Claudia Calleja
Decriminalise drugs? No way, says government in wake of global report
A global drug report suggested the decriminalisation of soft drugs, like cannabis, but the government is adamant that the act will remain criminal.
The government will not even consider decriminalising drugs as suggested in a report that points out that the global war on narcotics “has failed” and jailing addicts is not solving anything.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy, which reviewed current drug-combating policies, said the locking up of millions of drug users only served to fill prisons around the globe and break up families, but did not solve the problem.
Speaking specifically about drug users and not traffickers, the report encouraged governments to decriminalise drugs like cannabis “to undermine the power of organised crime and safeguard users’ health”.
Decriminalisation would shift drug users from the criminal system to the health system where they were treated as patients in need of therapy rather than as criminals.
The high-powered 19-member commission included former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the former leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.
Asked whether the government would consider the commission’s suggestion, a spokesman from the Justice Ministry replied categorically that “the government has no intention of decriminalising or liberalising Malta’s drug laws”.
“The basic fact is that drugs are illegal because they are harmful and we are still to be persuaded that giving a free hand to people to possess and consume dangerous substances without having an effective deterrent in place will solve this problem,” he said.
George Grech, the clinical director of the government agency Sedqa, which works with addicts, said he was in favour of drug decriminalisation. He had raised the need to urgently discuss it during a conference last December.
Yesterday Dr Grech explained that decriminalisation would mean that addicts could be treated as patients, in need of therapy, as opposed to criminals.
He, however, disapproved of legalisation since it was justifying something that remained intrinsically wrong.
He said that, in practice, the team at Sedqa treated addicts as patients. One of the main problems faced by Seqda was the shift of use from heroin to cannabis that was not perceived as a dependency drug.
There was no method of treatment for cannabis addiction, as there was methadone for heroin, and therefore overcoming the addiction took more will power through therapy.
He cautioned against underestimating cannabis abuse, a drug sometimes perceived as innocent, as evidence showed it was linked to psychosis. Having said that, he said Malta’s biggest addiction problem remained alcohol abuse.
The global commission’s report, published on Wednesday, said that vast expenditures on criminalisation and repressive measures clearly failed to suppress supply or consumption.
It said repressive measures directed at users impeded public health measures to reduce the harmful consequences of drug-use.
It cited UN estimates that opiate use increased 35 per cent worldwide from 1998 to 2008, cocaine by 27 per cent and cannabis by 8.5 per cent.
The report encouraged governments to experiment with the decriminalisation and legal regulation of drugs.
“Arresting and incarcerating tens of millions of these people (addicts) in recent decades has filled prisons and destroyed lives and families without reducing the availability of illicit drugs or power of criminal organisations... Break the taboo on debate and reform. The time for action is now,” the report said.
Local drug facts
• Each year between 10 and 12 people die of a drug overdose.
•More than half of cannabis users who seek outpatient treatment in Malta are daily users.
• Malta is one of three European countries where 40 per cent of drug-related deaths occur among those under 25.
• Just below 15 per cent of drug-induced deaths in Malta are among those aged 40 or older, while seven per cent of those seeking treatment for their addiction are aged between 40 and 59 years.
• About two non-fatal overdose cases are admitted to Mater Dei Hospital every week.
• Over 900 children of drug addicts need support to ensure they do not follow in their parents’ footsteps.
• Between 800 and 1,000 drug users use Sedqa’s services at any one time.
• Women face issues that are unique to their gender, including prostitution, sexual abuse and domestic violence.
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87 Comments
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Gilbert Cordina
Dec 17th 2011, 19:45
I would like to put drugs into different perspectives because marijauna is not like heroin or cocaine...NO EVER DIED FROM MARIJUANA..
Steven Brockwell
Dec 20th 2011, 19:30
yea but they might have killed someone else when they where trying to drive
Roberto ANGELONE
Dec 17th 2011, 19:27
Intkom Bis Serjeta... you quote "In the Wake of Global Report" ...What Report??? ...Here is One that Should have some Bearing & It Certainly does not Play Second Fiddle to the Ambiguity of the Above Photo/Article!!!
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Report
A You Tube Link to An Eclectic Example of Some of the Arguments that should be at Play an Mentioned in the Media...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKgY5eOlhEc&feature=BFp&list=PL37FC6F3193C15C97 (No 12. on the Play-list) The other 11 are some off the top cross-sectional references that have might some bearing in varied ways...Excuse the Spencer Tracy but there are ever-relevant arguments in the 2 listed renditions...
