Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1439469
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 DECEMBER 2021 NEWS Christmas specials • Cannabis FROM imprisoning a 16-year- old Swiss student for being in possession of one gram of can- nabis in 1997, to legalising rec- reational weed in 2021, Malta's relationship with "reefer" has come a long way. Gisela Feuz, 16, made inter- national headlines in 1997 after admitting to bringing less than 8 grammes of hash with her from Switzerland in the aim of sharing it with her boyfriend. She was imprisoned for a mandatory six-month period after a court found her guilty of importing drugs with the intent to traffic. Ironically, Brazilian drug-runner Fran- cisco Assis de Queiroz, who had imported over 3kg of co- caine, benefited from a pardon to return home to Brazile after contracting hepatitis in pris- on. Such hypocritical applica- tions of Maltese laws became part of the impetus to change "dangerous" drugs legalisation. 14 years later in 2011, Dan- iel Holmes, 28 at the time, was sentenced to jail and ordered to pay a €23,000 fine in 2011, af- ter he was caught together with friend Barry Lee, with possess- ing five mature cannabis plants and 28 seedlings. Holmes's name became syn- onymous with Malta's draconi- an laws dealing with drugs. By the late 2000s, the dis- cussion around drugs in Mal- ta started changing. In 2011, former Caritas campaigner Dr George Grech argued that a discussion on decriminalisa- tion of drugs – then resisted by everyone, include Dr Grech himself – had become "urgent". "It's no secret there are drugs in prison, and we have come to learn that incarceration does not work (with) people who are purely drug addicts," he said. "Prison is not giving results." The suggestions were shot down by the Justice Ministry, saying that it is not open to the possibility of introducing other changes to the relevant laws." Fast-forward to 2013, and the political scene in the coun- try started shifting, as former prime minister Joseph Mus- cat and his government were elected into government. Just two years later in April 2015, reforms on drug decriminali- sation were being introduced by the Muscat administration. New legislation saw less harsh sentencing for simple posses- sion, more lenient court de- cisions to rehabilitated drug offenders and the loosening of cannabis cultivation laws. Peo- ple caught with a maximum of 3.5g of cannabis, 2g of oth- er drugs or two pills of ecsta- sy would be subjected to fines ranging between €65 and €125, or between €50 and €100 in the case of cannabis. They would also not appear in court, but appear before a commissioner for justice. However, the police would still be able to detain people caught with small quantities of drugs for up to 48 hours, so as to extract information related to drug trafficking. This clause effectively allowed the police to arrest anyone in possession of cannabis, no matter the amount. Pro-legalisation activists quickly realised that while leg- islation had improved, it still wasn't enough. Small groups had already started forming, with a protest walk in solidari- ty with Daniel Holmes in 2013, showcasing the power the le- galisation movement had in the country, despite the cannabis debate being in its infancy. In 2017, a fully-fledged, detailed From reefer madness to cannabis regularisation How Malta become the first EU nation to legalise the devil's lettuce after ditching the 'gateway drug' myth KARL AZZOPARDI Vacancies in the Ministry for Health The Ministry for Health is seeking to employ: Retired/Retiring Public Officers within the Healthcare Professional Grades to perform duties on a full-time/part-time basis within the Superintendence of Public Health within the Ministry for Health Eligible applicants must be: • Healthcare Professionals who have reached retirement age (not more than 70 years of age) or are expected to reach retirement age by the 31st December 2021, AND who were either retired/retiring public officers A copy of the call as advertised in the Government Gazette of Friday, 24th December 2021 may be obtained from the People Management Division (contact details below). Applications are to be received through the Government Recruitment Portal only through the following link https://recruitment.gov.mt by not later than 17:15hrs (Central European Time) of Friday, 7 th January 2022 Any further information may be obtained from the: People Management Division 15, Palazzo Castellania, Merchants Street, Valletta, VLT 1171, Malta Telephone: +356 22992604 Email: recruitment.health@gov.mt MINISTRY FOR HEALTH 15, Palazzo Castellania, Merchants Street, Valletta, VLT 1171, Malta Tel: 22992604 Email: recruitment.health@gov.mt