HHC products will start being confiscated from shops after Malta banned the semi-synthetic, cannabis-like drug last month.
In a press conference on Monday, Reforms Junior Minister Rebecca Buttigieg and the CEO of the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC) Joey Reno Vella said a team of people from the authority, the police and officials from the Superintendence of Public Health will confiscate the products in the coming days.
"The ban means the shops must immediately cease importing HHC products," Buttigieg said.
Malta banned HHC products on September 27, meaning that the importation and sale of any product containing HHC could potentially be considered drug trafficking.
The ban came after ARUC and several NGOs pushed the government to outlaw the often colourfully packaged synthetic drug that was being marketed as a legal alternative to cannabis and sold over the counter.
Other semi-synthetic cannabinoid products were also banned to safeguard the public’s health and reduce children’s accessibility to the usually colourful but harmful products.
HHC, short for hexahydrocannabinol, is a semi-synthetic cannabidiol, which is extracted from low-THC cannabis (hemp) and is a popular cannabis substitute.
Floated in a legal grey area
In recent months, products containing HHC - colourful gummy bears, cookies, marshmallows and lollipops - were sold in stores across the country and on food delivery platforms. Unlike THC, which is regulated by law, HHC floated in a legal grey area, which is why it could be sold over the counter.
"I'm not usually keen on bans as I believe in the individual's freedom to choose, but in this case, expert advice made it clear that banning the products was the safest option for all. It was dangerous to allow them to be sold on the market," Buttigieg said on Monday.
ARUC-licenced associations were never allowed to produce or sell any HHC product, let alone advertise it, she clarified.
Furthermore, the ban goes to show that ARUC's mission continues to be to control harmful substances through a harm reduction approach and educational campaigns.
'HHC unnatural'
Unlike THC, which occurs naturally in cannabis plants, HHC is created through a chemical process. HHC can produce similar effects to THC, including feelings of euphoria, relaxation and altered perception, but more research is needed to understand its long-term impact on human health.
"It was being sold in a manipulating way as a legal alternative to cannabis," Vella said Monday.
"It was being sold as a dried flower sprayed with HHC, as pre-rolled joints, vapes, oils and - worst of all - edible products, usually sweets."
He said the products were not tested and potentially contaminated with harmful substances.