Thank you,
Roberto Angelone
Mr Alex Buds
Jun 5th 2011, 06:58
Decriminalise drugs - yesterday!
Joe Fenech
Jun 4th 2011, 20:12
Legalise it? Why not? BUT :
No government help to Sedqa
No free health care
No free rehab
If Police are called for a drug related crime or offence, high fees will have to be paid by the drug user
No free syringes
WANT TO BE A LIBERAL? YOU'LL HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY. THERE IS NO GETTING THE BEST OF THE LIBERAL AND SOCIALIST WORLDS! You can't have your space cake and eat it !
Mr A Spiteri
Jun 9th 2011, 11:38
fantastic!
everyone should be responsible for his own actions...not the nanny state!
Mr Mike Abbot
Jun 12th 2011, 18:30
don't you get it??? decriminalising drugs will SAVE the country money. it would be able to cover sedqa, health care, rehab etc AND have money left over for space cake.
Mr G Guccione
Jun 4th 2011, 02:22
I would agree to decriminalizing drugs, apart from bringing a new income for the government and increased tourism, it would also (as said in the report) undermine the illegal cartels selling drugs. The black-market would decrease and people would buy the cannabis from trusted sellers and would actually be pure and non-harmful. No one dies to cannabis, and it actually makes people feel better and be better, especially people with certain medical conditions (cannabis is proven to be a manna to certain conditions and would be give much better treatment than conventional antibiotics).
BUT of course we live in Malta, one of the most conservative countries in the world, and even though it might help the economy and people, i dont even see it being legalised not even in a 100 years unfortunately.
Cedric Mamo
Jun 10th 2011, 17:37
decriminalization is *not* legalization... it would not be a source of new income for the government. In fact if it is decriminalized, it would still be illegal to sell drugs, it's just possession of them that will not be a crime, that meaning only that you would not have a criminal record because of it.
Mr victor caruana
Jun 3rd 2011, 16:16
Allowing drug trafficing to be a crime is in the interest of drug barons. Maybe they also contribute to party financing in elections.
David Caruana
Jun 3rd 2011, 18:15
AMEN!
Mr Andrew Grech
Jun 3rd 2011, 16:08
I'm sure that the difference between drug decriminalisation and legalisation is clear enough for everybody. Personally i think that should soft drugs like cannabis be decriminalized, people who have an addiction may be more confident and seek help without the fear of being taken to court, put in jail, but worst of all have their lives ruined because of the police conduct.
Sure some will argue that it was their choice to take drugs, but life isn't so simple, and not everybody is born in a safe haven or have the strength to say no.
The real question is, if such soft drugs are decriminalized, what effects would this have on the addicts, the recreational drug users and the non addicts. Personally i think that not much will change, because people who want to make use of drugs, still do, irrelevant of the laws and risks. What will change is that maybe, they can be cured and have a future without a bad criminal record, which would give them the chance to get back in the society's wheel without the prejudice a bad criminal record brings on them and be productive. If not the risk of falling back to substance abuse (especially the addicts) to avoid thier reality will be really high, and with no money some may turn to crime to feed their needs.
May i add something else, our country's education system focuses alot on academic subjects, but not enough on physical education, if more stress is put on physical exertion in any form of sport or exercise i truly believe that this would decrease the amount of substance abuse. Those who train alot will understand what i am saying, training is addictive too, the hormonal release caused by training (and i am not talking about the regular stroll but heavy exercise, the kind that will make you sweat a river out of your pores) is so satisfying that the body itself will yearn for more and more and more. Many things can be done to better society's health and this is my idea, which i believe is better than a damp cell and a wasted future.
And who knows maybe some day professional sports in Malta will become more accessible and more people will start making a living out of it.
Mr Andrew Grech
Jun 3rd 2011, 16:40
Correction to my above comment:
All substance abuse should be decriminalized, since it's not the kind of drug that is the problem but the hold on the addict which may be caused by any kind of substance abuse.
Paul Smith
Jun 3rd 2011, 17:10
Mr Grech
Cannabis is not addictive, or are you talking about alcohol? Because alcohol is highly addictive, or maybe you mean tobacco? When you say addictive or addict's - kindly state what drugs you are specifically talking about - when referring to addiction it would be better if you actually tried to inform the Maltese Public what those dangerous addictive drugs were - examples - Heroin, Cocaine, Crack, tobacco, alcohol, coffee are all highly addictive.
One does not get withdrawal symptoms from being without cannabis or feel the urge to steal to obtain cannabis - in fact it is very easy to stop cannabis use for long periods of time without any withdrawal symptoms because unlike alcohol cannabis is not a poison.
