It was still necessary to question people caught with a joint for the police to find out where they got the drug from, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said today. 

Asked about the effectiveness of the government’s drug reform law given that people caught with small amounts of cannabis were still being arrested, Dr Bonnici said people were questioned to help police break drug trafficking rings.

Under the 2015 law, simple possession of small quantities of drugs (up to two grams, or two pills of ecstasy or similar substances) is only subject to fines ranging from €75 to €125. Possession of less than 3.5g of cannabis carries lower penalties, between €50 and €100.

Repeat offenders are referred to a Drug Offenders Rehabilitation Board.

Last year, 78 people were arrested over a three-day period during the popular Earth Garden festival for cannabis possession.

A number of festival-goers had complained about the heavy-handed approach taken by police during the event.

On the government justice reform, Dr Bonnici said a recent European Commission country report highlighted the improvements in Malta’s civil justice system.

According to the 2017 EU Justice scoreboard, the clearance rate for administrative cases increased from 28.6% in 2010 to 410.7% in 2015.

Disposition time for both first instance administrative cases and for total of first instance (other than criminal) cases decreased respectively from 2, 758 days in 2010 to 495 days in 2015 and from 866 days in 2010 to 447 in 2015.

The Commission said these positive developments were also reflected in the reduction of backlogs dropping from 10,845 in first instance courts in 2014 to 9,459 in 2015.