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Justice commission and AD on same ‘wavelength’ on drug decriminalisation
The commission for justice reform and Alternattiva Demokratika on ‘same wavelength’ on drug decriminalisation, judge Giovanni Bonello says.
26 July 2013, 12:00am
Jurgen Balzan
Jurgen Balzan
3 min read
Specifying that the commission for justice reform's main aims were the identification of shortcomings in the administration of justice and the remedies to these problems, Judge Giovanni Bonello welcomed the document on drug reform presented by the Green Party.
"We are on the same wavelength with Alternattiva Deomkratika," Bonello said during a meeting he had with a Green Party delegation this morning, during which AD presented its proposals on decriminalisation of drugs for personal use.
AD chairperson Arnold Cassola, said: "The state is not making a clear distinction between the victims of drug abuse and the kingpins who are exploiting thousands of people in our country. We should highlight this distinction by helping out the victims and decriminalising drugs for personal use."
On his part, Bonello, accompanied by the three other members of the commission, namely Judge Philip Sciberras, Professor Kevin Aquilina and lawyer Ramona Frendo, underlined the fact that in it's first report published in May, the commission had already proposed the decriminalisation of drugs.
Both Cassola and Bonello agreed on the need to ease the legal retributions on drug users while going down hard on traffickers.
Cassola said that the "state must be merciless with the drug barons. The mafia style killings of the past year show that scores of millions of euros are involved. In such a small territory as ours it should not be difficult for the authorities to follow the money, identify suspicious life styles and act forcefully with the traffickers."
Asked by MaltaToday whether the commission's position on drug decriminalisation was motivated by its drive to ease the case loads on the courts or by a conviction that drug users should not be panelised, Bonello said that the commission's remit was strictly tied to the administration of justice.
However, Bonello pointed out that while the decriminisation of drugs would ease the work load on the courts, which was currently wasting a lot of resources on such cases, it would inevitably have a positive collateral effect on society.
Insisting that personal drug users should no longer be treated as criminals, Judge Bonello said that users should be treated and helped because they are victims.
AD proposed the setting up of an ad hoc commission which would hear drug cases involving persons who make use of drugs. This proposal was greeted by the AD delegation who stressed that drug users are victims and should not be arrested or named and shamed in the media.
AD spokesperson on Social Policy Robert Callus said: "We should stop telling drug addicts that they're on the wrong side of the law and reach out a helping hand. As the Portuguese model has shown us, a substantial amount of these will actually accept the assistance and people who would have otherwise been lost in resentment towards a society that dubs them as criminals are now working to improve their situation."
He added that Malta's justice system should "move away from what's been proven to be a failure, that is the criminalisation of drug users, towards what works. What works is using those resources that are being wasted in prosecuting these people for prevention, treatment and harm reduction instead."
Jurgen Balzan was a MaltaToday reported from 2011 to 2017.
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That's funny. I thought that people caught using drugs were sentenced to prison but then given a suspended sentence unless they happen to be foreigners. Using drugs is as unlawful as someone stealing,pick pocketing,or prostituting. These could also become a habit. Why not rehabilitate everybody and do away with prisons. As a matter of fact prison is one of the most addicted places for the use of drugs.
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It appears that when it comes to teen brain development, parents should be more worried about alcohol abuse than marijuana abuse. Two recent studies have been published showing that alcohol – a legal substance – is considered more dangerous than marijuana, which is illegal in many countries. One study has been published in the U.S., in the journal Clinical EEG and neuroscience, and shows that alcohol has a stronger effect on teen brain development than marijuana. The other is a study published in the Lancet, offering the results of substance classification by a number of U.K. professionals, purporting that alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana to individuals and to society. The U.S. Study was undertaken by Squeglia, Jacobus and Tapert in San Diego State University of California San Diego joint doctoral programme. The study looks at teen brain development for its uniqueness, as well as for the effects that substance abuse has on the brain during this time. When the brain abnormalities were measured – seen in terms of brain functioning and structure, cognitive tasks and quality of white matter – it appeared as though alcohol had a great effect than marijuana.Heavy drinking was defined 20 drinks per month, and the abnormalities were detectable. In heavy marijuana users, abnormalities existed, but not to the same degree as those seen in alcohol abusers. Findings from the U.S. Study, showing that alcohol use in teens causes more irregular brain function than marijuana, would seem to square with efforts in the U.K. to encourage new drug classification. In the Lancet, David Nutt at Bristol University, along with his colleagues, asked psychologists and scientifically or medically trained police to rank different substances according to how harmful they are. The study purports that experts rank alcohol (and tobacco) as more harmful than marijuana. In a list of 20 substances, alcohol came in at number five, tobacco in at number nine, and marijuana came in at number 20. These studies are likely to add fuel to movements in both the U.S and the U.K to re-classify marijuana. I agree entirely with Mr. Giovanni Bonello, that personal use of drugs should be treated as social problem.
