Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/852418
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 JULY 2017 17 Weed quality among the worst in Europe The EMCDDA in its 2015 report on Mal- ta also noted that cannabis in Malta had amongst the lowest purity in Europe. Godwin Sammut, a court forensics expert at the University of Malta who has been testing drugs for over 16 years, explained that all cannabis seized by police is tested for purity. While cannabis can be bought as a resin or in its more natural "grass" state, Sam- mut said raids tended to produce cannabis grass, rather than resin – although both are seized relatively often. Sammut said that resin could be mixed with different substances when formulated, in order to bulk it up, given that drugs are usually sold by weight. "Examples of substances that resin is cut with include fruit juice, dyes and sand, however shattered glass and small lead particles have also been reported," said Sammut, adding that on occasion bulking agents such as ammonia and formaldehyde have also been found. "With the recent introduction of synthet- ic cannabinoids, one has to be extremely careful. There have been reports that syn- thetic cannabis resin, which looks just like cannabis resin, is being sold instead of the real thing, which is a very dangerous situa- tion," added Sammut. The popularity of synthetic cannabis has increased in recent years, mainly because of its potency and the fact that it is still ex- cluded from the scope of some drug laws. Unlike natural cannabis however, the syn- thetic form is significantly more dangerous and potentially lethal. Legalisation will do more harm than good – Caritas While those in favour of legalisation point to the fact that the drug is already widely available and that legalisation could gener- ate significant revenue for the government, not everyone is convinced. Caritas – the church-run drug support agency – has said that it is seriously con- cerned with the possibility of any form of legalisation of "so-called recreational can- nabis". Citing "countless testimonies, more than 30 years of experience in the field, as well as a sound base of scientific arguments and lessons learnt from other countries", the agency said it could conclude that fa- cilitating the use or sale of the plant would have serious detrimental effects on com- munities, families, and vulnerable segments of the population. The agency acknowl- edged that not all peo- ple who use cannabis become dependent on it, but insisted that there were still dangers for both those who de- velop an addiction and those who don't. "Associating the word recreation with a substance that is known to have serious repercussions is a con- tradiction," it said. The agency added that youths should not have to resort to cannabis for their fun and could engage in a number of other "edu- cational, enjoyable fun activities". Among the advan- tages of legalisation, according to Caritas, is the fact that this would benefit the country economically, chan- nelling revenue to the government rather than criminals. It said however that the positive effects would probably be offset by the price on popu- lation health and longer- term effect on the economy due to the rise in "health and mental health problems". While often cited as a danger of cannabis, studies on the link between cannabis and psychosis have not clearly shown a cause- and-effect relationship. On the plant being a gateway drug – a drug acting as a stepping stone to harder drugs – Caritas pointed to the fact that of the 45 individuals currently undergoing drug rehabilitation, the vast majority start- ed to "dabble with alcohol and cannabis be- fore moving on to other substances". "The notion that cannabis is a gateway drug may not be fully accurate because it is clear that a significant proportion of per- sons who use the drug neither develop a de- pendence on the drug, nor do they progress to other drugs. However, the notion of the gateway drug cannot be abolished and can- nabis is surely a gateway for those suscepti- ble to developing substance dependencies," it said. Not enough conclusive evidence – Andrew Azzopardi Andrew Azzopardi, a sociologist, and the dean of the Faculty of Social Wellbeing in- sisted that more empirical evidence needs to be made available before one can judge whether the legalisation of cannabis would be a positive or negative development. "As far as I am concerned, before we have enough empirical evidence that shows that cannabis does not trigger the use of harder drugs I believe that we need to postpone any decision in that sense," said Azzopardi, who also stressed that many people suffer- ing from addiction started out with canna- bis. "Whilst I do understand that this is not always the case of people who use cannabis, the move to hard drugs might heighten the risk factor," he said Asked whether he expected more people to use the drug if it were legalised, Azzopar- di said that he was inclined to agree, how- ever he again reiterated the need to "see the evidence and empirical data" before being able to answer definitively. Moreover, he said that while legalisation might allow for more people in need to help to get it, this was not the case in all situa- tions. "Alcohol and smoking are legal but people do not always seek help, even when things are not going too well," he said, adding that there were many sides to the arguments and that it would be unwise to consider only one perspective. ypace@mediatoday.com.mt News According to the latest country report on Malta published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 4.3% of adults aged between 18 and 65 reported using cannabis in their lifetime, while a 2014 MaltaToday survey found that one in five people knew someone who was a weed smoker While cultivation no longer carries a mandatory jail sentence – it is not clear whether the harvest from that plant would be deemed to constitute 'personal use', since it would be well over the 3g limit WEED Public health threat or just another habit? Andrew Azzopardi: As far as I am concerned, before we have enough empirical evidence that shows that cannabis does not trigger the use of harder drugs I believe that we need to postpone any decision in that sense,