A landmark judgment yesterday overturned a previous court decision that had made khat, a popular amphetamine-like stimulant chewed across east Africa, automatically illegal.
Somali Aweys Maani Khayre had been jailed for six months for importing 20 kilos of khat leaves.
His line of defence hinged on the argument that he had imported the plant and not its active ingredient, which is the illegal substance. However, the prosecution insisted that the leaves were chewed precisely to extract its stimulants.
Magistrate Miriam Hayman had ruled that one could not exist without the other and simply chewing the plant would sufficiently extract the stimulants.
But the Chief Justice yesterday ruled in an appeal judgment that prohibited substances that occur naturally in plants could not be made automatically illegal. This would open a Pandora's Box, he said.
"There must be knowledge of the nature of the substance possessed or trafficked," Mr Justice De Gaetano said.
Mr Khayre was arrested at the airport last year after the authorities found 20 kilos of khat plants in a suitcase.
Mr Khayre, who lived in the UK, was charged with the possession and trafficking of cathinone and cathine, two illegal psychoactive substances found in the plant.
He was found guilty in April and jailed for six months but immediately appealed, insisting that he was not guilty.
He pointed out that khat was not scheduled as an illegal drug and the fact that the plant may contain the two substances does not make an importer guilty.
Mr Khayre said he brought the khat to share with his cousins and Somali friends and pointed out that it could be bought legally in the UK.
In his judgment, Mr Chief Justice said there was no evidence that Mr Khayre had imported the khat because of the cathinone and cathine.
"In line with the social and cultural habits of his country of origin, he simply intended to provide his friends in Malta with a plant to chew," he said.
José Herrera, defence counsel for Mr Khayre together with Veronique Dalli, stressed the importance of the judgment because "it clarified a lacuna in the law".
The original judgment was dangerous because a lot of plants, including sage, contained drugs, Dr Herrera said.
"One fine day, the police could walk into a restaurant and arrest the manager for serving pork chops with sage. It is, therefore, the government's duty to update itself on drugs and schedule them accordingly," he said.
Mr Khayre's lawyers are now considering suing the State for the time he spent in preventive custody.
In fact, he was released immediately after he was sentenced because by that time he had already spent a year in custody - six months more than his sentence.
More than 50 kilos of the plant have been seized since the first leaves were seized three years ago.
The first person to be found guilty of possession was Mohammed Abdala Haybe, who admitted to the charges and was jailed for six months. Another two are under preventive arrest.
kbugeja@timesofmalta.com