Sentences seen distinguishing between users and pushers

While the UK government relaxes its laws on cannabis in the face of a dramatic rise in usage, the focus in Malta appears to be on the "joining of forces" to address what causes people to be drug dependent and avoid their continued arrest.

Britons, among the heaviest users in Europe, are now able to smoke cannabis without fear of arrest. But, for Sedqa, the national agency against drug and alcohol abuse, and Caritas, legalisation, or decriminalisation of cannabis are not options.

In the UK, the idea is to reclassify cannabis as a low-risk, category C drug from July next year, putting it on a par with anabolic steroids and growth hormones.

The reclassification would mean that discreet possession of small amounts, or smoking in private would be non-arrestable offences.

However, cannabis will not be legalised, or decriminalised, while the downgrading of the clubbers' drug, ecstasy, from a Class A, highest-risk category has been excluded on the grounds that it could kill.

The move has prompted outrage on both sides of the political divide, with some feeling it is a step in the direction of decriminalisation. It is argued that the downgrading would send confusing messages to cannabis users, while giving drug dealers control over cannabis, with the police turning a blind eye.

Sedqa CEO Sina Bugeja said it was important to understand what the UK was doing and why: British police were inundated with cases concerning cannabis use, which were taking up too much of their time and preventing them from focusing on more serious crime.

A report published last year showed that cannabis was the most commonly used illicit drug in the European Union, with at least one in 20 adults in the 15-nation group having used it.

However, statistics of cannabis use in Malta were not readily available and almost impossible to achieve. Sedqa's figures were for poly-drug users, such as heroin addicts, who frequented the detox centre.

Cannabis smokers did not use any services on offer and, therefore, could not be quantified.

Ms Bugeja pointed out that "we have mellowed over the years and learnt to differentiate between someone who needs support and someone who is making money off others. Drugs are a lucrative business that, if uncontrolled, causes major problems..."

Ms Bugeja described the change in mentality as a natural progression, which has stemmed from discussions between service providers, the police, probation officers, magistrates and other related parties.

"We can now come together, sit around a table and see what needs to be done... As a result, we are moving in a smoother and better way - to the advantage of the misuser...

"The situation has evolved and the mature way of doing things is to watch what is happening and be open-minded enough to see how to tackle the problem better."

Sedqa works closely with the courts, which, together with probation officers, service providers and police are "pulling in one direction". The agency even has a social worker stationed at the courts.

Ms Bugeja said Sedqa was wholeheartedly opposed to decriminalisation - which has happened in certain other countries and is known to have failed, with major negative side effects.

However, although Maltese law does not differentiate between hard and soft drugs, a difference in the approach of the courts has been noted and sentences do make distinctions between users and pushers.

According to Ms Bugeja, the courts are looking at the needs of the individual: a person with a problem requires support to get out of the addiction, rather than punishment; while the trend is to be hard on pushers.

The need to concentrate on diverting cannabis users to community-based treatment, rather than punishing them with jail terms, has been recognised, she said.

The approach of the courts is to try and push users into treatment, but that does not mean that smoking cannabis is in any way supported.

Even in the UK, the approach is to be much tougher on pushers, Ms Bugeja said.

In their sentences, it was clear that magistrates treated various drug-related cases differently. "There is only one law, but it is applied specifically depending on the case", Ms Bugeja said.

"At this point in time, the general interest is not to legalise cannabis, but to clearly define whether somebody has a drug problem, or is trafficking drugs to make money" and to address the cases differently, said Mariella Balzan, coordinator within New Hope Programme, Caritas.

The New Hope Programme incorporates community services, the San Blas Programme and the Prison Inmates Programme.

Of course, the situation becomes more delicate when trafficking and possession overlap - in the case of substance abusers who sell drugs to feed their habit, Ms Balzan said.

However, a good level of communication has been created between interested parties to achieve a system whereby a drug-dependent person does not continue to use drugs, break the law and get arrested.

"Everyone has to work together to ensure that drug dependents, who have been arrested, would not be arrested repeatedly, and that their problems are addressed."

Speaking about cases of experimenting adolescents, Ms Balzan said that if they are arrested, it is important that the issue of experimentation is specifically addressed. If not, it could lead to drug dependence, or other vices.

"What is important is what happens when persons are arrested, and that is what needs to be addressed. Maybe what was happening in the UK when they were arrested was not working," Ms Balzan said.