Eight people have been jailed this year on drug possession charges, with a further eight landing behind bars in 2011, Justice Ministry figures have shown.
In all but one of those cases, the accused were jailed because they had violated probation orders or suspended sentences. The remaining case concerned a man who asked to be put in prison. He was obliged with a four-month sentence.
The figures suggest that Maltese courtrooms are growing less hostile to defendants charged with simple drug possession, although cases such as that of Daniel Holmes – jailed for a decade for marijuana-related offences – serve as a stark reminder of the severity of local drug laws.
Softer touch approaches to drug possession would be further entrenched if Government proposals for a first-strike warning system for drug possession cases pass into law.
I am not impressed by what other countries are doing. Marijuana is harmful and addictive- Mgr Victor Grech
The Arrest Referral Scheme, as it has been dubbed, calls for first-time users of any drug to be handed a warning, counselling and possibly community service rather than a criminal record.
But despite cannabis decriminalisation efforts gathering pace in places as diverse as Uruguay, Israel and the American state of Washington, Malta’s two major political parties both agree that decriminalising marijuana is a bad idea.
A Nationalist Party spokesman avoided questions about genuine decriminalisation of marijuana and instead said that the PN backed the aforementioned Arrest Referral Scheme.
Third-party proposals to tweak the scheme are currently being assessed and a final draft would soon be presented, the spokesman said.
The Labour Party said it was inclined to back the Government’s proposed amendments, but made it clear it opposed actual drug decriminalisation.
“We want the law to remain a deterrent for drug abusers,” a spokesman said.
Both parties therefore have very similar positions, buttressed by Catholic relief agency Caritas, which is also against decriminalisation. Rather than a change in policy, Caritas head Mgr Victor Grech told The Sunday Times what the Government needed was a change in attitude.
“There needs to be a higher sense of urgency in tackling the issue of problem drug use. Significant provisions in the National Drugs Policy still need implementation,” he said.
Proponents of marijuana decriminalisation like Alternattiva Demokratika say that existing drug laws are fuelled by populism and out of sync with reality.
Instead of stemming drug use, AD chairman Michael Briguglio has argued, criminalisation has created a “spiral of hardships” for those caught within its net.
They point to statements such as that made by the UN-sanctioned Global Commission on Drugs Policy, which last year conceded that the global war on drugs had “failed” and that politicians “should have the courage to say that... the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won.”
That message seems to be gradually seeping into government thinking across the world, most notably in their approach to so-called ‘soft’ drugs like marijuana.
Portugal and the Czech Republic have both decriminalised drug possession and use, while Israeli and Australian lawmakers are currently looking at legalising marijuana for medical use.
Uruguay decriminalised marijuana in 2000, and the Government is now on track to become the first to completely legalise its production and sale.
But the figures left Mgr Grech cold. “I am not impressed by what other countries are doing. Marijuana is harmful and addictive,” he said, adding that it also served as a gateway drug to harder substances.
Another leading drug use authority, who asked not to be named, was more enthusiastic about the Portuguese experiment.
“It’s freed up prison space, allowed more users to receive treatment, diverted police resources to more dangerous crimes and ultimately saved taxpayers’ money,” he said.
“Everybody agrees with the principle – drug users should not be treated like hardened criminals. Unfortunately there’s still a lot of prejudice around talk of drug reform or decriminalisation. The impression is that if you speak about these things, then you’re pro-drugs. But we need to move beyond that sort of mentality.”