The government aims to be “expeditious” in its approach to establish a new authority that will act as a regulator for the cannabis sector, but will at the same time respect the principles of good governance. This is what reforms minister Owen Bonnici told The Malta Independent last week, but in reality the authority should already be up and running.

Enacting the new cannabis regulations without a proper regulator was putting the cart before the horse. The authority should have been set up the very day the legal notice was issued.

The government was criticised by some quarters for ushering in the reform before the actual establishment of the regulator. Some have said that this will lead to a vacuum in enforcement and other aspects until the authority is set up. Others have argued that the reform was rushed so as to be passed before the upcoming general election. All the above are very good arguments.

It just does not make any sense for the law to be enacted through the legal notice without the regulatory structure being ready to launch on the same day.

The government had also been criticised by the Opposition and several NGOs who argue among other things that amendments put forward by experts were ignored, which they were. This indicates, yet again, that this move was nothing more than a vote grabbing exercise. The government just chose to ignore their recommendations. So much for the slogan ‘a government that listens’.

Many would not argue against the decriminalisation of possession of marijuana up to a certain amount, indeed this was needed, but regardless of what the government says, the new law goes beyond that and will, in the end, result in the mentality that smoking the drug is an ok thing to do. Realistically speaking, how are the authorities going to know if people growing cannabis at home are doing so in front of their children or not, or are smoking in front of their children?

The country was very successful in preventing alcohol and cigarettes being sold to minors right? We never saw teenagers as young as 13 drunk in Paceville correct?

The law the way it is written will make the drug ok in the eyes of our children, as the government is essentially saying that it is ok. The law should have stopped at decriminalisation. By allowing its sale through non-profits we are legitimising the drug’s use.

The question that comes to mind now is… how many years before we change the law again and allow cannabis shops on the street, or cannabis shops like in Amsterdam? Let’s be honest, this is definitely within the realm of possibility.