Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/900922
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 News 2 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The proposal amends Article 10 of the Drug Dependency Act that limits the ability to prescribe cannabis medicine to special- ist doctors. The changes are also expect- ed to cater for synthetic can- nabinoids that have until now fallen into a legal grey area. Introduced in 2015, the Drug Dependency Act introduced the concept of treatment rather then imprisonment for persons caught in possession of small quantities of prohib- ited drugs for personal use. However, the same law also spoke of the medicinal use of cannabis, allowing special- ist doctors to prescribe such medicine if they believe there is "no viable alternative to such prescription". Access to cannabis-derived medicines will be made easier, according to the government spokesperson. "The Bill is likely to be in- troduced in Parliament in the coming days," he added. Pa- tients who have used canna- bis-derived products to ease pain have clamoured for easier access to these medicines. Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat said on Sunday that Cabi- net had approved the pro- posed legal changes to allow all doctors the ability to pre- scribe such medicine. How- ever, he also f loated the idea of Malta becoming a producer country of medicinal canna- bis. The spokesperson said a regulatory overhaul would be required to allow the produc- tion of medical cannabis in Malta. Cabinet was presented with a memo providing an over- view of practice in other countries and detailing the changes that would have to be done to Malta's regulatory systems. "Work on this aspect of the medical cannabis issue is still underway," the spokesperson said. These changes are distinct from the wider debate on legalising cannabis use for recreational purposes, which was an election pledge by the Labour Party. The public con- sultation on this aspect is still going on. Access to cannabis-derived medicines to be made easier A regulatory overhaul would be required to allow the production of medical cannabis in Malta BUSINESSMAN Vincent Farru- gia, one of the businessmen be- hind an illegal development of an apartment block at 83 Spi- nola Road, told the Public Ac- counts Committee yesterday afternoon that he had never met with then minister Jason Azzopardi, who was then re- sponsible for the Lands De- partment. Present for the session were the committee's chairman Beppe Fenech Adami, as well as Kristy Debono and Claudio Grech for the Opposition and Robert Abela, Julia Farrugia Portelli and Clayton Farrugia for the Government. Accompanied by his lawyer Peter Fenech, Farrugia ex- plained that, contrary to what had previously been implied, he had never met with Azzo- pardi, nor was he aware of ei- ther of his two lawyers meet- ing with the minister. "I never met with the minis- ter because if I'm being honest I'm not particularly fond of him or the Nationalist Party," said Farrugia, who upon be- ing asked by Grech, whether he had ever received any help from Azzopardi replied: "Ja- son Azzopardi deceived me". The case revolves around a development on the Spinola seafront, over which the Lands Commission had, in 2003, initiated legal proceedings against Vincent Farrugia, Er- nest Grech and the companies E.G. Property Holdings and El Dara Ltd for the illegal devel- opment of an the block. The block had included a part of the foreshore, which Farru- gia maintains was not in fact part of the foreshore. In 2009, the court of appeals confirmed a 2006 decision ordering the block to be demolished. Farrugia, a businessman in- volved in retail, textiles, in- surance and some minor con- struction, said he had bought the property for €65,000 in good faith, without knowing of any issues with the prop- erty. The committee heard how, after the court's decision, Far- rugia had asked his lawyers to engage with the authorities in the hope of finding a solution and it was decided that the property would be sold by ten- der, and that Farrugia would be offered a right of first re- fusal. "I was informed that three architects would be meeting, two on behalf of he govern- ment and one which I engaged myself," he said, adding that he had subsequently been told that the architects had agreed on a figure of €300,000. Farrugia said that when the tender was issued, there was no specified minimum of- fer, and that he had offered €192,225 for the property. He said however that the govern- ment had got back to him and requested €950,000, an unac- ceptable amount, given that he had purchased the property for €65,000, he said. Despite the architects agree- ing to a valuation of €300,000 Farrugia said someone on the other side of the deal, pos- sibly the Director General of the Lands Department or the minister himself, had how- ever insisted that the property should not be sold for less than €525,000. In a previous session, the committee heard how Far- rugia had not yet paid the full amount the property was sold for. Asked about why he had not done so, Farrugia said that he had requested an extension, given that he had not been al- lowed to continue work on the site, which had remained in shell form. He assured the committee however that he had recently communicated with the Lands Authority, and assured it that he would settle any outstand- ing bill by the end of the year. During his testimony, Far- rugia also declared that he property in question was for sale, and when pressed by Ab- ela to disclose how much he was hoping to collect, Farrugia said that he aimed to make be- tween €9 and €10 million from its sale. SPINOLA ROAD DEVELOPMENT: Developer tells PAC he had no contact with Jason Azzopardi Vincent Farrugia insisted he was not aware of any meetings with then minister Azzopardi and that he was the victim of the debacle, and not the people "Jason Azzopardi deceived me" - Joseph Farrugia says that he had never received any help from then minister Jason Azzopardi (pictured)