The Malta Chamber of Pharmacists has said plans to decriminalise cannabis for personal use amount to legalising the drug and argued that people caught with the substance should continue to be fined. 

In a position paper published on the final day of a public consultation exercise into the government’s proposals, the chamber likened the government proposals to the state condoning the “unlimited, all day, every day exposure” to harmful substances. 

The government has proposed decriminalising possession of up to 7 grams of cannabis while also allowing users to grow up to four cannabis plants in a concealed space in their own homes. 

Those plans have been criticised by medical and social lobbies and described as a potential "partisan battle for votes" by Church bodies, but welcomed by advocacy group Releaf and ADPD. The Labour Party has said the plans should be expanded to allow the sale of cannabis and its seeds. 

In its statement, the pharmacists’ lobby said this amounted to legalising cannabis, something it emphasised it was not in favour of. Instead, the lobby said it wants “fines and noncustodial penalties” to remain in place for personal cannabis users. Repeat offenders should continue to face a drug rehabilitation board, it added. 

It said the government proposals “advocate radical change, not only in the legislation but also culturally,” and said it was concerned about this. 
 
“The white paper refers to “full decriminalization” and this is de facto legalisation of cannabis for personal use,” it said. 

The position paper listed a number of concerns the chamber had about cannabis’ deleterious side effects and said the white paper provided less protection to people who could end up suffering serious consequences as a result of cannabis.

It said that the white paper compared cannabis to alcohol and presented the former as the lesser of two evils. But two wrongs did not make a right, it argued. 

“There are serious implications to contend with, which will reverberate in decades to come if one spearheads reforms without assessing the impact on our fragile society,” it said. 

Read the Chamber’s position paper in the PDF below