The Malta Humanist Association (MHA) this afternoon appealed to the authorities to revise the current situation which saw 'disproportionate' prison sentences imposed on individuals who used mild recreational drugs such as cannabis, or who cultivated such drugs for personal use.

This situation, it said, had only succeeded in putting behind bars people who were often net contributors to the economy and had families and successful careers.

"Apart from constituting a major injustice towards these individuals and their families, this policy is demonstrably counter-productive. Not only has it failed utterly to curb the use of more dangerous drugs on a national level; but it also places an unnecessary strain on our country’s financial resources, as well overburdening an already stretched judicial system," the association said.

It argued that the policy is based on an entirely erroneous assumption that anybody cultivating any quantity of the cannabis plant is automatically a 'drug trafficker'.

"Likewise, Malta's legal definition of ‘sharing’ – which places the act of sharing drugs on a par with selling drugs – is both unsound and unwise, as it robs the law-courts of due discretion when it comes to applying the law."

Rather than retain the present system, the MHA said it was urging policy-makers to look at the examples set by other countries. For instance, it said, Portugal, which decriminalised all drug use in 2001, saw a drastic reduction in hard drug use, a reduction in AIDS infections and also an increase in people voluntarily seeking treatment against addiction.