Mr Andrew Grech
Jun 6th 2011, 10:41
Mr. Smith,
My main point wasn't on any substance in general (hence the correction) but how to tackle the problem of addiction, it serves nothing to put an addict in jail, and is most likely to ruin their chance for recovery.
Btw i do not presume to educate the public, just adding to the thinking pot, as always. The public is responsible for their own education.
Pia Attard
Jun 6th 2011, 11:24
@paul smith. Cannabis is not physically addictive, but as a cannabis smoker I can assure you that pyschologically, it is addictive. I personally have no issue with it and continue living my life, working my job, paying my mortgage and raising my children, but let's not give out incorrect information.
I do not agree with decriminilization, as stated below i believe that's still keeping the drugs in the hands of dealers, rather than functioning tax paying members of society, where we can have some control of the purity, the ingredients of the drugs, and the taxes can go back to education and harm reduction.
Claudio Overend
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:29
This war on drugs just helps drug lords who live in massive villas keep getting richer at the expense of addicts who pay for impure drugs which contain god knows what and sell it for an enormous amount of profit.
Wouldn’t it be safer if these drugs were legalized and purchased from a professional pharmacist rather than the random pusher round the corner? If such drugs are legalized then government could tax these drugs and control them and through these taxes they can build better roads or reform a school or other administrative projects. Would it be better if the money generated by drugs go to government through taxes rather than going to the drug lord in order to finance his sports car?
Not to mention the amount of petty thefts to be decreased! The Maltese prison is full of drug related crimes mainly robbery since drugs being sold on the street are radically over priced. Also the amount of gang activity to be decreased!!
Its not like drugs can’t be found on the street. Drugs in Malta could be purchased as easy as buying a pastizz. So why not end the war on drugs by selling drugs which are controlled by the state rather than the drug lord? Only the state has the power to end this war and if it doesn’t it is through law protecting the drug lord’s bank account!!!
angelo cilia
Jun 3rd 2011, 16:20
Leaving hard drugs illegal makes them highly profitable to certain noble families of europe.
An other factor that people forget about is the ability to create chaos.
Illegal drugs are used to create fear and mayhem in cites and this is a powerful tool in the hands of the elite.
Chaos calls for a reaction then calls for a solution, just like how manufactured terror is used.
Mr B. Cachia
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:08
Portugal decriminalised drugs some years ago and seems to be doing pretty well in the area of drugs prevention and care. At the very least they have got rid of the traffickers, just as the US got rid of the bootleggers and the organised crime surrounding them when they put an end to the prohibition of alcohol. Still, I don't expect Malta to take this sensible step very soon - we have an inbuilt paternalistic approach and many of us seem to enjoy controlling other people's lives.
Paul Smith
Jun 3rd 2011, 14:12
It just does not sit right with me, that the only drugs the government says you can legally take are by far the 2 most dangerous drugs ever to blight civilization - ciggerettes and alcohol.
The Government condone tobbacco use and alcohol use very freely in Malta, when the government pretend to care about your health and mental health all they really care about is VAT from booze and ciggs
Prohibition will never work and will end up costing the maltese tax payer so much - that the laws will have to be changed.
I prefer to smoke herbal cannabis - it is 1000 times less toxic than alcohol plus no hangover - chances of mental illness from using cannabis is 0.5 % Alcohol is far far higher.
Nobody - i repeat - nobody ever died from using cannabis in human history
Why do our own elected leaders feel they can tell us what to do with our own bodies in our own homes whilst harming nobody - it goes againt article 8 of the European Human rights act!
Leave us alone silly goverment - fix the roads and the budget and ban excessive alcohol sales and curb your number 1 problem you have In Malta - Alcoholism - go see for yourself at the family court!
http://clear-uk.org/
Paul Smith
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:41
Sorry - misquoted
There is no proven link between cannabis and mental illness - NO PROVEN LINK
Science thinks your chances of mental illness from cannabis are 0.5% Alcohol is higher and is proven link to mental illness amongst alcoholics and heavy drinkers.
I hope the majority of Maltese cannabis users continue to ignore a very stupid law - 6 million of us in the UK ignore the law here - our current prison and justice system would brake down if we spent justice on them all.
We have even had large groups go to police stations all with cannabis on them to hand themselves in to police - mass arrests so to speak. The police took no action - even the police dont believe in the laws on cannabis anymore - maybe some 20 year old Maltese rooky does - but he is still a kid
angelo cilia
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:47
Governments and politicians are all there to protect the interests of multinational corporations, at the expense of the general public.
