Drug victims and users should not be criminalised – AD

Malta should stop criminalising persons who make use of drugs for personal use, Alternattiva Demokratika said.

The Green Party pointed out that Malta should follow the successful model of countries such as Portugal which decriminalised drugs for personal use.

AD Chairperson Michael Briguglio said: "Education remains a key tool for policies on drugs. People should be conscious of their various effects and, if they seek help, they should receive it. But criminalising people for making use of drugs has been a failure not only in terms of policy but, even more so, with respect to those whose criminalisation has resulted in a spiral of hardships".

He added that "Personal use of drugs should be decriminalised. The victims of drug addiction and dependency are to be considered as persons in need of help and not as criminals."

At the same time, Briguglio noted that decriminalisation would ensure that recreational drug users, including those who cultivate soft drugs for personal use, are not criminalised for their lifestyle.

AD spokesperson for Citizenship Robert Callus said: "With the emphasis being on punishment rather than prevention, treatment and harm reduction, the war on drugs is proving to be a miserable failure."

He added that a lot of countries are realising this and re-thinking their legislation. Callus said that the most notable model is that of Portugal.

"In Portugal hard drug addicts decreased by half in ten years, and deaths and HIV also decreased following a successful health campaign."

Drugs should be classified according to their effect, Callus said, adding that certain anomalies should be corrected.

"For instance nurturing a plant for your own use is not being treated as for your personal use, but it is considered a separate crime, of cultivation, that carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence, the equivalent of trafficking, even if the user has absolutely no intention to sell."