Justice and unity

There is indeed precious little unity – or indeed any meaningful relationship – without the underpinning of truth (Therese Comodini Cachia, February 23). And, irrespective of people’s identity, this is one thing which must transcend the usual Maltese political tribalism for dialogue to even begin. Respect is also thin on the ground when certain political offices and media are a deluge of hate and violence.

National unity ought also to have more than a passing acquaintance with the national interest. Not in a jingoistic flag-waving bigotry but getting one’s nose out of one’s navel and taking a wider view of our country. For example, rejecting a culture where injustice not only reigns but is rewarded, where getting away with murder has become not only figurative but literal. Moreover, selling oneself for permits/pretend jobs or whatever is reminiscent of the world’s oldest profession rather than a building block of national cohesion.

It does not look promising to have important appointments (an inexperienced – no matter how promising – teenager on the board of Finance Malta) bestowed solely,  seemingly, on the strength of political allegiance.

In order for unity to have a chance, justice must not only be done (corrupt ministers are like the proverbial teflon) but seen to be done. It is difficult to achieve unity when so much of the Maltese seem to be comfortable with all the rot which surrounds us. This must be addressed and political apartheid must be stopped.

A less toxic environment is fostered by those at the ‘top’ (figuratively speaking, in our case) giving the right message through zero tolerance to hatred and an end to dirty practices. Otherwise, talk of ’national unity’ looks like another empty bit of Maltese spin. 

Anna Micallef – Sliema

Cannabis regulation and reform

Photo: Shutterstock.com

The arrest of a young couple in a hotel room just because they were found in possession of a small bag of cannabis and were obviously smoking a joint proves how urgent it is to reform the drugs law which still allows such arrests. The police cannot be blamed since they had received a report and had to act on it.

Cannabis is now accepted even by eminent medical professionals, such as the UK Royal College of Physicians, as being much less harmful to health than drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco, besides the beneficial effects of medical cannabis.

It is most unjust to still regard cannabis in the same way possession of much harder drugs as heroin and cocaine are treated. Cannabis had been used for its recreational and therapeutic effects for hundreds of years until around 60 years ago, due to fear-mongering, lies and propaganda in the United States of America targeting black Americans and Mexicans.

Racism and political ideological reasons were the main reasons which then led to cannabis being made illegal and banned throughout the United States. Most of the rest of the world then followed suit.

Regardless of this, countless millions of people in the United States and the rest of the world continued to use cannabis both for therapeutic and recreational use. Now, many states in America have already legalised and regulated cannabis not only for medical reasons but also for recreational use.

And now that the new President of the United States, Joe Biden, and, especially, Vice-President Kamala Harris have promised to make cannabis legal by federal law, one expects the rest of the world to slowly again follow the United States.

In Malta, it has been calculated that around 40,000 Maltese use cannabis, mostly for recreational use.

Why should we keep pushing all these thousands of our citizens to drug traffickers to get their cannabis, thus exposing them to the possibility that the drug traffickers would then entice them to go for the real dangerous drugs like cocaine and heroin?

Regulation and reform of the drugs law have now become an urgent matter. It is no longer a subject which can be left on the back-burner.

After all, the World Health Organisation, through its Commission on Narcotic Drugs, has decided to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs where it was listed alongside deadly addictive opioids  like heroin, which are recognised as having little to no therapeutic purposes.

This government has shown that it is not afraid of legislating to reform antiquated laws.

This is yet another chance to prove this.

Eddy Privitera – Mosta

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