That is why every nation has similar laws against cannabis users but lo and behold, dangerous and addictive alcohol and bright leaf tobacco both get a passing grade and are heavily promoted.
There is no war against drugs...but there is a war on our freedom.
Paul Smith
Jun 3rd 2011, 17:23
Two British women whom both have young children were sentenced to 20 months in prison last week for cultivating 20 cannabis plants, in the meantime GW Pharmaceutical's have a license from HMG government and currently grow 200 tons of Cannabis a year in there giant green houses in Swindon Berkshire.
They grow female cannabis plants and extract the THC and CBD + hundreds of other compounds from the plant - bottle it - call it Sativex and have a medical license to sell it around the world - our governments are the MAFIA
angelo cilia
Jun 3rd 2011, 18:48
I seen the Sativex video on Youtube over a year a go and it looks promising. In Canada Sativex can only be prescribed to certain MS sufferers and recently, to terminal cancer patients in their last painful throes .
The Medical Cannabis program is a joke there, as most doctors will not sign the necessary papers for a patient to apply for a user's license and permit to use medical cannabis.
But pity the casual cannabis user that gets caught with one or two plants for their own use in Malta or elsewhere. So yes I agree, the government is the Mafia and it is all about profit and control for the controlling elite.
Mr Chris Gatt
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:48
Once more Government shoots from the hip ( if you pardon the pun!). Instead of looking at the facts, both scientific and social, it simply goes for gut reactions, never a good place to start off from, but no less then what one would expect from a Justice Minister who seems to be batting for the status quo without looking at the consequences. here are some basic facts for the Justice minister's spokesman who said : "The basic fact is that drugs are illegal because they are harmful and we are still to be persuaded that giving a free hand to people to possess and consume dangerous substances without having an effective deterrent in place will solve this problem,”
1. a lot of other things are equally harmful but are not banned.
2. How does turning an 18 year old into one with a criminal record help his/her addiction
3. How does a jail sentence improve his/her health?
4. How does preventing this person from harming himself with drugs compare with the number of people whose property is robbed (not to mention the beatings suffered by some of our older citizens) by drug addicts desperate for money for a fix.
5. What is the sense of providing a perfect inflated market through which good money is thrown at drug barons, making them rich and powerful whilst not having nearly enough money for the police force to counteract this.
To be fair the British Labour Party when faced with the same problem a few years ago reacted in pretty much the same way. In that case they sacked their advisors!
Now David Cameron is facing exactly the same issue:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jun/02/drugs-drugspolicy
Like the prohibition at the start of the last century, this is a policy that is doomed to failure as the economics work against the idea. When you hide things you cannot control them.
The pity is that in Malta, as usual, our political task masters do not have either the nous or the humility to listen
J. Falzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:26
Coca Cola, Tobacco, Vodka, Deep Fried food and excess use of Nurofen are harmful too(if taken in large amounts) amongst many things that are available over the counter, and yet they are legal and are capable(in a way) of destroying lives too.
The excuse "they are illegal because they are bad for you!" is nothing short of a totalitarian method of restraining people from buying and using what they please. My body is MINE, not the government's. What I consume is not in the interest of the government to judge, unless somehow I break someone else's rights by consuming them.
The fact that alcohol(a very strong depressant drug) and tobacco(which of course contains nicotine) are legal, and yet a harmless drug like Marijuana is illegal can be summed up in one word "Hypocrisy".
And the "Gateway Drug" theory is irrelevant. Alcohol can be the gateway towards harder drugs just as much(if not even more) than Marijuana is.
Legalisation, Regulation and Taxation is the way forward.
MaryJo Camenzuli
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:14
Let's have a referendum on this as well.
Mr Victor Laiviera
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:07
That would make the divorce debate look like a friendly argument over a cup of coffee.
J. Falzon
Jun 4th 2011, 10:01
The people would obviously vote "No", because they don't know any better. It's like asking kindergarten children to write an essay on Malta's constitutions from 1813 to 2001...
Mr P Borg
Jun 4th 2011, 18:23
Even if they voted no it would help to inform the public
Michael Hudson
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:04
In Malta, the war against narcotics haven't even started yet. The majority of us bust our spines to earn a decent living while a few others live their luxurious lives.......... unemployed, with boats, summer residences and flashy cars. Don't the authorities ever wonder how is this possible?
Elaine Compagno
Jun 5th 2011, 07:38
No they don't, because they are either relatives, very good "friends" or informants.
