Joey Reno Vella will lead the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis as executive chairman, the government said on Tuesday.

The authority, ARUC, regulates the sector including the licensing, monitoring and surveillance of associations. It also has an educational role.

Vella is a lawyer specialising in civil and criminal law as well as the Family Court.

He worked on the drafting of several reforms and legislation, including the law relating to the responsible use of cannabis.

Vella has since served as ARUC board secretary and one of the authority's directors. 

Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg congratulated Vella and thanked his predecessor Leonid McKay for his work.

McKay is poised to take over government jobs agency JobsPlus, in the agency’s first major shake-up since it was entrusted to Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri.

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