In an article on drug policy reform in Malta (‘A drug-infested society’, April 16), Mark Said hints at a resumption of criminalisation and persecution of people who use drugs. What is most worrying is that Said, a lawyer by profession, seems completely oblivious to international debates on human rights, drug policy reform and the responsible regulation of drugs.
It is now agreed that the war on drugs has caused more harm than the actual drugs it intended to control and eliminate. Over 50 countries across the world have now recognised that the founding principles and practices fomenting a war on drugs are dangerous and expose thousands to a human rights risk environment.
Military-like tactics such as the use of sniffer dogs, harsh criminal consequences and dehumanising treatment, such as strip searches, have not contributed to reduce neither the demand nor the health and social risks associated with drug use. The prohibition of drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin gave rise to an increasingly larger number of synthetic substances like semi-synthetic cannabinoids HHC and CC9 and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and nitazenes.
The war on drugs has also been identified as the main culprit exposing thousands to unnecessary police persecution, criminal consequences and institutionalised human rights abuses, such as the denial to equal health and socio-economic opportunities.
By human rights-based drug policies one understands the equal and full realisation of human rights, irrespective if the person concerned is using a regulated or unregulated substance. As frequently repeated by various leading voices across the public health and drug policy spectrum, the establishment of broad harm reduction tools, decriminalisation laws and the non-commercial regulation of drugs are the most desirable, evidence-based and effective policy options to address drug use in society.
The United Nations International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy (2020) and the Pompidou Group’s guidance document ‘Bringing Human Rights to the Heart of Drug and Addiction Policies’ (2025) provide excellent examples of more human-centred policies.
Various EU countries, such as Portugal, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany, boast of a broad interpretation and application of harm reduction tools and human rights-based drug policy. Therefore, apart from decriminalisation (like the removal of criminal status from a certain behaviour or action) and depenalisation (introducing the policy of closing a criminal case without proceeding towards punishment and, instead, issuing an administrative fine) acting as the first protective shield against the negative consequences of arrest, these countries have been investing heavily in public health and social justice-driven tools.
People residing in these countries benefit from a myriad of health and social services, such as the availability and distribution of overdose and risk prevention tools, including affordable drug testing analysis (checking the purity and content of the drugs) and the distribution of naloxone in nasal spray (which reverses an opioid overdose). Others have introduced drug consumption rooms and low-threshold services specifically designed for vulnerable groups.
We are on the transitional path towards more just, dignified and comprehensive drug policies- Karen Mamo
These spaces are not facilitating or encouraging drug use. On the contrary, they are providing people who use drugs with dignity and equal access to the realisation of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. One may highlight that the right to health denotes the indivisible and interdependent nature of human rights, thus having full and equal access to health, social, economic, cultural and political rights.
Looking at drug policy in Malta, Said unfortunately ignores the very significant role played by the commissioner of justice. The commissioner’s work has been pivotal to spare people who use drugs the trauma of being hurled to court for the simple act of possessing and consuming an unregulated substance.
After almost 10 years since the introduction of the Drug Dependence (Treatment not Imprisonment) Act and, most significantly, four years since the decriminalisation of cannabis, Malta celebrates a drastic reduction (over 70%) of people hurled to court for minor drug possession-related charges. If percentages had to be turned into numbers, one would observe thousands of innocent citizens benefitting from increased human rights safeguards and provisions.
It is somewhat strange that Said failed to recognise the role of profit-driven industries infiltrating policy design and directly impacting regulation to match their commercial needs. Clear examples may be drawn from the sugar, alcohol, tobacco and gaming industries directly responsible for aggressive marketing campaigns and the availability and introduction of new products to attract new consumers, such as flavoured nicotine vapes and energy drinks.
Interestingly, data tabled in parliament this year revealed that, in 2023, the majority of deaths in Malta were related to cardiovascular problems and linked with people over 65. This is an indication that the biggest share of preventable disease and deaths in Malta are more linked to unhealthy nutritional practices and lack of physical activity than the recreational use of unregulated substances.
Therefore, what can we observe on drug policy reform founded on human rights principles?
Together with harm reduction, it is recognised as the most desirable, evidence-based and effective tool to address drug use in society and prevent the development of problematic substance use. Human rights-based policies are also important to counter stigma, dehumanisation and institutionalised injustices levied against people who use drugs.
What about proponents calling for a resumption of a war on drugs and a war on people? Please, find a new hobby! We are now on the transitional path towards more just, dignified and comprehensive drug policies.
Please, let us keep it this way.
Karen Mamo holds an MSc in Addiction Studies and an MSc in Conflict Resolution and Mediterranean Security. Since 2019, she has been promoting human rights-based drug policies and set up the educational initiative, Harm Reduction Malta. Between 2023 and 2024, she developed the harm reduction policy for the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis.