Malta Approves More Noncommercial Cannabis Clubs

Malta became the first European nation to pass an adult-use cannabis legalization measure back in 2021. The passage of a national legalization measure in Malta made the country the third nation on earth to do so, following Uruguay and Canada.

Unlike Uruguay and Canada, adult-use sales in Malta are limited to noncommercial cannabis clubs. Dispensaries and adult-use sales at pharmacies are still prohibited in Malta, in addition to other forms of commerce.

Back in October Malta approved its first round of licenses for noncommercial cannabis clubs, and earlier this month it approved another round, with three more entities receiving approval. Per Cannabis Health News:

Malta’s Responsible Cannabis Use Authority (CURA) has issued three new licences to Cannabis Harm Reduction Associations (CHRAs).

This brings the total to five clubs which have now received approval, with Sprawt, Northern Lights and NEGE joining KDD Society and Ta’ Zelli which were licensed in early November.

Regulations state that only associations listed on the CURA website can cultivate and distribute cannabis to their members. Membership is limited to residents of Malta over the age of 18 and a copy of their identity card must be provided to the association as proof of age and address.

Unfortunately, the European Union does not permit its members to legalize national adult-use sales. Rather, all policy modernization has to be medical and/or research in nature, which is why Malta was permitted to proceed with licensing noncommercial cannabis clubs.

Such clubs are geared towards reducing the public health impact related to humans consuming unregulated products.

Another public policy experiment that is found in Europe involves the permitting of adult-use cannabis commerce pilot programs. As of right now, Malta does not have plans to launch such programs. Limited local pilot programs are one form of commerce that the European Union permits since they are geared toward research.