Human rights approach needed regarding cannabis legislation

“The war on drugs has failed and a human rights approach is needed on the matter,” Maltese MEP Cyrus Engerer said.

The Labour Party MEP was speaking after his office organised one of the biggest pan-european conferences on cannabis for personal use, in conjunction with Encod.

The MEP made submissions to the national government after it proposed that cannabis users should be allowed to grow their own plants at home and legally carry up to 7 grams of the drug for personal use.

“In submissions to Government, we emphasised the need to steer users away from the black market and big pharma, and move towards growing or buying the product in a trustworthy and sustainable manner,” Engerer said.

“Therefore, moving not only towards decriminalisation but also the legalisation of cannabis growing for personal use and its eventual use. In this sense, we have recommended the use of cannabis social enterprises, as in Uruguay, where those who do not have access to grow their own four plants would be able to pool resources with others in a regulated environment, to grow their own strains,” he added.