The Malta Independent 10 February 2025, Monday
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Nearly €750,000 spent on educational campaigns by cannabis authority in 2023 and 2024

Isaac Saliba Tuesday, 21 January 2025, 17:43 Last update: about 19 days ago

The Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC) spent €748,688 on educational campaigns during the years 2023 and 2024, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday.

Abela was replying to a parliamentary question posed by Nationalist Party MP Graziella Attard Previ, who asked the Prime Minister how much money was spent on education and awareness campaigns by the ARUC during those years.

Attard Previ also asked the Prime Minister how many such campaigns were carried out by the ARUC in 2023 and 2024, to which Abela replied that the authority is continuously running such a campaign.

He continued that in addition to the continuous campaign, the ARUC also organised and financed two prevention campaigns during those two years. He commented that the campaigns were aimed at the general public and were not specifically targeted towards members of licensed cannabis associations.

Abela added that during that same time period, training was also carried out for the administrators of the associations as part of the continuous education campaign regarding the objectives of the law on the responsible use of cannabis. He stated that the associations are obliged to provide information by printing it on the cannabis containers, and added that this is done with the aim of raising awareness about the responsible use of cannabis among the association members.

The Prime Minister said that these efforts continue to help raise awareness and deliver educational messages to a wide range of individuals.

The PN MP also asked Abela if he could specify what measures or campaigns were carried out by the ARUC during 2023 and 2024 specifically against taking cannabis and drugs as well as against drug trafficking.

Abela responded that the ARUC allocates the majority of its expenditure to prevention campaigns against taking drugs as well as campaigns against obtaining cannabis from illegal sources.

He continued that in the last three years, the ARUC has invested over €1 million in the implementation of programs such as T.F.A.L., S.A.F.E., and Teen Outside the Box, as well as a new program which he did not mention by name.

The Prime Minister said that the ARUC carries out campaigns to explain the risks and dangers associated with obtaining cannabis from illegal sources, or trafficking. He added that the ARUC also obliges Cannabis Harm Reduction associations to carry out educational campaigns aimed towards their members.

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