No timeline yet for 26 entities seeking cannabis association license

Responding to questions from the media regarding the processing and approval of cannabis associations’ licenses, Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC) CEO, Leonid McKay has given no indication on when Malta’s first cannabis associations will be opened.

Meanwhile, McKay announced that so far, the authority has received 26 license applications from potential association founders.

McKay was addressing a press conference in relation to the Harm & Risk Reduction policy adopted by the ARUC. Here, the cannabis authority’s CEO explained that the ARUC’s position on the use of cannabis is that the safest way to use cannabis is not to use it at all, however, if one chooses to make use of cannabis, one should have all the information and resources necessary to reduce the harmful effects of the substance. 

Responding to MaltaToday’s questions, McKay explained the processes behind the due diligence involved in providing licenses to associations and the enforcement of such associations after they begin their operations. He stated that the ARUC is responsible in ensuring that the associations are not commercialised.

McKay also stated that the authority is building up its resources in order to enforce the associations, even by partnering up with law enforcement entities such as the police force.

Among the guidelines for responsible use, McKay stressed that the use of cannabis should be postponed until after the age of 25, and that the substance should not be mixed with others such as tobacco or alcohol. Additionally, users should refrain from making use of synthetic cannabis, and ensure that the product is clean and does not contain other substances. 

The ARUC head highlighted that the authority can ensure safe use, not by promoting cannabis and creating new users, but by shifting current users from the illicit market, to the regulated one. The authority’s role in this shift is to ensure that users have a safe supply of cannabis, either by growing their own or buying it from non-profit ‘cannabis harm reduction associations.’

From her end, reforms parliamentary secretary, Rebecca Buttigieg highlighted that government’s choice to regulate the cannabis market does not mean that use of the drug will be promoted. 

Buttigieg drew comparison between the current regulatory framework, and the decade-old policy to hand out free syringes to heroin users in order to reduce harm and risk of HIV infections. She noted that stigmatizing and criminalising users do not help in harm reduction. 

Buttigieg took a jab at some Opposition MPs’ rhetoric in parliament in May, where she criticized the language used in the debate, with words such as “drugati (drugged up) and imdamdmin (beaten up)” to describe cannabis users.