Mayor retracts over slander on mystic’s cannabis use

Gharb’s mayor David Apap Agius (see cartoon page 27) yesterday announced he would not take court action for slander against Kate Holmes, the mother of convicted drug trafficker Daniel Holmes.

Apap Agius said he wanted to sue Holmes for claiming that Gharb mystic healer Francis Xavier Mercieca, popularly known as Frenc tal-Gharb, used cannabis herbs to cure certain ailments.

The PN mayor said Holmes had retracted the allegations made earlier this week.

“The council felt duty-bound to address the allegations made by Mrs Holmes. Frenc tal-Gharb holds a special place in the heart of all those forming part of the Gharb community, and in the heart of many Maltese and Gozitans alike. This became evident during this week in particular given the number of calls made and the number of messages received by the Gharb Local Council supporting its decision to intervene.”

The internet took a different view however, with numerous bloggers lambasting the ridiculous move and photoshopped images of Frenc as a dreadlocked Rasta making the rounds on Facebook.

In an appeal for her son’s case to be reconsidered, Mrs Holmes said that Frenċ tal-Gharb had cured many sick people in Malta and Gozo “and his secret medicine is now known to be cannabis”.

Daniel Holmes is serving a 10-year prison sentence for a drug conviction, and was fined €23,000 for cultivating about a kilo of cannabis, although there has since been controversy over how the weight of the plant was calculated.

“We cannot believe it possible that our son is wasting his life in prison when President Obama is reviewing and releasing criminals early from their drug related sentences, when America has declared that marijuana can play an important part in medical use in a range of conditions, including cancer and has approved new medical marijuana legislation.”

Frenc tal-Gharb, she said, had cured many sick people in Malta and Gozo during his life time and his secret medicine is now known to be cannabis.