Decriminalizing drugs would ruin drug barons. Prices would fall dramatically and competition will mean better quality. Once it's not illegal, I believe they would become less 'fashionable' and risky with the young population. It would not suit the drug barons and it would not suit the government. The incarceration of the little fish, who become sacrificial lambs, are a little show that is put on for the benefit of the public. Meanwhile, they had let a major giant fish go, get on a plane and get out of the country and hoped we'd all forget.
Ma tibkix il-madonna issa, ghax iz-zejt u l-ketchup skars.
Malcolm Cauchi
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:51
Suppression brings Oppression dear conservative government! The more you prohibit, the more demand you create. And the more criminals looking for a quick buck you will create.
Can you give us statistics on Alcohol and Cigarette death related causes please?
Marijuana has NEVER killed anybody. So stop mixing that with Heroin and other chemical drugs!
I am fully for the legalisation of the soft drug, its herbal and doesnt kill anyone, and it induces calm rather than aggression that alcohol does to you.
I wish to see the other "progressive" party (PL)'s standpoint on this.
David Caruana
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:42
The ONLY reason why anyone or any institution would like the Status Quo in regards to drug laws, is to keep the best conditions for the drug lords to keep making fortunes!!!
Thanks Daniel Soler for sharing. Please sign the petition!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs/96.php
Mr Matthew Grima
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:53
Aren't cigarettes and alcohol drugs too?
angelo cilia
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:27
Yes they are, and highly addictive and dangerous drugs too.
justin farrugia
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:36
yes they are and they are worst then marijauna and they are also legal...
Mr Matthew Grima
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:08
My point exactly, thank you.
Mr Daniel Soler
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:48
See petition that is currently being signed:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs/96.php
Karl von Brockdorff
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:47
Decriminalize Marijuana?! Are you MAD!?!!?
That will cause people to actually love one another and put their banal differences aside.. we cant have that.
(Taxable)Alcohol is obviously a far better drug. (along with all its fighting, car crashing, broken families, etc.)
J lanzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:45
Are you serious?
J lanzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:46
or are you being Sarcastic?
Mr P Borg
Jun 4th 2011, 18:27
J Lanzon you need a new sarcasm detector, yours is broken
Mr carlos ellul
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:20
I agree in decriminalizing drugs on the other hand one must be extra careful not to decriminalizing other crimes (like robbery, trafficking or even murder) of people who were under influence of drugs. That could lead to a loophole in the system that can be easily abused.
Mr S. Calleja
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:54
Is-sigaretti mhumiex illegali. Kieku kienu, pakkett sigaretti kien ikun jiswa €100 mill-black market, il-gvern ma kien idallahhal xejn (la dazju, la VAT u lanqas taxxi ta' l-income fuq il-bejgh), u hafna nies li jkollhom il-vizzju tat-tipjip jkunu jippreferu jghixu fil-faqar u f'hajja ta' serq biex ihallsu ghall-vizzju, milli jaqtghu il-vizzju.
Mr Joe Borg
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:17
Ara vera nies bla sens. L-ewwel jaghmlu kampanja kontinwa kontra is-sigarretti, umbad jejduwlek biex tillegalizza id-droga. Ma nistax nifhem jien x'ragunament hu dan!? Vera qeghdin nghixu f'dinja bls sens.
David Caruana
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:44
Jekk id-dinja kollha tghid "VI" u int biss tghid "VA", qatt ghaddietlek minn mohhok li INT tista' tkun sejjer bi zball ohxon?!
Issa jekk minghalik ha tghid li Kofi Annan hu bla sens, mela filkaz nieqfu niddiskutu issa stess, habib!
J. Falzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:29
Le, id-dinja bis-sens. In-nies fil-poter bla sens. Il-Kannabis ila legali ghal 8,000 sena. Ila tigi uzata fic-China ghal eluf ta' snin ghal karti u ghal medicina. L-"American Decleration of Independence" giet miktuba fuq Hemp paper maghmul mil-Kannabs, for example. In-nies ghandom bzonn edukazzjoni bil-fatti, u mhux il-brainwashing li ghamlet l-U.S.A fuq id-dinja fis-seklu 20.
Jake Borg
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:15
What does the MLP have to say about this, will they consider decriminalization ??
Mr Martin Saliba
Jun 3rd 2011, 14:48
Why do you ask this of the mlp ? Why not ask the church and all the ngo's ? Why not another referendum where a yes vote will win ?
Danika Vella
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:01
Oh, do they think then?
