be clear so that a clear strategy towards harm reduction and informed choice is adopted. "Sedqa would consider legalisation a lesser evil compared to a rampant black market. It would also require the govern- ment to be clear in its laws and policies related to drug use, empower its national agency to continue developing its prima- ry prevention efforts as well as treat the persons who develop substance use de- pendency," the agency said. Other organisations such as Caritas agreed with decriminalisation but op- posed the wider limits for possession and the cultivation of cannabis at home. Caritas warned that the proposals could contribute to normalising cannabis, which will encourage wider use. Both Caritas and Sedqa, which operate rehabilitation facilities, warned of the ill effects cannabis had on people, especially some vulnerable groups. The Labour Party in its submission pro- posed full legalisation to completely cut out contact between cannabis users and the black market. The Nationalist Party made no formal submissions but in a statement, it had said that the matter was being discussed internally. "The feedback is now being analysed and will inform the drafting of the actual law," the sources said. So far, there is no clear timeline by when government intends to put forward draft legislation. Cannabis reform consultation ends with 350 submissions KURT SANSONE YOUNG people, men and Na- tionalist Party voters are more likely to favour increasing taxa- tion for those earning more than €60,000, a MaltaToday survey shows. The overall result shows that 58% of respondents agree that taxation should increase for those with incomes higher than €60,000 while 21.3% are opposed to the suggestion. The rest are unsure. A breakdown of responses shows that the strongest sup- port for increased taxation on high earners is among voters aged between 16 and 35. In this age group, 60.5% agree with the proposal and a quarter dis- agree. Pensioners are the least like- ly to agree, with 38% favouring the suggestion for higher tax rates for those earning €60,000 and more. But this group also has the highest percentage of undecided with 42.1%. Men are likelier to agree with the proposal than women - while 58.5% of men agree with increasing taxation for high earners, it is only a relative ma- jority of women (47.5%) who do likewise. On a geographical basis, the strongest support for higher taxation for €60,000 earners is in the South-East and Southern Harbour with 57.6% and 56% respectively. The lowest sup- port for such a suggestion is in the Western region with 46.1%. When the results are broken down by political party alle- giance, 60.4% of those who voted for the Nationalist Party in the last election and 56% of Labour Party voters, agree with raising taxes for the rich. People who earn €60,000 and higher are taxed at the highest rate of 35%. The topmost tax rate has remained unchanged for decades since it was slashed in 1988 from 65% to 35% by then finance minister George Bonello Dupuis. However, the tax brackets have widened and narrowed over the years as governments adjusted them to primarily leave more money in people's pockets. In the current legislature gov- ernment opted for a tax refund system rather than an adjust- ment of tax brackets to 'cut' tax. The refund which is also given to people who do not pay tax, benefits low wage earners more than middle income earners and only applies to those earn- ing less than €60,000. Raising taxes for those earning €60k agreeable to majority Government is proposing full decriminalisation for adults in possession of 7g or less of cannabis for personal use and proceedings before the Commissioner for Justice, rather than the criminal court, for those with more than 7g but less than 28g