Malta made history in December 2021 when it became the first European nation to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. The only countries globally that adopted a national recreational legalization measure before Malta were Uruguay in 2013 and Canada in 2018.

Now that Malta has passed the fourth anniversary of adopting its national legalization measure, cannabis advocates in the European country and elsewhere are reflecting on what is working in Malta and what needs improving.

The country’s adult-use cannabis legalization model involves permitting people 18 years old and older to cultivate up to four plants in their private residences and possess up to 50 grams of cannabis for personal use.

Unfortunately, national recreational cannabis sales are not permitted in Malta due to current European Union agreements that prohibit national adult-use commerce. However, adults in Malta can join one of the nation’s 22 licensed cultivation associations and source cannabis legally.

Arguably, the biggest measurable success of Malta’s modernized cannabis policies pertains to a reduction in consumers and patients being prosecuted for personal cannabis activity. Malta has experienced an “over 80% reduction in cannabis court cases related to simple cannabis possession” since legalization, according to recent reporting by the Times of Malta.

Still, as the author of the cited article, Andrew Bonello, touches on in his thoughtful piece for the Times of Malta, there are still examples of individuals being wrongly persecuted and subjected to enforcement for activity that logically should be permitted.

“How can cannabis consumers in Malta ever feel safe to live under a decriminalised regime if, in reality, the law continues to expose us all to so many what, ifs and buts? The legal amendments introduced in 2025 by Rebecca Buttigieg, with the blessing of the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis, seems to have completely departed from the harm reduction promises and discussions held with this same government in previous years.” Mr. Bonello writes.

In his article, he describes being told by at least one official years ago that the cultivation and possession limits would increase over time, and that ongoing enforcement practices against individuals are a threat to human rights.

A major point of contention last year in Malta was the adoption of a new measure that allows authorities to levy a €235 fine in cases of “excessive cannabis odour.” A smell-based cannabis prohibition policy is ripe for selective enforcement and is nonsensical by many measures.

Four years after legalization was adopted in Malta, the results of the public policy change are mixed, which is true in every other jurisdiction that has adopted an adult-use cannabis legalization measure.

What is in place in Malta now is certainly better than the outright prohibition of all cannabis activity. However, as long as consumers have laws selectively enforced against them and a robust commerce system remains prohibited, the success of legalization in Malta will continue to be limited. More work needs to be done in Malta and at the European Union level, and advocates need to keep fighting.