Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1433519
9 ANALYSIS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 DECEMBER 2021 to four cannabis plants in their homes or gardens under laws that will make it the first coun- try in Europe to legalise pro- duction and consumption of the drug. But the legal prohibition of the consumption and trans- port of cannabis or cannabis products in public will be main- tained and trade in cannabis or cannabis products other than seeds, whether free of charge or in return for payment, remains prohibited. As in Malta, the leg- islation was driven by a desire to liberalise consumption and cultivation "within one's own four walls". Debate spills over the Alps But legalisation in Germany could go one step further in mainstreaming cannabis and the debate has already spilled over German borders, especial- ly in Italy where both the cen- tre-left Democratic Party and the 5-Star Movement support the move. Employment minister Andrea Orlando described the German coalition agreement on legalis- ing the soft drug in one of Ita- ly's most important allies, as an invitation for a "serious re- flection", noting the repercus- sions the German decision will have on other member states, "whether we like it or not in the context of a single market with open borders." Italy already faces a referen- dum on this issue next year, after 600,000 signatures were collected to abrogate current laws restricting the cultivation for the personal use of cannabis. But the two centre-left parties may push this issue in parlia- ment by presenting a law, which could pre-empt the referendum, even if the current government which also includes the right- wing Lega and Forza Italia is divided on this issue. More likely, the proposed reform is likely to cement the emergent centre-left coalition between the PD and the more populist 5-Star Movement. A rallying cry for conserva- tives But plans to legalise canna- bis may prove a step to far for conservative political parties, who like the Nationalist Party in Malta fear a "normalisation of drug use". Markus Blume, the party sec- retary of the CSU, the Bavar- ia-only sister party to the more centrist CDU, called the idea a "dangerous experiment", warn- ing that legalisation will "turn a drug that is harmful to health into a lifestyle product." One major difference between Germany in Malta, is that cen- tre-right but socially liberal vot- ers have an autonomous home in the Free Democratic Party, which traditionally veered to the right in economics and left on civil liberties. The canna- bis issue also creates common ground between the left and socially-liberal centrist parties, as is the case with traffic-light coalitions in Germany and Lux- embourg. But in a two-party system like Malta it is difficult to contain different approaches to drug regulation in one party. Al- though the PN's opposition to cannabis reform is akin to that of the conservative mainstream in Europe, its current stance could alienate socially liber- al voters within its own ranks. This is because Malta differs from other EU countries in which these voters can choose between different centrist par- ties. In contrast, in Malta so- cially liberal voters who want to have a say on which party will be governing the country, have to choose between Labour and the PN. This puts social liberals in the PN in a quandary when- ever the party moves in a more conservative direction. Opposition to cannabis is also a rallying cry for the Italian far- right, including the neo-fascist Brothers of Italy, whose leader Giorgia Meloni attacked the left for "normalising the use of drugs". But Meloni has also been ac- cused of double standards, for the incongruence between her opposition to COVID restric- tions on the unvaccinated on the premise that these violate personal freedoms and her dra- conian stance against soft drugs. And while the church hierar- chy is largely opposed to legal- isation, the highly influential anti-mafia priest Don Luigi Ciotti – who addressed one of the vigils commemorating slain journalist Daphne Caruana Gal- izia in 2019 – has also weighed in on the debate calling for an honest discussion on the issue while denouncing the failures of prohibition: "I believe that the issue of the legalization of cannabis de- serves a serious table far from ideologies and moralisms to ask what is best to do, not forget- ting that we already have gam- bling and cigarettes and that our country is full of ambiguity ", he said. Ciotti invited his audience to "let go of hypocrisy and do an overall reading on all forms of addictions" in a way which moves away from the focus on substances towards a focus on the person "That prohibition did not lead to solutions is evident. Impris- onment did not help. It only led to an increase in the number of people detained". Ciotti has called on Italy to move away from the penal path towards a "social approach" based on the depenalisation of lighter offenc- es. The EU hotchpotch Netherlands Sale of cannabis 'tolerated' in licenced coffee shops but sale and possession still technically illegal. Portugal Since 2001 the personal use of all drugs including hard drugs like heroin has been decriminalised but the sale of drugs including cannabis remains illegal and people still buy it from dealers. Spain Use is decriminalized and cultivation for personal use in private areas including cannabis social clubs is allowed even if the legal status of such clubs remains uncertain. 70% of the clubs are located in Barcelona whose Catalan parliament passed a law which legalised the "private consumption of cannabis by adults", but the law has been recently over turned by the law courts. France As from 2020 the French government introduced a €200 fine for people caught using cannabis who are no longer taken into custody. But President Macron has declared his opposition to cannabis. Luxembourg Under the new law the cultivation of up to four plants of cannabis in a private home is legal. Belgium Cannabis is technically illegal in Belgium, but personal possession .has been decriminalised since 2003. The cultivation of one female cannabis plant for personal use is also legal. Cannabis social clubs have opened but their legal status remains ambiguous Italy Italy was the first country in Europe to decriminalise cannabis for personal use, following a 1993 referendum promoted by the Radical Party. Italy also allows the cultivation of plants with no more than 0.6% THC. Sweden The possession of even small amounts remains a criminal offence. Germany Cannabis is presently illegal but possession of small amounts is not prosecuted. Denmark Cannabis sale and use, while illegal, has been unofficially tolerated in the Copenhagen neighbourhood of Christiania. Czech Republic Possession of up to 10 grams of dry cannabis for personal use or cultivation of up to five plants is classed as a civil offence for which one receives a fine.