Drug decriminalisation opposed; parties favour new arrest scheme

Eight people have been jailed this year on drug possession charges, with a further eight landing behind bars in 2011, Justice Ministry figures have shown. In all but one of those cases, the accused were jailed because they had violated probation orders or suspended sentences. The remaining case concerned a man who asked to be put in prison. He was obliged with a four-month sentence. The figures suggest that Maltese courtrooms are growing less hostile to defendants charged with simple drug possession, although cases such as that of Daniel Holmes – jailed for a decade for marijuana-related offences – serve as a stark reminder of the severity of local drug laws. Softer touch approaches to drug possession would be further entrenched if Government proposals for a first-strike warning system for drug possession cases pass into law. The Arrest Referral Scheme, as it has been dubbed, calls for first-time users of any drug to be handed a warning, counselling and possibly community service rather than a criminal record. But despite cannabis decriminalisation efforts gathering pace in places as diverse as Uruguay, Israel and the American state of Washington, Malta’s two major political...