The new head of the cannabis authority has said he is comfortable with the role, despite previously arguing against making the drug more accessible. 

Leonard McKay addressed the media for the first time on Wednesday since he was appointed last month after his predecessor was sacked.

He announced that a convention will be held in January to discuss guidelines with potential cannabis club associations that can apply for a licence in February.

McKay, a former head of the charity Caritas, had previously said that the dangers of legalising the drug outweigh the benefits.

Speaking on Wednesday, he saw no issue with his new role. 

“The law, at no point in time, is promoting the substance,” he said.“The law is recognising that there is a substantial number of people who consume cannabis from sources that are still illegal to this day,” he said.

“I am comfortable with being responsible with an authority that is not looking at the commercialisation of cannabis. It is protecting certain groups but at the same time is making sure to have a regulatory framework and set up which is safe for those users.”

'Setting the standards' conference

Malta legalised cannabis last year, allowing people to grow up to four cannabis plants.  Aside from growing them at home, the only legal way for people to buy the drug will be through cannabis associations. 

Next month, on January 27, a convention themed “Setting the Standards” will take place, where the application process will be explained to interested organisations. Applications for licensing will open on February 28. 

McKay said standards will include details on the quality of the product, security of the sites where the clubs will be located, due diligence, packaging and labeling of the product, and the role of harm reduction. 

McKay asked all interested organisations to contact the authority and apply to take part in the convention at the MFCC in Ta' Qali. 

“We want a strong, robust framework with strong regulations. It is also important to be clear that this is not a new economic niche for the country- we are talking about non-profit organisations and the authority will not be commercialising such organisations.”

Once the guidelines for the clubs are set, the licensing process will begin. 

Year-long delay

Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality Rebecca Buttigieg brushed aside criticism that the authority wasted a year before implementing the licencing process, insisting that both the government and authority have been working to implement the new law. 

“We no longer treat people who use cannabis as if they were criminals,” she said. “People have been imprisoned and suffered simply because they use cannabis for a personal purpose. We removed this.”

Under the new law, anyone who currently has a criminal record for cannabis possession will be able to have that struck off their record.

Buttigieg thanked Mariella Dimech, the previous CEO, for her work and said the authority is not only established but now in a position to operate.

Dimech was sacked from her position as executive chairperson of the cannabis authority after just 10 months in the role.

Buttigieg said the authority is currently undergoing a recruitment exercise so that the entity has more human resources to fulfill its duties.