The Labour government knows very well that it can’t sell itself to the youth with its economic, planning, and environmental policies because these are the same policies that are ruining the country and forcing the youth to leave the islands. Labour knows that the only way it can sell itself to the youth is by posing as progressive with regard to civil liberties although this is a very deceiving narrative. Robert Abela is a conservative with totalitarian instincts who is trying to muzzle the free press, and he boasts about legal reforms in the LGBT sector of previous administrations to pinkwash his totalitarianism. Not even when a woman’s life was at stake did Robert Abela man up and propose the decriminalisation of abortion – he kept silent and it had to be the Deputy Prime Minister, Chris Fearne who had to rise to the occasion.
One of the ways Robert Abela tried to sell himself to the youth is by pretending to give them the decriminalisation of the consumption and sale of cannabis. The law, piloted by corrupt ministers Owen Bonnici and Rosianne Cutajar turned out to be a farce and led to the arrest and prosecution by the farcical and corrupt attorney-general and the police of a medical doctor over drug trafficking charges for selling medical cannabis products.
When the farcical law was approved, the government enacted a farcical authority to steward the reform. Mariella Dimech, a psychologist who provides drug rehabilitation services was appointed head of the Cannabis Authority but has just been fired from her post. She is also Saviour Balzan’s sister, the government’s favorite propagandist, and her appointment came based on two principles: she is a trusted friend and has a treatment approach to anyone consuming cannabis so this would ensure the government’s pretenses that it is simultaneously liberal and conservative at the same time – pretending to introduce the decriminalisation of cannabis but when in actual fact is doing nothing of that sort. Shamelessly, Dimech said that she didn’t agree with the government’s policy to commercialise cannabis and wanted to instill a treatment approach instead. The reason why she accepted the position anyway, despite her disagreement with the government on policy is that the disagreement is also a pretense. Leonid McKay, her replacement was also against the introduction of this law and described anyone using marijuana as needing treatment. So, supposedly now the same McKay who was against decriminlisation will be piloting forward the decriminalisation of cannabis and allowing its commercialisation. It’s a total farce in many acts which does not end.
Then there is another aspect to the story. Despite the failure of the government to effectively and materially decriminalise the sale and consumption of marijuana, there are rent-seekers such ex-cops connected to the government who were also involved in the legislation process and are trying to make money from the cannabis business. I will tell you one thing about this for context, as well. An ex-cop who in any way or position used to work with drugs, directly or indirectly, or was in contact with prisoners who sold drugs and is today trying to make money out of selling cannabis legally is definitely a corrupt cop, but this is not the point of my article.
Allowing a free market that is regulated like tobacco or alcohol for cannabis would be common sense. According to Dimech and McKay it would be madness. The government doesn’t care as long as its narrative holds, and for now, it is collapsing. The government didn’t decrimanlise cannabis use. What it did, in reality, is that it instituted a new law that went against the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance ending with simultaneously a law that criminalises marijuana to appease the conservatives and a new law that pretends to decriminalise cannabis to win the youth vote. The police and the attorney-general didn’t bother to inform the government about the legal contradiction as what normally would have happened and their policy is to keep prosecuting and using the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance in direct contradiction to the government’s supposed public policy on marijuana. It’s all a sham and no surprise that it is coming from Labour.
So far, the result of Labour’s cannabis reform was an arraigned medical doctor and a boost to the popularity of Mariella Dimech. Next, will be a boost on the promotion of drug rehabilitation services by the chief saviour of degenerate youth Leonid McKay. No cannabis plants were harmed while writing this article, Leonid.
Hilarious, except for the doctor for whom all of this is tragic. Labour’s corruption and incompetence will always come with casualties.
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