Malta Becomes First European Union Country to Legalize Cannabis

Malta, the smallest member of the European Union in terms of area, announced that it has taken a very radical decision. The politicians, who passed the legislation they had been working on for a while, made the production and use of individual cannabis legal across the country. The law, which has some conditions, seems to start a new trend in Europe.

According to the decision passed by the parliament, cannabis use for personal and recreational purposes can be made in Malta. A Maltese can carry up to 7 grams of hash. In addition, those who wish will be able to grow up to 4 roots of cannabis at home. With this decision, Malta became the first country in the European Union to legalize the production and use of cannabis.

There are heavy penalties for those who do not follow the rules.

The cannabis law in Malta has two important prohibition rules. The first is public domains. So a Maltese will not be able to use cannabis anywhere in public. The second is children. So much so that an individual caught smoking marijuana in the presence of children will be fined between 300 and 500 euros.

The European Union is not particularly opposed to the personal and recreational use of cannabis. In other words, the use of cannabis is actually prohibited, but there are no major sanctions. In the Netherlands, for example, the sale of cannabis under government control is allowed. But production is prohibited. There is a similar situation in the Netherlands in other European Union countries. Luxembourg has been working on cannabis law for some time now. Malta’s decision is important in this respect. The decision is expected to affect other countries in the European Union and legalization to spread across the continent.