From the online comments board

Cannabis users allowed to grow own plants under proposed reform

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Never smoked a joint, never smoked a ciggy, never smoked a cigar or a pipe, but I have never understood the point that cannabis should be treated any differently from tobacco. Both substances affect your body in the long term.

Along with traffic pollution, building material waste and natural pollution as well, we are ingesting countless numbers of carcinogens every day!

Personally I say legalise cannabis for personal use ASAP. A good friend of mine in his 70s (sadly passed away) was riddled with arthritis and was in constant pain and the only relief he ever got was to smoke cannabis which his wife (in her 60s) had to go to buy off street corners!

Legalisation of this plant may go some way to lowering the price of the drug and help some of these unfortunate people, who, through no fault of their own, are struggling every single minute of the day with acute pain and suffering. – Terry Flanagan

Legalisation in Canada a couple of years ago was mostly a non-issue. In the university neighbourhood of Toronto where I had been living, one saw a few more people in the streets smoking cannabis bought at the new government store than seen before legalisation. There doesn’t seem to have been a big increase in consumption. Indeed, for some people the thrill of illegality seems to have previously been part of the attraction. – Keith Sharp

The hard reality is not the decriminalisation of this drug but prime minister Robert Abela’s panic of losing votes in 2022, of the intellectually sensible and not as stupid as one makes them out to be youths!

Grams or no grams, the haste being shown by Abela is a demonstration his scope is politically selective rather socially objective. I augur that in his haste, he ascertains the committee discussing this fast-tracked law includes youths from all spheres of our local society.

If the incumbent gets it wrong, there is no straightforward ‘back tracking’. – Joe Mifsud

A move was inevitable to regain popularity particularly among the younger generations, after the mounds of corruption filth being unearthed. There are pros and cons about the proposal, as always. Paving the way to legalise cannabis for recreational use is a mea­sure being considered in many countries, and concessions will be worth goldmines. Hope it’s not a sequel of Muscat’s roadmap adopted by Robert Abela. – A. Mifsud

Is this the future we plan for our kids? A former prime minister dreamt of Malta becoming ‘Switzerland in the Mediterranean’. Is Robert Abela now planning a ‘Holland in the Mediterranean’? May God help us. But then, as long as money is generated, who cares! – Joseph Croker

A very progressive and positive way to strengthen the character of our youths! Duped, they are more receptive to manipulation. They also clap more fervently. – Paul Pulis

I was always taught that cannabis is possibly the door to hard drugs. This will certainly lead to abuse, especially with the majority of indisciplined, egoistic and opportunistic people in this country. – Clayton Cassar

Cannabis users will be allowed to grow their own plants at home and legally carry up to seven grams of the drug for personal use, under a proposed reform unveiled by the government on Tuesday.

And what if the plants yield more than the legal amount? Can it be legally sold to those who would make use of seven grams but have no plants at their home?

How is the government going to protect others, especially children, who may be encouraged to use the surplus?

I say this because the Labour Party is always boasting of surpluses, and sure as tax there will be a lot of surplus of this drug as plants will run wild out of control. – Richard Curmi

This is just deviation a tactic. Let’s discuss this issue after the general election in a few months’ time, or at best include the issue in the parties’ political manifesto. – E. Abela

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