Malta Regulatory Chief: Cannabis Reform Is Working

In 2021 Malta became the first European nation to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. The only countries to adopt a national recreational cannabis legalization measure before Malta was Uruguay in 2013 and Canada in 2018.

However, unlike Uruguay and Canada where adult-use cannabis is dispensed through a variety of outlets nationwide, Malta is bound by European Union agreements that limit recreational cannabis commerce to noncommercial cultivation associations and regional pilot research programs.

Malta has adopted a cannabis legalization model that is built on home cultivation and cultivation associations from which consumers can source their cannabis legally. According to the nation’s top regulatory chief, legalization in Malta is working.

“The country’s harm reduction approach is working,” ARUC Chairperson Joey Reno Vella stated in a recent interview according to local reporting by Malta Today.

“Before 2021, before the reform was enacted, you had a reality where studies showed a large section of the population used cannabis, but they had no regulated market from where they could buy it. The cannabis they bought was not cultivated in a safe manner, and so posed more risks. They had to turn to the black market where they did not know what they were buying,” Vella also stated.

“They now know from where the product came from, what it contains and know that it does not contain harmful substances like bacteria, heavy metals and mold. The product will cause less harm and expose people to less risks.” Vella concluded.

Malta issued its first noncommercial cultivation association license in October 2023. The European nation’s emerging adult-use cannabis industry now boasts roughly 2,000 cultivation association members at 8 licensed locations. Six more associations have in-principal licenses and will become operational soon.

Per our prior reporting, regulations for noncommercial clubs in Malta include (but are not limited to):

• A maximum of 500 club members
• Cannot be located within 250 meters of a school or ‘youth center’
• No advertising
• Cannot use the word ‘cannabis’ in the club’s name, or anything that would ‘incite use’
• At least two club founders with no prior convictions of money laundering
• Clubs must have a legal representative
• Club administrators have to be residents for at least 5 years
• All cannabis has to be cultivated by the club itself (out of public view)
• Registration fee of €1,000
• License fee starting at €8,750
• Initial licenses valid for 1 year, with 3 year renewals
• Labeling requirements
• Ongoing government auditing
• Product testing
• THC percentage caps for consumers 18-20 years old
• Consumers can only have a membership at 1 club at a time
• Revenue dispersal requirements