Hundreds march in Valletta in call for decriminalisation of cannabis

Around 300 people this morning marched through the streets of Valletta calling for the liberalisation and decriminalisation of cannabis.

As passers-by expressed shock at the demonstrators' call, the activists went on unaffected, carrying placards reading 'Please tax me', 'Legal Cannabis = Bankrupt drug cartels', 'Dealers don't check for ID's - Protect Kids Legalise Marijuana' and 'God made marijuana - man made pharmaceutical: who do you trust?'

The activists also handed out informational leaflet on cannabis to people in Valletta.

Upon reaching the Law Courts, the demonstrators started chanting, "we are not criminals" and "legalise it".

Addressing the crowd in St George's Square, organiser David Caruana thanked the members of the Police Force "for their patience and protection, who without them the activity could not be held".

Meanwhile at the beginning and during the peaceful demonstration, police officers taking down notes on what was written on the various placards.

Caruana said they were calling for an urgent and much needed reform, which is already 10 years late.

"Not only to decriminalise drugs, but as both political parties said this week, a reform is also needed for the classification of drugs. Legalising and regulating cannabis would place government in charge of it, taking it away from the criminals and out of the hands of children."

Caruana added such regulation goes hand-in-hand with the right of an adult individual to have control over his mind and body. He went on to mention the benefits of cannabis as a medicinal and for therapeutic needs.

"The criminal act is not smoking a joint, but denying a sick person from the help it gives; the criminal act lies in prohibiting the consumption of a plant which prevents several types of cancer," Caruana said.

Caruana said even the Nationalist Party is arguing about the medicinal value of cannabis can be exploited.

"This will not be our first and last demonstration," he said, adding Malta must become a more just and tolerant country, at safeguarding minors.

Present also for the demonstration were Moviment Graffiti who said the global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.

"The prohibition of drugs has created a situation where a whole infrastructure has been set up to support this failed policy, at great cost to the tax payer, to civilians' rights, and to society as a whole," spokesperson Robert Fenech said.

"Prohibition pumps money into criminal organisations, which can bribe and corrupt officials, buy weapons that keep the military-industrial complex profitable, and generally have no problem with rape, murder and torture."

Fenech said research is finding that the cannabis plant can treat or even cure various conditions and ailments, and as an industrial fibre - hemp. Hemp can be used for oil, clothes, paper, plastic, food... Hemp has been cultivated for thousands of years for its' strong fibre - only in recent years has the prohibition of cannabis as a narcotic placed hemp on the black list.

"One must note that when cannabis became illegal in the United States, the oil and timber industries, direct competitors to hemp, were very much involved in the process," Fenech said.

"Although cannabis is not harmless and should be used with care, the harms caused by prohibition far outweigh any harms done by the plant itself, while not allowing for any of its benefits to be taken advantage of."