Malta plans to open its Cannabis Clubs by the end of the year

Malta's very first Cannabis Clubs could open within the next six months.

Parliamentary Secretary for Reform Rebecca Buttigieg told Lovin Malta that his office is currently working to ensure that authorities have the necessary resources in place to keep to the year-end schedule provided by Mariella Dimech, President of the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC).

«Six months ago, Malta had the courage to face reality and adopt a historic reform for the responsible use of cannabis,» a declared Mr Buttigieg. «It was a huge step forward that many thought would never happen and yet here we are, the first EU member state to take this step.»

«We had to set up an authority to regulate it, and we're now at a stage where the authority is in place to effectively and responsibly enforce the law.».

Last December, Malta legalizes the personal use of cannabis and allowed the creation of Cannabis Clubs, non-profit associations that can grow cannabis for their members. Cannabis associations will be regulated by the CURA and must meet the following criteria to obtain a license.

• Training certificate for all employees for: a) cultivation b) storage c) dispensing d) delivery from point a to point b
• No links with criminal organizations
• Insurance
• Residence in Malta
• Undertake to provide all data required for the centralized data collection system

All applications will need to provide a clear plan of action that includes plans for cultivation, storage, deliveries and dispensing.

Although the regulatory process hasn't yet begun, Rebecca Buttigieg urged people to take things one step at a time, noting that people can already grow and consume cannabis at home in peace and get their criminal records expunged for cannabis possession.