This will be the first EU country to legalize recreational use of cannabis

Cannabis industry strongest in pandemic 1:08

(CNN) -

Malta will become the first country in the European Union to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

The bill is expected to be signed by Maltese President George Vella and take effect later this week.

This after lawmakers passed a bill by a majority vote in Parliament on Tuesday.

Supporters of the Malta cannabis bill celebrate in front of Parliament in Valletta, Malta, on December 14.

"And they do succeed! The #Cannabis reform bill has just been passed in the third stage of reading," tweeted Owen Bonnici, Malta's Minister of Equality, Research and Innovation, who promoted the bill.

"We are the ones who make the change," he added.

Bill No. 241 sought to establish "the limited decriminalization of certain cannabis-related activities to allow a balance between individual freedom in the limited and responsible personal use of cannabis and other social requirements."

What the new law says in Malta

Under the new law, those over the age of 18 will be able to possess up to seven grams of cannabis and grow up to four cannabis plants at home.

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However, smoking cannabis in public will remain illegal.

In addition, anyone caught consuming in front of a person under the age of 18 will be subject to fines of between US $ 340 and US $ 564.

The move places Malta at the forefront of a growing movement in Europe to relax legislation around the substance.

In October, Luxembourg announced that it would legalize cannabis, however parliament has yet to pass the measure.

Italy will likely decide whether or not to decriminalize cannabis in a referendum next year, after campaign groups managed to gather the 500,000 signatures needed to force a vote.

And Germany's incoming coalition government also included plans to legalize cannabis in its vision for the country, which was published last month.

Cannabis