Gozo Bishop Mario Grech denounced the “rampant” drug trafficking that went on at village feasts, which he called humiliating and diabolical. In a homily during Mass in Victoria on the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, when the population of Gozo is swelled by huge numbers of Maltese and tourists, he highlighted the devastating threat posed by contemporary drug trafficking.
He questioned whether it was true that, during village feasts, “the price of cocaine sachets explodes”. Mgr Grech said he knew of impoverished families whose children had been caught in drug nets while others “had embarked on the criminal route after being introduced to illicit substances”.
His homily was an indirect plea to the authorities to avoid fighting drugs by “using other substances, including so-called soft ones”. He considered there should be no compromise where drug use was concerned and supported those who felt there should be no concession to legalise recreational drugs.
The timing of the homily comes as the debate on the recreational use of cannabis gathers steam. Although the sentiments expressed by the Bishop will undoubtedly feed into that debate, the description of a Bacchanalian orgy of drug-taking during village feasts, including the use of hard drugs, like cocaine, and the rampant freedom allowed to drug-traffickers, is not what the debate on the possible recreational use of cannabis will be about.
The serious abuses to which the Bishop alluded – including the possible money-laundering opportunities – will remain illegal. Despite a senior police officer’s strong denial of “rampant” abuse, including “underage children taking drugs” during the feast of the Assumption, there seem to be good grounds for the Commissioner of Police to be held accountable by formally explaining whether or not the Bishop’s worrying allegations were justified and, specifically, what prior planning to prevent such behaviour had been drawn up or implemented in Gozo for this feast.
As to the future consideration of the possible legalisation of recreational use of cannabis – a so-called “soft” drug – it is over two years since the enactment of the Drug Dependence Act, which introduced a new set of laws to deal with drugs in Maltese society.
Any discussion of drug use and its treatment is inevitably fraught with difficulties. It is a particularly sensitive issue for lawmakers since in Malta it mostly affects young people starting off in life. It also attracts, as the Bishop of Gozo so strongly pointed out, the drug traffickers and the criminal elements that surround them.
Some people will always believe that a tough approach to drugs, including cannabis, deters drug addiction and that any concession towards their recreational use can only lead to the use of harder drugs. Evidence from other countries, however, suggests that there may be a case for a more flexible approach to be adopted under strictly-controlled conditions. The involvement of well-trained experts able to go into the root causes of drug addiction is, of course, a must.
It would seem sensible for legislators to review the workings of the Drug Dependence Act – broadening the discussion to include the social and other implications of the legalisation of cannabis – and to make judicious improvements to ensure preventive education and rehabilitation continue to offer better solutions to society’s drug problems than incarceration.