Malta doctors’ union calls cannabis ‘dangerous addictive drug’

Malta’s doctors union is claiming there is no such thing as “responsible cannabis use”, and has called cannabis a “dangerous addictive drug” with serious long-term consequences on Mental Health, The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) said.

Over the weekend, President George Vella signed the cannabis reform bill, with Malta now becoming the first country in Europe to permit restricted use of cannabis for recreational use. 

As of Saturday, cannabis users can carry up to 7g of the substance on them without fear of prosecution and grow four plants at home.

The association has condemned “without reservation” the promotion and “blatant adverting” of responsible use by government ministers, whom they said  “should hold the excellent health of the younger generation at heart.”

“There is no such thing as responsible cannabis use, simply a drug which produces some concise-term completely artificial ‘highs’ with severe and long-term pains, in the form of major forms of mental illness,” MAM said.

The association said that with the strict bans on tobacco and alcohol adverting in place, it is unacceptable for a political figure to promote such a “scourge of modern society” known to scar the lives of many young people for life.

MAM referenced 124 studies on the effects of cannabis on previously healthy youths free from any form of mental health issues.

The studies said that the frequency of cannabis use, THC, not CBD found strong evidence of a negative effect on psychosis and psychosocial functioning.