Synthetic cannabis 'not illegal', court holds

A Somali-born man from Zabbar has been handed a six-month conditional discharge for possession of less than half a gram of cannabis grass, after a court noted that the 55 grams of synthetic cannabis he had also been carrying was, technically, not illegal.

Abdulahi Hassan Ali, 21, had been accused of producing and selling cannabis-based substances in May 2016 and the days and months before.

In her decision on the case, magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras noted that the prosecution's case rested solely on the sworn testimony given by a certain Kurt Grima who identified the accused as the person who sold him the drugs.

Grima had gone to the Valletta Police Station late on 9 May, reporting that his wallet and mobile phone had been stolen that afternoon. He had alleged that earlier that day, at around 2:45pm, he had gone to Marsa, near Tiger Bar, in order to buy ‘smoke’. After buying €10 worth, he was offered a cigarette containing a synthetic substance by the same person who had provided him with cannabis and whom he described as being of a dark complexion. According to Grima, this person was accompanied by a Libyan man, who also sold illegal substances. Grima stated that he had felt dizzy as soon as he smoked the cigarette.

Upon returning home, he realised that he had been robbed of his wallet, mobile phone, ID card, credit card and €45 in cash. Grima had also informed the police that his friend, a certain Mustafa Ahmed, had found his ID card and credit cards in a building next to Tiger Bar. The police went there to speak to Mustafa, accompanied by Grima, who told police that he suspected the Libyan national to have stolen his belongings.

Grima identified the accused as the person who had sold him drugs that afternoon. Mustafa denied knowing the Libyan national or selling any drugs to Grima.

The following morning, Grima informed the Valletta Police Station that the Libyan national who had robbed him on the previous day was outside Tiger Bar.

Grima pointed out Elmejdi Mahmoud to officers. Sure enough, a search carried out on Mahmoud recovered Grima's wallet, together with a small bag containing a green substance. Grima told the police that he was a regular client of the accused, who he alleged, would always have substantial amounts of illegal substances in his possession. Abdullahi denied Grima’s claims.

The court had been told how, subsequently, a search was carried out on the accused at Valletta Police Station and a substantial amount of synthetic cannabis was found in his possession, together with under half a gram of real cannabis grass.

In its judgement on the matter, the court said it had thoroughly examined the original report filed by Kurt Grima, his sworn statements and his deposition and was also in a position to observe his demeanour on the witness stand on two separate occasions. It noted that Grima had been inconsistent in the versions which he provided at the different stages of questioning and his demeanour on the witness stand, in particular, during his cross-examination, did not convince the court that he was a genuine and reliable witness.

The accused claimed that the substances found in his possession were merely intended for his personal use. This did not wash with the court, however, which pointed out that Abdulahi had stated that he smoked 10 to 15 grams of the said substance every day, whereas the average dose of normal cannabis found in a joint was 0.2 grams. Mathematically, to smoke the claimed amount Abdulahi would have had to smoke 50 joints or roughly two joints an hour, around the clock. Synthetic cannabis is known to be stronger than normal cannabis, yet, the accused further claimed that he would smoke 10 grams of synthetic cannabis over a 5 to10 hour period.

Hammering the point home, the court also pointed out that the accused stated that the amount of synthetic cannabis found in his possession would have lasted him for a month or three weeks, which didn't fit with his claimed smoking of 10 grams of synthetic cannabis a day. The accused was found to be carrying 55.35 grams of the drug - that amount would have only lasted him five and a half days at the rate he claimed to be smoking it.

The court said that the manner in which the drugs had been divided into 23 sachets left it in no doubt that these were intended to be sold to third parties.

Despite the court being morally convinced that the accused had been in possession of synthetic cannabis – which is not an illegal substance as yet under Maltese Law – in such circumstances denoting that it was not for his personal use, this fact did not lead the Court to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the accused dealt in cannabis resin. “As already held above, the Court is not morally convinced of the truthfulness of Grima’s assertion that the accused sold him cannabis resin during the period of time to which the first charge refers.”

On the accusation relating to the possession of cannabis grass, the court held that it was clear that this charge had been proved, both on the basis of the fact that a sachet of cannabis grass was found in the accused’s possession and also on the basis of his statement and deposition in which he admitted to smoking the substance on a weekly basis.

For the purpose of the punishment to be inflicted for possession of the grass, the court took into account the fact that the accused had no prior convictions and the tiny amount of cannabis grass found in his possession. Handing him a six-month conditional discharge, the court said it was also taking into account the fact that the accused had been detained in preventive custody since his arraignment on 16 May 2016.

Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone and Inspector Priscilla Caruana Lee prosecuted. Lawyer Chris Chircop was defence counsel.