Anna Babola
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:13
Any ban creates instantly a gray area. The only way to keep things under control is to regulate them in the best possible way. I am not an expert in the area, however, lets just look at the social services money being given to people... its a sufficient amount to survive, buy, resell & use. All that people need to do is go and put the finger into the machine, every week - that is the entire work required. Parents are providing shelters so that the "truth" doesnt come out.
People who require a calming effect of any sort of substance, are psychologically not fit to face the real life. So indeed, they require medical attention and not jail.
There is also one more issue that should be addressed. Its way too easy to obtain even prescription drugs in Malta. I bet, that many of you managed to buy an antibiotic from a pharmacy, even without prescription, or "I will get prescription later" basis. Many find themselves on some sort of anti depressants or anti anxiety meds, because they admitted to their doctor that they feel sad... so I guess the first step is often skipped: proper assessment and therapy.
If we all have such easy access to prescription drugs, its most likely way easier to purchase illegal drugs.
Legalize something that is harmful - NO, regulate it for the cases that actually require it- YES YES
M Baldacchino
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:03
"No way, says government"
Funny, I seemed to think for a while Malta was democratic..? Just like the recent divorce referendum couldn't there be a similar one? Even though it wouldn't pass since all the anti-drug propoganda and the general Maltese mentality are old and outdated, we should still be given a choice. Speaking on the topic of cannabis, as mentioned above, people need to realise that this is not a "killer drug". It is a KNOWN FACT that NO ONE has ever died of a cannabis overdose. Zero. It also does not contain any carcinogens, on the contrary it is known to suppress cancer cells, has many beneficial and medicinal properties and last but not least, it is NOT addictive (at least not physically. psychologically users might believe they are addicted) and it is LESS harmful than Alcohol and Tobacco (two legal drugs). Look at all the people out there who die/are dying from alcohol and tobacco related diseases.. And then people are prosecuted because they prefer to relax using cannabis rather than drinking (which is known to cause people to turn violent and make bad decisions. Alcohol is also addictive and a large dose is deadly, for those who didn't know).. Ah Malta.. One step forward, two steps back!
Mr Mark Anthony Mifsud
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:11
Shall we spend another 4 mllion euros to sort this one out with another referendum?
Ms Maria Vella
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:36
Democrazija hija haga, libertinagg hag'ohra!
So because I like taking drugs then it's ok to legalise them because I like them - irrespective of what impact it might have on society.
David Caruana
Jun 3rd 2011, 18:15
Maria, 2 of the worse drugs are already legal - cigarettes and tobacco!
Prohibition DOES NOT work, simple! Look at the statistics coming out of Portugal after they have decriminalised personal use.
P.S. The article, and everyone here is talking about decriminalising personal use and not legalisation, which is completely different.
Mr P Borg
Jun 4th 2011, 18:33
Maria ha nassumi li int religjuza, inti temmen li alla ma halaqx dinja perfetta biex ihallilek l-free will u issa trid thalli lil-gvern inehhilek libertajiet individwali ghax tibza mil-babaw. Mark jkunu flus uzati sew kieku jaddi, min jaf kemm nahlu flus fuq pulizija u l-habs habba d-drogi , apparti d-danni fuq l-hajja umana, fil-kas li m'ghandekx kompassjoni hemm bizzejed flus attwali biex tkun worth it.
Mr Joe B Edwards
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:02
Worldwide, the drug war made a mess out of everything. This is a fact.
If our politicians weren't a bunch of mindless self-involved moralists then they would see that legalizing drugs is the better and safer thing to do, because when you legalize it you can regulate it and tax it.
The tax money from the drugs would go straight to the hospitals, drug education programs and drug-aid organizations rather than some criminal who would use the profit from drugs to buy more drugs and start running terrorist activities.
We all know that drugs are bad, but in Malta you find drugs everywhere and anywhere, nowadays even in Winter! These drug suppliers are running buisnesses as if they were in the supermarket buisness (unregulated of course).
With drug legislation we can take the money from the drug suppliers/dealers/pushers and give it to pharmacists who have the educational understanding and who would be able to refer drug users to specialised drug clinics. Like this we would have the real figures of whose using the drugs and we would be leaving it in more trusted hands. Also the drugs would be purer and thus the users would be in safer hands.
If the drug users such as those who take heroin would be able to shoot up in specialised clinics then we would have less teenagers dying of overdoses, imagine that your son or your daughter was saved by a nurse in a safe clean clinic rather than being abandoned by his/her 'friends' somewhere in a dirty place and left to die like a dog. Imagine it, that your son/daughter once saved would see himself in the mirror and realize that he's hit rock bottom and would actually try to quit in rehabiliation centers.
