[attach id=256818 size="medium"]There were 32 seizures of herbal cannabis (marijuana) in Malta in 2011.[/attach]
A record 90.5 kilos of cannabis were seized by police in 2011, when the drug remained the most used illegal substance in Malta, a Europe-wide study has shown.
That year police carried out 80 seizures – 48 of cannabis resin (hashish) and 32 of herbal cannabis (marijuana), according to the annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
The report, released yesterday, looks into the drug use landscape of all EU countries as well as Croatia, Turkey and Norway.
Cannabis was the most seized drug throughout Europe where 575 tonnes of hashish and marijuana were confiscated by authorities.
The report points out that cannabis, perceived as harmless by some, has its negative effects.
“Patterns of cannabis use range from the occasional or experimental to the regular and dependent, with cannabis-related problems strongly associated with frequent use and higher amounts used.
“Health effects may include respiratory problems, mental health problems and dependence,” the report notes. It adds that Europe has seen the number of people entering drug rehabilitation for the first time, based on cannabis problems, rise by around a third over recent years. The situation seems to be similar in Malta.
People reporting cannabis as their primary drug increased by more than three times
In 2011, only 6.7 per cent of all people in drug rehabilitation reported that cannabis was their primary drug. The majority, 78.7 per cent, had a heroin addiction problem and 12.5 per cent had a cocaine problem.
However, when it came to people seeking treatment for the first time, the number reporting cannabis as their primary drug in Malta increased by more than three times to 20.8 per cent.
Despite the record cannabis seizure in 2011, Malta has one of the lowest prevalence rates of lifetime use of cannabis compared to other EU countries.
While an estimated 77 million adults throughout Europe tried cannabis in their lifetime, 3.5 per cent, or some 14,500 Maltese, tried cannabis at least once.
This places Malta among one of the three countries with the lowest lifetime cannabis use, with Turkey and Romania.
The report says that marijuana was becoming more common in Europe with almost all countries involved in the study reporting some domestic cultivation. In Malta 44 plants were seized in 2011.
The report also shows that Maltese cannabis users pay among the highest prices for the drug.
In Malta a gram of hashish costs €23 when the price ranges between €5 and €23 in the EU. With marijuana, the Maltese pay €18 per gram when the EU price range is of between €3 and €18.
The report points out that past data on Malta showed an increase in the number of people using opiates, like heroin, since 2006.
This was due to “methodological peculiarities” during calculations as, before 2012, ecstasy and cannabis were not included when calculating problem drug use.
Drug facts
• Drug-related expenditure in Malta is estimated to have reached €5.5 million last year.
• Five kilograms of cocaine were seized by police last year during 86 incidents.
• In 2011, 39 seizures yielded four kilograms of heroin while 2,171 ecstasy pills were confiscated during 30 cases.
• In 2011 there were four drug-related deaths.
• Some 34.4 per cent of injecting drug users tested positive for hepatitis C in 2011.
• Drug squad police arrested 388 people for drug-related offences in 2011 – 33 per cent for trafficking.