Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday appealed to the Nationalist and Labour parties to do away with drug populism and to endorse AD’s proposal for the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use.

Michael Briguglio, AD chairman said: “Existing drug laws in Malta are out of sync with social trends. Legislation on alcohol and other drugs should be reformed so that people who are victims of drugs can be helped.

“This requires decriminalisation of drugs for personal use. Education remains a key tool for policies on drugs.”

Robert Callus, AD spokesman on citizenship and migration, said drug laws in Malta, where someone “cultivating a couple of plants” can spend over a decade in prison, need to be “radically reformed”.

Mr Callus said anomalies in the law need to be corrected.

He pointed out that the cultivation of a plant in small quantities that clearly indicate only personal use should not be considered as the separate crime of cultivation which carries sentences equivalent to trafficking.

“If there’s no intention to sell, it’s for personal use,” he said.

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