Malta has been rocked by the arrest of an area physician, Andrew Agius, for distributing hashish mere months after the island turned the primary in Europe to legalise the drug.

Agius, 43, was arrested on March 10 and charged with drug trafficking for importing hashish and promoting it to his sufferers to alleviate again ache.

His legal professionals have argued that the product incorporates a small quantity of THC, the energetic content material in hashish, and isn’t a prohibited drug.

The arrest has thrown into confusion Malta’s much-vaunted legalisation of hashish, with NGOs and police uncertain about what is against the law and what isn’t.

On 14 December 2021, the Maltese parliament handed the controversial “Authority on the Accountable Use of Hashish” Invoice, with 36 votes in favour and 27 in opposition to.

The invoice was signed into legislation by Malta’s President George Vella 4 days later, Vella having rejected calls by its opponents for him to refuse to take action.

Below the brand new laws the possession of as much as seven grams of hashish is totally decriminalised for adults aged 18 and over. It additionally permits them to domesticate as much as 4 crops at house for private use.

However there’s a present downside with provide. The so-called “hashish golf equipment,” which the brand new legislation permits to develop and distribute restricted quantities of hashish amongst their members, haven’t but been arrange, almost 4 months after the legislation got here into power.

Which means except customers are prepared and in a position to develop their very own hashish from seeds utilizing pricey house setups, they are going to nonetheless must resort to the black marketplace for their hashish.

This has led to a rise in drug dealing, police say.

One senior police officer, talking on situation of anonymity, noticed that the police had seen a surge in demand for the drug because the introduction of the brand new legislation, although there are at present no authorised sellers.

ReLeaf Malta, a pro-legalisation NGO, mentioned that Agius’ arrest was an “appalling and worrying” improvement.

“It clearly displays a disjointed method between what the legislation goals to realize and realities on the bottom,” Andrew Bonello, the top of ReLeaf Malta, mentioned.

“That is particularly essential when contemplating that the legislation, for the primary time, established that it’s the cannabinoid THC which is beneath restriction, whereas different cannabinoids, akin to CBD, are outdoors the goals of the legislation, therefore outdoors police jurisdiction.”

The NGO added that in 2020, the European Courtroom of Justice had declared hashish merchandise within the type of flowers, oil or hash, with a THC content material of lower than 0.2% have been outdoors the scope of the management conventions.

“We stay baffled, saddened, but not damaged by these heinous and draconian ways,” Bonello mentioned.

Earlier this week, ReLeaf Malta, along with an area NGO, offered a analysis coverage doc to the chairperson of the authority, discussing the significance of together with robust concerns for social fairness and sustainable environmental practices when growing the authorized framework on hashish use.

However conferences between the chairperson of the Authority on the Accountable Use of Hashish and varied stakeholders, together with overseas specialists on drug coverage and hashish regulation are happening, a indisputable fact that Bonello described as “very encouraging.”

“One hopes these discussions will translate into a good and inclusive regulatory framework,” he mentioned.