Malta voted on Tuesday to legalize the cultivation of limited amounts of cannabis in the home and its recreational use in the private sphere, a first in the European Union.
Several EU countries have decriminalized the consumption and possession of private marijuana over the past 20 years, but the laws are often unclear and the practice only tolerated.
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In Malta, the reform, adopted Tuesday afternoon in the Parliament of the small Mediterranean island by 36 votes to 27, authorizes the possession of a maximum of seven grams of cannabis and the cultivation of four plants of cannabis per user aged 18 and over.
Beyond seven grams and up to 28 grams, the user risks a fine of 100 euros.
Consumption in public, an offense punishable by a fine of 235 euros, and consumption in front of a minor, punishable by a fine ranging from 300 to 500 euros, are also prohibited.
"Drug trafficking will remain illegal"
The text provides for the formation of non-profit associations allowing the production and sale of cannabis to its members - 500 maximum per structure. Labor Prime Minister Robert Abela had asked MPs from his party to vote for.
"We are legislating to respond to a problem, according to an approach of risk reduction (linked to the consumption of cannabis) by regulating the sector so that people do not have to resort to the black market",
he pleaded before parliament last month. He explained that he wanted to spare parents the
"trauma"
of seeing their children appear in court for having smoked a joint, while maintaining the pressure on the traffickers.
“Drug trafficking will remain illegal,”
he stressed.
In opposition, the Nationalist Party, after a waltz-hesitation in recent months, voted against, believing that the reform
"would normalize and increase drug consumption"
in the country.
The implementation and compliance with these provisions will be overseen by a new public body, the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis.
A traditionally conservative country on social issues, Malta had already decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis in 2015 and had adopted a legal framework in 2018 with a view to becoming a hub for the production of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
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Other European countries are preparing to follow suit.
Luxembourg announced in October 2021 its intention to allow the cultivation of marijuana in the home and its consumption in the private sphere and the new German government is considering legalizing its recreational use.
In the Netherlands, possession, consumption and retailing of up to five grams of cannabis has been tolerated since 1976 in "coffee shops".
In Spain, production for personal consumption is tolerated while trade and public consumption are prohibited.
