The Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, Owen Bonnici, said this evening that he was personally in favour of the decriminalisation of simple possession of drugs.

He also revealed that a recommendation along those lines has also been made by the Justice Reform Commission headed by Judge Giovanni Bonello.

Dr Bonnici made his comments on TimesTalk which today discussed the 10-year prison term imposed on Daniel Holmes for possession of five plants of marijuana.

He said that while he could not discuss individual cases, he had come across several cases where people questioned how in current times, people were arraigned before the Criminal Court for simple possession of drugs.

The commission headed by Judge Bonello recommended that simple possession should no longer be considered before the criminal court because this was a social problem.

Dr Bonnici said the issue then was about what constituted possession and what constituted possession with intent to traffic.

The government, he said, was studying the commission's recommendation.

He said a study was also needed about changes in the law regarding trafficking and possession since some court sentences, based on the law, appeared to be excessive.

JOSEPH CALLEJA APPEALS FOR REVISION OF LAWS

Joseph Calleja

During the same programme, tenor Joseph Calleja added his voice to the chorus calling for a revision of the laws.

He said that this was not an attack on the judiciary but a call for a revision of the laws.

It made no sense for a person to be jailed for 10 years for possession of marijuana, which was less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes.

It was ironic, he said that a person convicted of trafficking heroin in prison – a much more dangerous drug – got a lesser sentence.

Mr Calleja stressed that he was not in favour of use of any illegal drugs.

He said problems about inadequate laws existed everywhere. In the US, a man missing for 20 years and declared dead had finally turned up, but the judge, in terms of the law, found he could not reverse the declaration of death. (See video).

 

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