News • February 29 2004

Agencies urge changes to laws
Matthew Vella

National drug agency Sedqa, Caritas and the head of the Substance Abuse Therapy Unit, Dr John Zammit Montebello, have expressed the need for amending the criminal law concerning drug trafficking.
In comments given to MaltaToday, the agencies which form part of the national drug forum presided by the President of the Republic, outlined the consequences which the legal definition of drug trafficking has had on drug users.
“My personal opinion is to distinguish between drug trafficking and sharing,” Dr Zammit Montebello, of SATU, the care facility within the Corradino Correctional Facility, said. “It is one thing buying a small quantity of a substance and sharing it with a friend, and a totally different scenario when procuring and supplying, even if one is consuming the same substance. The legislation should address this issue.”
The question of differentiating between drug trafficking and sharing was thrown under the spotlight as a series of drug overdose deaths shed light on the fear users have of turning in overdose victims to hospitals for fear of being prosecuted for trafficking. The recent death of Madeline Ancilleri, dumped unceremoniously in front of the St Luke’s Hospital detox centre, is a case in point, which Caritas Malta acknowledge:
“Overdose victims are frequently either ‘dumped’ close to St Lukes Hospital or a polyclinic, in the hope they are discovered in time to be saved; or abandoned, in their drug partners’ panicked attempt to avoid detection and prosecution. The present legal situation may actually inadvertently discourage co-users from reporting accidental overdoses immediately and seeking medical help in time to save their friends. It is crucial that this situation is remedied as soon as possible.
“In our experience, sharing is an extremely common phenomenon, tending to be consensual and deliberate. Many persons with a drug addiction take drugs together not with the intention to traffic but simply because they prefer to abuse drugs together rather than alone,” Maryanne Swain, Caritas secretary-general, told MaltaToday. “Drug trafficking is an extremely serious crime and should be dealt with severely at law… one could argue for diminished responsibility in the case of drug addicts who sell drugs to maintain their own habit, as opposed to professionals who are not users but lure others into the circle of drug abuse.”
In comments given to MaltaToday last week, Sedqa PRO Stephen Vella said his personal opinion was that police should show some amnesty with users accompanying to the hospital friends who overdose, “without fear of being prosecuted. A misnomer has been created since someone was prosecuted in a similar episode when he brought in a friend who died of an overdose, so others now fear a repeat of that episode.”
Likewise, SATU director Dr Zammit Montebello argues for a new legislation which does not open any loopholes for the ‘big fish’ to escape, differing between isolated and accidental overdoses and scenarios in which those running ‘shooting galleries’ administer doses to others as part of a ‘service’.
“Assistance should be available and a certain amount of due discretion should be applied in the persecution of an individual that accompanies or assists overdose victims. Rapid responses and life-saving procedures need to be in place.”
Drug sharing is also accepted phenomenon that even Home Affairs and Justice Minister acknowledges, who agrees with changing the legal definition. However, he hopes to see the President’s forum issue an opinion on the subject before pressing forward with any legal amendments.
All three agencies form part of the forum, formed the 25 June, 2002, to commemorate the UN’s World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, to discuss amongst other issues, strategies concerning national drug legislation. The forum, which also groups the Police Corps, however lacks any form of executive power, remaining to be seen how far it will be pushing for urgent legislative reform. It resumed its meetings only recently following a six-month hiatus, and with no deadlines set to provide a report on the matter, progress on the issue remains silent on both sides.

matthew@newsworksltd.com