We are doing more harm than good when we keep drugs illegal, we must regulate and take the drugs out of the hands of the criminals.
Mr P Borg
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:12
I think they know all of that, I'm afraid they also know that the average maltese is an idiot herded by the church, and that any politician who goes in favour of drugs is dead
Peter Xuereb
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:51
Way to beat a dead horse then.
J lanzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:36
Also, it's funny how portugal ran a 5 year course of decriminalised drugs and the funny results turned out to be around 20-27% less drug users and criminilality.
Mr Victor Laiviera
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:35
I seem to recall that Dr Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici said something similar many years ago - and was pilloried for it ....
David Caruana
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:46
When KMB reached that conclusion, the opposing party received massive monetary donations. I'll let you imagine where this money came from.
Since we don't have any party financing law, we can only imagine!!!
Mario Micallef
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:09
at last, one meaninhgful, good,bis-sens comment, Very well done Victor, we are talking about facts, not hearsay,
J lanzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:34
I find it really really stupid that the decriminalisation of weed wont be passing through their minds. It's not even a drug in my own opinion. Everyone takes examples of holland however.. its not just the fact that they got it decriminalised, but It really really doesn't do harm to you. Unless tobacco is mixed. Governments should really put thought into the decriminalisation of marijuana, atleast that. Enough research from all of you, you will find that cannabis oil extract cures cancer. If anyone doesn't beleive this, email me and I can show you proof. I dont agree with legalisation, because that is a different matter but decriminalisation of WEED is a must! thanks for your time
Alfred Bugeja
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:19
According to Dr. Grech from Sedqa: "There was no method of treatment for cannabis addiction, as there was methadone for heroin, and therefore overcoming the addiction took more will power through therapy.
He cautioned against underestimating cannabis abuse, a drug sometimes perceived as innocent, as evidence showed it was linked to psychosis."
Robert Mifsud
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:39
Hamburgers are linked to diabetes. They certainly are not innocent.
Paul Smith
Jun 3rd 2011, 14:30
There is no evidence 100% linking cannabis to mental illness - the studies are cherry picked and mental illness is being used to frighten the public.
You have a higher chance of becoming mentally ill from using alcohol on a regular basis. The body produces it's own endocanabinoids and the Brain has THC and CBD receptors - we have evolved with cannabis for over 10,000 years.
one would imagine that Seqda gets some funding from the government so is a vested interest in the status quo as well as Police Justice ministry and prisons.
Mr Mark Borh
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:27
I believe that Marijuana should be decriminalised as there have never been any deaths linked directly to it, unlike alcohol which has caused large numbers of deaths. Apart from that legalizing it would allow the government control over what is circulated.
Granted that Marijuana can be abused of, just like alcohol and other things like fast food... However no one is going around making alcohol illegal and closing down fast food shops.
Yasmine Aquilina
Jun 3rd 2011, 14:13
Agreed
Mr Alan Falzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:22
The system does not work. Young addicts end up in jail while the sellers run free..Putting young people in jail for possession of cannabis ruins their life more then the cannabis they smoke..Even the harsh treatment by the Police effects young people. The laws need to be changed..Using soft drugs does not make a person a criminal..
J lanzon
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:37
I agree with you 100%
Mr Joseph Brincat
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:20
Why don't we discuss this issue instead of saying an outright 'No'.
If Dr Grech is in favour there must be must be valid reason for this.
(jb)
Ramon Casha
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:15
To decriminalise light drugs would imply that someone in the government made a mistake in the past. We don't do that in Malta.
Mr Carmel Gatt
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:12
All the statistics go to show that there is an adequate supply of hard drugs for the local market. And whoever is getting drugs must know where tio get them from. Remember the youths that mugged the lady in Dingli Street. It was reported during the court proceedings that with the money they had just robbed they rushed to Cospicua to buy drugs.
They all know where to get it from except our guardians of law and order. And Sedqa has 1000 users at any one time and...loving it!
And the 900 children with addicted parents? How can we allow children to grow up in such conditions?
Mr James Cauchi
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:11
Drug taking being illegal has obviously not been effective in solving narcotics-related issues. Drugs still get used and abused. Also those who take drugs are consequently channelled towards illegitimate dealer sources.
In my (undoubtedly controversial) opinion it would make more sense for the authorities to elbow into the market, provide a legitimate dealership source and in doing so break the back of illegal operations.
After all the reason why narcotics are available through illegitimate sources is because it is 'profitable'. Remove the economic incentive and weening the population off of such drugs should be an easier prospect.
