Past cannabis convictions should be removed from criminal records, NGO insists
Government promise made in 2021 should be kept in full, ReLeaf says
Updated January 31 with MGA reaction
The government has been urged to fully keep a promise made in 2021 to expunge cannabis convictions from criminal records.
ReLeaf Malta, an NGO which promotes the interests of cannabis users within a regulated environment, said in a statement that four years ago the government promised the expungement of criminal records as part of the new decriminalised and depenalised framework on cannabis for personal use.
"One understood that people convicted of crimes related to cannabis and falling under decriminalised / depenalised measures would automatically be deleted from personal criminal records," the NGO said.
But it said that back then the government "was making a mockery of people still facing negative consequences due to a tainted criminal record."
It said it was also worrying that a number of employers, including the Malta Gaming Authority and the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis, continue to be granted the right to access the complete record of criminal convictions. This was a barrier to equal employment opportunities and increased stigma and discrimination.
The NGO insisted that the automatic full expungment of criminal records was a "very basic" issue matter in a decriminalised / depenalised framework.
MGA: Cannabis convictions play no part in hiring decisions
The Malta Gaming Authority told Times of Malta that it has no access to the criminal records of its current or previous employees.
"Our access is strictly limited to cases where we are assessing the fitness and propriety of applicants for an MGA licence," a spokesperson said. "And even in such instances, convictions relating solely to the personal use of cannabis, which has since been decriminalised and depenalised, do not influence our assessments."