The Times of Malta
The president of Malta’s first fully operational cannabis association has reported an enthusiastic reaction from members in the first days of opening.
KDD Society in Attard opened its doors on Saturday and within the first two days had attracted more than 150 members, according to its president Kenneth Ellul.
“The turnout was phenomenal; the support from our members has been exceptional,” he said.
Its license allows the club to have up to 250 members, meaning it is already more than half full.
“Members who came in were very excited to purchase legal and regulated cannabis,” he said. “The feedback we’ve had from people was that it really feels different having access to a legal product.”
“Honestly, it feels surreal. I never thought it would be possible to provide this kind of service in Malta.”
New rules on cannabis were introduced in late 2021 along with the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC), allowing for recreational use of the drug and the creation of cannabis associations such as KDD Society.
It took over a year for things to get moving, however, following a lull that culminated in the sacking of former head of the authority psychotherapist Mariella Dimech.
She was replaced soon after by former Caritas director Leonid McKay who currently heads the authority.
But last year saw efforts stepped up, with rules for cannabis associations being published in March and the first two in-principle licenses allowing the construction of growing facilities granted in August.
And on Tuesday, the ARUC announced that Malta’s first fully operational club, KDD Society, was up and running.
Only residents of Malta are allowed to join the clubs, which are officially called the Cannabis Harm Reduction Associations.
Ellul said that so far, the association counted more men among its members than women, but that the age range varied widely from 18 to 76-year-olds.
Amongst the club’s more senior members, roughly half had medical licenses to consume cannabis while the rest visited for recreational purposes, he said, but stressed the club was only there for recreational use and was not able to offer medical advice.
Read more