Pia Attard
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:09
"He cautioned against underestimating cannabis abuse, a drug sometimes perceived as innocent, as evidence showed it was linked to psychosis. Having said that, he said Malta’s biggest addiction problem remained alcohol abuse."
We do not ban peanuts because some people can die from eating one. We just warn people that a product contains peanuts. Food for thought.
Alfred Bugeja
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:09
The report bases its conclusions on THREE, yes, just three limited case studies, the results of which are open to interpretation. Yet, it urges governments worldwide to quote, "EXPERIMENT" with introducing laws legalising drugs in the community, just like you would expect experiments to be conducted on laboratory mice.
I'd rather have other countries doing the experimenting than experimenting on my population myself.
Mr P Borg
Jun 3rd 2011, 12:56
There are plenty of studies going around
Ramon Casha
Jun 3rd 2011, 13:15
"I'd rather have other countries doing the experimenting than experimenting on my population myself."
They did. It worked.
Pia Attard
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:07
More than half of cannabis users who seek outpatient treatment in Malta are daily users. - this is because they are ordered to do so by court order.
• Malta is one of three European countries where 40 per cent of drug-related deaths occur among those under 25. - all the more reason to use harm reduction, aka EDUCATION to prevent these, rather than a blanket ban on even talking about it, or making it mandatory for medical staff to report you to the police, resulting in people who are possibly suffering a heroin overdose being dumped on hopsital doorsteps rather than brought inside, as they people who brought them in fear retribution by law.
• Just below 15 per cent of drug-induced deaths in Malta are among those aged 40 or older, while seven per cent of those seeking treatment for their addiction are aged between 40 and 59 years. - and yet not one of them is related to cannabis. I wonder how many people have either died or killed someone else due to alcohol?
• About two non-fatal overdose cases are admitted to Mater Dei Hospital every week. - again, education. Also the decriminalization and harm reduction go hand in hand, and these overdoses might not happen as much seeing as the main cause is not the drug, but the leaving the purity of these drugs in the hand of dealers rather than scientists.
• Over 900 children of drug addicts need support to ensure they do not follow in their parents’ footsteps - that's great. I can't argue with this one.
• Between 800 and 1,000 drug users use Sedqa’s services at any one time. - again - COURT ORDER! I know of people who were sent to sedqa for being caught with one measly joint, people who lead professional lives yet choose to stay home with friends and smoke some cannabis rather than going out and getting drunk, risking theirs and others' lives!
• Women face issues that are unique to their gender, including prostitution, sexual abuse and domestic violence - this has nothing to do with drugs themselves, rather than their social situation and the laws against the drugs.
Shaun Azzopardi
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:06
"The basic fact is that drugs are illegal because they are harmful and we are still to be persuaded that giving a free hand to people to possess and consume dangerous substances without having an effective deterrent in place will solve this problem"
Junk food is harmful also, as are cigarettes and alcohol. Why are they not illegal?
And decriminalising drugs doesn't entail legalizing them, it entails not treating drug addicts as criminals but as patients, as this article pointed out.
Someone's being irrational.
A 'solution' where drug addicts are treated as criminals and locked up is not a viable long term solution.
Mr wayne scicluna
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:47
Malta follows the U.S.A's example with this ''war against drugs''. It doesn't seem to be doing much good does it? I say do away with the moldy old dinosaurs in power (all of them) and come up with a fresh group with FRESH ideas.
Alfred Bugeja
Jun 3rd 2011, 11:01
The report calls for both the decriminalisation and legalisation of drugs. Essentially it promotes having a situation where heroin can be prescribed and purchased from a pharmacy. Allegedly that will pull the carpet from under the feet of criminal organisations that deal in drugs.
I call that warped thinking. Don't fight what is bad. Just start believing that a bad thing is good and it goes away.
Mr R Psaila
Jun 3rd 2011, 10:02
I do not think that it would be such a bad idea, to decriminalise drugs. It is true that they are harmful, but we must also remember that smoking and alcohol are harmful too but yet they are legal. I think with decriminalisation of drugs, we could get rid of those powerful barons who enrich themselves selling washing powder dilluted drugs to the addicts. I do not think that people who never took drugs, will opt to begin taking them.
Kevin Aquilina
Jun 3rd 2011, 09:43
Re-Local Drug Facts.
Crimes assosiated or the result of drug abuse?
Better these reports, which raise some valid points, be taken seriously. What we know for sure is that the current methodology is not performing desirably.
Mark-anthony Fenech
Jun 3rd 2011, 09:39
It's a thorny issue though the irony is that far more addicts who need help are jailed than drug dealers and barons...