Thursday night Archbishop Cremona outlined four principles that he said should guide the current debate about the decriminalisation of drugs. The best that one can say about the Archbishop’s position on Government’s White Paper is that he strongly warned about the possible negative effects that Government’s position can have. Archbishop Cremona was speaking during the annual celebration of solidarity with different persons who passed through a period of therapy and rehabilitation and now can return to a life without drugs.

This occasion indirectly celebrated the sterling work that the Church has been doing with drug addicts through the services of Caritas. There is no doubt that the Church more than anyone else in civil society has been at the forefront of the efforts to rehabilitate drug addicts. This vast experience of the Church in the subject gives her an expertise that cannot be ignored, if Government really wants a constructive dialogue on the subject.

Archbishop Cremona said that the fact that drug taking does not land one in Court can be dangerous as  some will ignore the negative effects of drugs. The Archbishop then referred to a study commissioned in the United States that shows that the use of cannabis increased after its legalisation. It is a pity that the Archbishop did not give any indication as to which study he is referring to.

The position of Archbishop Cremona follows the critical stance taken by Caritas which said that it does not agree with the decriminalisation of cannabis as proposed in the White Paper presented by Minister Owen Bonnici.Caritas is, for example, insisting on the need for a Drugs Court.

Caritas said that it believed that drugs should continue to be seen as bad, that the law should not distinguish between soft and hard drugs, and agreed that simple possession should be depenalised for certain possession to receive an assessment from a rehabilitation agency and get the required treatment and care.

Caritas is expected to give a more detailed reaction in the new future.

Quite naturally one can agree or disagree with Caritas but it would be foolhardy to ignore the voice of the organisation that helped the rehabilitation of hundreds of drug addicts.

One hopes that the subject will be studied calmly and openly. This implies that Government will engage in real dialogue with all involved and that different sectors will be ready to listen to different points of view.

Studies conducted overseas should be seriously evaluated. The Portuguese experience can be particularly interesting. But studies conducted overseas have always the limitations of studies conducted overseas, that is they reflect a different culture and mentality.  What should win the day in this debate is the massive experience already gained in Malta where the rehabilitation of drug addicts is concerned. This is why, I repeat, Caritas should not be ignored.