A petition calling for changes to the proposed cannabis legalisation law will not be discussed by Parliament’s petitions committee because it has till February before it elapses, the chairman of the committee said.

Long-time PL MP Joe Mizzi, who chairs the committee, told PN Whip Robert Cutajar in email correspondence that the petition calling for changes to the laws is open until 5 February 2022, meaning that it cannot be considered by the committee until this date has passed.

The PN last Tuesday lodged an urgent request for the committee to meet to discuss the petition, which has been put forward by 53 organisations and academics calling for a revisit to the government’s bill.

Mizzi however said that according to guidelines related to the constitution of the permanent committee, the petition could not be considered before its closing date on 5 February next year.

In his email, Mizzi also elaborated further on three points.

Mizzi noted that the bill in question is a result of a long process of consultation which included a white paper, which saw some 350 proposals from a number of entities, organisations, and people. 

He also said that the Opposition had been absent in the consultation process and failed to table any of its own points.

Secondly, Mizzi said that the bill was discussed at committee stage last November, where no formal amendments were put forward by the Opposition.

And finally, Mizzi said that the points mentioned in the petition are essentially a reproduction of the same arguments which were elicited by NGO representatives who attended that same committee session last November, where a discussion was held on all points.

In a statement where they published the correspondence, PL Whip Glenn Bedingfield said that the Opposition’s “political opportunism and inconsistency” had once again been unmasked.

He too noted that the Opposition had failed to submit any proposals at White Paper stage, and had then said that the law had copied some of its proposals, before then deciding that it would vote against the bill.

Bedingfield said that the law had gone through a number of consultation processes and discussions, and that parliamentary process should follow the agreed upon procedures in how it functions.

In a statement reacting to the news, the PN said that the government is ignoring the calls of 53 organisations and individuals by refusing to discuss their petition. 

The PN said that in its letter to Mizzi, they had reminded that every parliamentary procedure can be changed to reflect the exigencies of the situation as long as there was an agreement between both sides of the house.

"This shows the government's hurry to introduce this law without any consideration of what organisations and individuals have to say.  This petition has gathered over 6,000 signatures so far," the PN said.

Such an attitude, the PN said, puts more responsibility on the government's parliamentary group to see what is best for the country.