Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/361046
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 AUGUST 2014 8 News TIM DIACONO LABOUR MP and former Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia has spo- ken of the benefits of cannabis when used as an alternative medication in the form of an oil, paste or vapor- izer. "Evidence shows that cannabi- noids, when extracted from canna- bis, can actually help the immune system," Farrugia said. "If you take it as a ratio, the safety of using can- nabis therapeutically outweighs its potential lethality by 20,000:1." He was speaking at a seminar or- ganised by the Nationalist Party's youth section following the publica- tion of the White Paper on drug de- criminalisation. PN leader Simon Busuttil yesterday said incarceration was no solution to addressing the problems related to drug use and urged the government to use its resources more effectively in the recovery process. "Sending drug users to jail is coun- ter-productive, both because drugs are often readily available in jail and because of the stigma attached to people who get sent to jail," he said. "I am pleased that society is re- flecting on how the drug problem should be addressed and I'm also pleased at the high level of solidarity being shown with the actual victims, the drug users," he said. While stressing that the State should use its "very limited resourc- es" more effectively to help drug us- ers and their families recover from their problems, Busuttil said "the State should not play Big Brother. Instead, it should work together with NGOs and the drug abusers' families to ensure that these victims are given the most effective tools to counter their vices." He also said that the State should introduce 'harsher penalties' for drug traffickers. In an earlier discussion, justice minister Owen Bonnici spoke of the White Paper that is currently at a consultation process. "This White Paper is by no means an indication that marijuana is a 'bet- ter' drug than others," Bonnici said, adding that "all drugs are bad." While pointing out that harsher penalties should be introduced for drug deal- ers, Bonnici said "however, drug us- ers shouldn't be treated as criminals but as victims who need help." The minister explained that the 13-page White Paper proposes that drug users caught for the first time will be conditionally discharged. Those caught a second time will face a board of social experts who will try and help them overcome their prob- lems. If they are caught a third time, it will count as a new crime. In his speech, the minister did not exclude the possibility of hav- ing a separate building adjacent to the courts in Valletta to operate as a drug court. Shadow Health Minister Clau- dio Grech agreed that drug addicts should be thought of as victims rath- er than as criminals but was adamant that marijuana should not in any way be legally set apart from other drugs. "From a policy standpoint, we should never give the impression that cannabis is less dangerous than other drugs," Grech said. "It will only fuel the demand for it, and therefore the supply." However, Alternattiva Demokrati- ka spokesperson Carmel Cacopardo referred to Portugal's drug policy where the possession of any drug for personal use is considered an admin- istrative offence rather than a crimi- nal one. "Portugal decriminalised drugs around 13 years ago. Since then, it has witnessed a substantial decrease in drug usage among youths and of drug-related illnesses, including HIV," Cacopardo said. "Decriminal- isation bridged the gap between the victims and the experts who could help them out." JAMES DEBONO Plans have been presented foresee- ing an extension on the two wings of the Mellieha Bay Hotel. The western wing expansion set on five floors in line with the rest of the hotel is proposed between the rocky shoreline and a parking area previ- ously used by caravans. A smaller eastern expansion also set on five floors is being proposed on hotel grounds facing the hotel pool, just outside the scheduled garigue area. The planning application, which also foresees the development of 47 bungalows behind the hotel, was presented in 2007. The latest plans presented last week are limited to the hotel extension and do not im- pinge on the scheduled zone. The Mellieha Bay Hotel, which is partly owned by Mizzi Associated Enterprises Ltd, had presented an application to develop 98 new units, including 47 bungalows, on the pris- tine area surrounding the hotel in 2007. The Natural Heritage Advisory Committee had objected to the de- velopment, noting that part of the site is scheduled as an area of eco- logical importance. Plans for the proposed bungalows were presented in October and De- cember 2007 but plans for the ho- tel extension were first presented in March and April 2012. No plans were submitted in the next two years. The 165,246 square metres of land surrounding the Mellieha Bay Hotel is leased to a company owned by business magnate Albert Mizzi, which pays an annual ground rent of €349.41. The site was granted for a tem- porary emphyteusis of 150 years in 1963 at that yearly ground rent "for the development of a tourist resort hotel". The land was handed over to the private developer after a request by the then Malta Government Tour- ist Board, which had approved fi- nancial and fiscal assistance to the company in conjunction with the development of a self-contained resort hotel. In December last year the owner of the Costa del Sol restaurant also presented an application proposing a brand new seven-storey hotel on the site of an existing car park on the northwestern shore of Ghadira beach. The application, presented by An- thony Curmi in December, foresees the demolition of the existing Costa del Sol restaurant and the construc- tion of a hotel, beach bar, an under- ground car park and new residen- tial units. The application has not yet been validated by MEPA. In 2010 MEPA had approved an extension of the Seabank Hotel. MEPA is still considering an ap- plication for an extension of the Mellieha Holday village and an ap- plication by the same complex for a beach concession on the rocky foreshore between the two main beaches. Opposition leader says prison no solution for drug users Extension of Mellieha Bay Hotel foreseen in latest plans Simon Busuttil: The state should not play Big Brother Man, woman found dead at sea in separate incidents TWO persons were yesterday morning reported dead, with a 53- year-old man from Birzebbuga re- covered at sea in Birzebbuga, while the body of a woman was recovered early in the afternoon. The woman, in her mid-thirties, was reported missing early Saturday morning and her body was only re- covered hours after an AFM search mission was deployed off Dingli Cliffs. The woman was fully clothed and had been in the sea for around 12 hours before being recovered. The police have also confirmed that there was no foul play in the death of the man found in Birzebbu- ga. However, the cause of his death will be established once an autopsy is carried out. The AFM patrol boat Melita I was dispatched on a search mission off Dingli Cliffs yesterday The Mellieha Bay Hotel: expansion plans have been presented The planned extensions (circled)