No mandatory prison sentence for personal cannabis cultivation under new rules

Justice minister Owen Bonnici presents amendments to drug dependency laws
Malta Today (Malta)
Thursday, December 12, 2019

malta cannabis flagThe prison sentence for a woman who was cultivating cannabis for her personal use, has led to the proposal of legal amendments that will give the Maltese courts discretion on how to sentence such cases. Justice Minister Owen Bonnici presented a package of legal amendments that will give the courts discretion on whether to sentence to jail people who can show that the cultivation of cannabis was for their strict personal use. Malta removed a previous mandatory term of imprisonment of six months for people found cultivating cannabis “in a small quantity not exceeding one plant, in circumstances where the Court is satisfied that such cultivation was for personal use.” Cultivation of cannabis will remain illegal under the new rules.