Recreational cannabis

New Zealand recently legislated for the abolition of tobacco smoking. Starting with the youngest generation, purchase and smoking of tobacco will be illegal for this group of individuals. Within a few decades, sale and smoking of tobacco will become illegal for everybody in New Zealand.

This was interpreted by some in Malta as more proof why availability of recreational cannabis should not be legalised.

One doesn’t have to undertake an Edward de Bono thinking study course to realise there is an alternative interpretation to the New Zealand tobacco legislation. Tobacco is not only an addictive drug but also a major promoter of heart disease, stroke and a number of cancers – major causes of morbidity, health service workload and mortality.

So, if recreational cannabis should not be freely available, why is tobacco freely available? Shouldn’t we also be planning tobacco-abolishing legislation?

Should we not also be planning alcohol-abolishing legislation? Alcoholism is a dangerous addiction with health, work and marriage destructive potential. Why don’t we make alcohol sale and consumption illegal as in many Muslim states? The same would apply to gambling.

I don’t recommend tobacco smoking, alcoholism, gambling or recreational cannabis to anyone but are we using different weights and measures in this cannabis debate?

Albert Cilia-Vincenti – Attard

Service shake-up needed

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Call 1182 and get a person who informs you that this is GO’s premium service. In English and Maltese, you are also told that it will cost you 95c for the bad service they are about to dish out.

Then you get yet another voice which informs you, once again in both languages, that this call may be recorded. At this point in time, the person requiring a number, possibly urgently, is already fed up with this premium service as he is no closer to getting to know the required number.

To add to your premium service, you are now treated to some very boring music which cuts off and starts again. Thirty minutes later, I was still hearing the awful drone of this horrible music and no closer to getting the number I required. Thank God, it wasn’t a number I needed urgently.

That, my dear readers, is what one gets when one calls 1182, which, do not forget, is premium quality!

David Demajo – St Julian’s

Wartime defences

I followed the articles by Charles Debono about the coastal defences of Malta for the preparations of the invasion of Malta during the last war by the axis powers.

During my childhood years, my family used to have a house near the Veċċja area, in St Paul’s Bay and  we used to go swimming near the gun post there.

It is a pity most of these gun posts have been neglected and totally abandoned to the detriment of our historical involvement in the last war.

Heritage Malta please note.

Francis Vella – Mosta

Lost in translation

Due to political correctness – some call it political corruption – many of us have been lost in translation.

Can anyone help in translating the following words: honesty, corruption, shame, capitalist, bourgeois, religion, establishment, meritocracy, decency, friends of friends? Let’s stop here.

Joe Inguanez – Għaxaq

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