The government is considering the introduction of threshold quantities for what will be considered an amount of cannabis for personal use.

Cannabis users will escape prosecution if they are caught carrying “a few grams” of the drug but police will decide whether amounts beyond this qualify as personal use or not, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici has told The Sunday Times of Malta.

“We are actively considering introducing threshold quantities for what will be considered a personal amount of cannabis, amounts above that will be left to the police to decide,” Dr Bonnici said.

“This will be necessary for the drug reform to achieve what it is setting out to do,” Dr Bonnici added. However, he declined to reveal the exact amounts.

The minister was providing an update on the consultation period that is under way on the White Paper on Drug Reform. The process, which started earlier this summer, is expected to end by mid-September when a Bill will be drafted and tabled in Parliament.

Cannabis is not the same as cocaine

Asked how the threshold system would work, Dr Bonnici said he was basing his plans on other systems used across the EU.

The drug reform is proposing removing mandatory criminal proceedings being faced by those found in simple possession of drugs. Instead, these will face a traffic-style tribunal that will impose conditions such as community service or rehabilitation.

The new threshold limits would not be limited to cannabis either. Dr Bonnici said different drug types would be split into categories and also be given their own threshold amounts.

“I think this should be extended to all drug types and they should be classed differently. Cannabis is not the same as cocaine,” he said.

This differs from the policy adopted by nearly half of the 28 EU member states, where no distinction is made between cannabis and other drugs.

Dr Bonnici said he had not officially discussed the drug reform at EU level, but had held informal talks with his European counterparts who were “behind the general direction” of the review.

The majority of countries across the EU already have a similar threshold model in place for cannabis.

An EU study on the differing threshold limits provided to the ministry, seen by this newspaper, shows a range of values from three “doses” of cannabis to 50 grams considered for personal use.

Belgium has allowed users to hold three grams or one plant since 2003. Germany, one of the first member states to introduce threshold quantities, has different values in different provinces.