Watch: ‘Raided, isolated, traumatised’ – doctor recounts four-year ordeal

A doctor who spent almost four years under the stigma of drug trafficking charges says the ordeal was traumatic for him and his family after police raided his home and clinic and then strip-searched two members of his staff.

Andrew Agius was arrested in February 2022 after importing non-psychoactive ‘CBD’ cannabis, widely used in many countries as a therapeutic treatment for pain and which can now be bought over the counter in many shops across Malta.

His long fight for justice was repeatedly delayed by court postponements, during which time he was left without access to his bank accounts and faced travel restrictions, while being ostracised by his profession and forced to carry the stigma of criminal charges. While his case was dismissed on Thursday, his ordeal has left a mark on the doctor and his family, who for almost four years faced the prospect of him being sent to prison, potentially for life.

“It was a very traumatic event in all senses,” said Agius. “It was hard for my wife, and even the school where my kids go, all the teachers and the headmaster knew about the situation.

“They didn’t really know whether I was going to get acquitted or not, and even my children’s friends at school would pass a comment like, ‘your dad’s going to prison’,” he said.

Hit with a freezing order shortly after his arrest, Agius was left with no bank account in his name, so even paying for a meal or going out with friends became difficult. But that was the least of his worries.

“I was ignored and considered a criminal. I was not invited to any of the conferences I used to be invited to every year, or the TV shows I used to speak on... I was considered an outcast,” he said.

Agius has spearheaded medicinal cannabis treatment in Malta and is the founder of the Paola-based Pain Clinic, which dispenses government-approved medical cannabis prescriptions.

Describing his court battle as a “four-year trauma”, Agius spoke of his family’s uncertainty at the “scary” punishment they feared he might be subject to.

“There was the potential for life in prison over what I was being charged. My lawyers encouraged me... but still, I was living in uncertainty,” he said.

“I was afraid my assets would be confiscated and that I would not be allowed to work as a doctor, and that I could go to prison as well.”

Police ‘avoided’ saying reason for arrest

Recalling the morning it all began, Agius said he was at home, preparing to go to work, when a group of plainclothes police officers turned up at the front door telling him they had a warrant to raid his house.

The police started searching through Agius’ belongings, confiscating laptops, but at that point he still did not know why officers were raiding his home.

“I kept asking, but they avoided the question as much as possible. But then eventually... they mentioned there was a package that was stopped at customs, and that that was the reason”, he said, referencing a package of non-psychoactive CBD cannabis flower.

I told them there must be a mistake, because this [CBD flower] is a certified product with a certificate of analysis showing it does not have any narcotic content, but they had orders from higher up, and they had to follow instructions- Andrew Agius

“I told them there must be a mistake, because this [CBD flower] is a certified product with a certificate of analysis showing it does not have any narcotic content, but they had orders from higher up, and they had to follow instructions.”

At the same time, officers were raiding his Paola clinic. After police finished searching his residence, they took him to the Pain Clinic, where he found his staff seated and not allowed to speak to each other and officers conducting a search.

“I was embarrassed and ashamed of the situation, but I had no control over it, so I just had to accept it and follow their instructions.”

Agius spoke of the strain the almost four-year ordeal put on him and his family.

‘Humiliating’

Administrator and aromatherapist Stacey Abela and her daughter were at the clinic that day.

“It was chaos in here, there were police everywhere,” she said, speaking to Times of Malta from behind her desk at the Paola clinic. “I was in shock; my daughter was a mess.”

Abela and her daughter were detained before being strip-searched by police, an ordeal she said was “humiliating”.

She described being led out after her own strip-search and seeing her daughter waiting to undergo the same procedure as “gut-wrenching; knowing that your child is going to go through that... it’s horrible”.

While some friends suggested she find a different job after the experience, Abela remained determined to stay where she was: “I couldn’t [leave]; we’ve done nothing wrong, and I’ve only seen good come out of the clinic.”

She expressed outrage at shops across the country freely selling CBD flowers over the counter in the years since the raids and Agius’ arrest.

“Knowing that the corner shop is selling the same product you were arrested, strip-searched, violated and humiliated for, and the poor doctor and his family going through hell for years, the whole thing is ridiculous.”

It was chaos in here, there were police everywhere. I was in shock; my daughter was a mess- Stacey Abela

Police confiscated money, electronic equipment and other items before taking staff to police headquarters for further questioning, where Agius tried to explain that the CBD flowers intercepted at customs were not psychoactive.

“I showed them [police] the certificates of analysis, and I told them that these are CBD, not THC [the psychoactive compound found in controlled cannabis], but for them, it made no difference; they told me that, because it’s a flower, it’s not a product,” said Agius.

At the time of his arrest, cannabis was a controlled substance except for ‘cannabinoid products’ with less than two per cent THC.

The police’s reasoning came as a shock to the doctor, who – along with his legal team – tried to explain to officers that the CBD flower that triggered the raid had “absolutely no narcotic effects and no potential for abuse... But whatever we said, it didn’t help”.

“They actually tested the products and confirmed they had no THC, but still, because they looked like cannabis... they considered them as drugs.”

During the years of Agius’ court case, CBD flowers, oils and vaping devices have been openly sold in shops around Malta.

Administrator Stacey Abela was strip-searched by police, as was her daughter.

‘This could have ended much earlier’

After years of legal limbo, Agius was offered a ray of hope earlier this year when he encountered the head of Malta’s cannabis authority during a televised panel discussion, who told him he thought the case had been a “mistake” and, with the government working on legal amendments, believed it would soon be over.

And on Thursday, Agius was acquitted of all charges, with the magistrate citing recent legal changes that more clearly define cannabis in the eyes of the law, excluding CBD flowers the doctor was arrested for. What is his message to the authorities following the judgment?

“If there’s something that can avoid people suffering for so long, and all it takes is just clarifying an interpretation of a clause in one of the laws, I don’t think that it should be left for so long.”

Reflecting on the four-year ordeal, Agius said he and his family were very relieved it’s finally all over.

“Hopefully I will get my belongings back, and I can’t wait to travel without asking permission.”