Malta countries/mt.yaml
Adults 18+ may carry up to 7 g in public and keep up to 50 g of dried cannabis at home under the [2021 legalisation](/history/malta-legalisation-2021/).[@cap628cap537,euda] Between 7 g and 28 g in public is not a crime but goes to a tribunal with a fine of €50–100.[@cap628cap537] Above 28 g, ordinary drug law applies.[@cap628cap537] If prosecuted for exclusive personal possession, the Magistrates’ Court range is three–twelve months or €465.87–2,329.37, or both; the Criminal Court range is one–ten years and €465.87–23,293.73.[@cap101]
cap628cap537, euda, cap101
upto 7 g · treatment legal · term Personal possession · note Adults 18+ may carry in public, over 7 g · upto 28 g · treatment civil · term Tribunal case · fine min 50 · fine 100 · note NotPersonal use, without reasonable suspicion of trafficking, label Personal possession outside the exemption — Magistrates’ Court · treatment criminal · term Cap. 101, Article 22(2)(b)(ii) · prison min 3 months · prison 1 year · fine min 465.87 · fine 2329.37 · note Prison or a crime; tribunal fine €50–100, over 28 gor both, label Personal possession outside the exemption — Criminal Court · treatment criminal · term PossessionCap. 101, Article 22(2)(a)(ii) · note Ordinary drug law appliesprison min 1 year · prison 10 years · fine min 465.87 · fine 23293.73
Up to four plants per household (not per adult), which must not be visible from outside.[@cap628cap537,euda] The dried harvest kept at home may not exceed 50 g.[@cap628cap537] Outside the exemption, exclusive personal growing attracts the same court-specific ranges: three–twelve months or €465.87–2,329.37, or both before magistrates; one–ten years and €465.87–23,293.73 in the Criminal Court.[@cap101]
cap628cap537, euda, cap101
label Up to four plants per household · treatment legal · term Home growing · note Not visible from outside; home harvest capped at 50 g, label Exclusive personal growing outside the exemption — Magistrates’ Court · treatment criminal · term Cap. 101, Article 22(2)(b)(ii) · prison min 3 months · prison 1 year · fine min 465.87 · fine 2329.37 · note Prison or a fine, or both, label Exclusive personal growing outside the exemption — Criminal Court · treatment criminal · term Cap. 101, Article 22(2)(a)(ii) · prison min 1 year · prison 10 years · fine min 465.87 · fine 23293.73
Among Europe's mildest for users: conduct inside the limits is unpunished, and small overages or public use are handled by a tribunal with fines rather than courts.[@cap628cap537,mt] Trafficking still carries prison.[@cap628cap537]
cap628cap537, mt
The law provides for personal use and for distribution by licensed associations to their own members.[@cap628cap537] There is no explicit right to give cannabis to another adult, and supply outside an association remains trafficking.[@cap628cap537] Supply offences in the Magistrates’ Court carry six months–ten years and €465.87–11,646.87.[@cap101] In the Criminal Court, Article 22 allows life imprisonment, with a four–thirty-year alternative and €2,329.37–116,468.67 where life is inappropriate or the jury verdict is not unanimous.[@cap101]
cap628cap537, cap101
Private only. Consuming in public is prohibited and finedor a place accessible to the public carries a €235 tribunal penalty; odour causing a nuisance to third parties also falls under that rule.[@cap537] Knowingly consuming in frontthe presence of a minor is finedperson under eighteen carries €300–500, including in private.[@mt,cap628cap537] AssociationsAssociation premises may not allowbe used for consumption on their premises.[@cap628cap537]
mt, cap628cap537
No shops. The only legal source besides home growing is a licensed non-profit Cannabis Har … tion per person, at most 7 g a day and 50 g a month. Tourists have no legal source.[@aruc,cap628cap537] Associations with additional processing approval may supply approved solventless solid resin/hash.[@processing2026]
aruc, cap628cap537, processing2026
Malta was the first EU country to legalise, in under the [December 2021 reform](/history/malta-legalisation-2021/): adults 18+ may carry up to 7 g in public, keep 50 g at home and grow four plants per household.[@cap628cap537,euda] Licensed non-profit associations supply members with flower, seeds and approved solventless resin; oils, tinctures and solvent-based products are excluded.[@processing2026] Public consumption stays prohibited.[@cap628cap537] For association allowances, a gram of processed product counts as one gram of flower up to 33% THC, two grams at 34–66%, and three grams above 66%; mixed supplies count together.[@processing2026]
cap628cap537, euda, processing2026
Only licensedLicensed non-profit associations may grow, and distribute for their own members, under [ARUC](https://aruc.mt/) supervision.[@processing2026] The [January 2026 directive](/history/malta-processing-directive-2026/) requires additional processing approval for solventless solid resin, beyond the cultivation-and away from schools-distribution permit.[@processing2026] Oils, tinctures, distillates and youth centressolvent-based processing are excluded from that association route.[@arucprocessing2026] For-profit recreational medical and research production is not allowed, applicants need a Malta Enterprise Letter of Intent followed by Medicines Authority assessment and good-practice inspections. Medical production is separately licensed.[@arucmedreg]
arucprocessing2026, medreg
Licensed associations distribute dried flower and seeds, and may produce and distribute approved solid solventless resin/hash with specific processing authorisation.[@processing2026] Their cultivation/distribution permit alone does not cover processing.[@processing2026] Oils, tinctures, distillates and solvent-based processing are excluded.[@processing2026] Against the 7 g daily and 50 g monthly flower ceilings, 1 g of processed product counts as 1 g of flower at up to 33% THC, 2 g at 34–66%, and 3 g above 66%. Mixed flower/resin supplies count together; individual association stock must be checked.[@processing2026]
processing2026
Legal since 2018 on prescription from a registered doctor, with an approval card forPatients obtain prescribed medicinal cannabis through the patientseparate pharmaceutical route.[@medreg] The [August 2026 approved-products list](/history/malta-medicinal-products-list-2026/) includes dried flower, dispensed in pharmaciessublingual drops and standardised extracts, alongside Epidyolex oral solution.[@eudamedlist] Products are limitedProduct authorisation is subject to the Medicines Authority’s quality and paid out of pocketimport controls, including the relevant European Pharmacopoeia specifications.[@eudamedreg]
eudamedreg, medlist
People convicted of simple possession before the reform can have the conviction struck from their record.[@cap628cap537] Association membership is recorded, though privacy rules limit access.[@aruc] Driving under the influence remains an offence.[@act2026]
cap628cap537, aruc, act2026
standardnone
No separate hemp regime was found inSeeds and specified non-psychoactive plant material and products with no more than 0.2% psychoactive cannabinoids are excluded from the retained sourcesdrug definition.[@cap101] The exclusion supplies no separate industrial growing allowance: cultivation of the 2021 Act governs cannabis through home growingplant remains an offence subject to the household and associationslicensed exceptions.[@cap101, with no THC thresholdcap537] In [March 2026 parliamentary answers](/history/malta-cbd-import-controls-2026/), licence, or fibre exemption located for industrial hempcustoms explained that non-medical CBD products also need compliance with their own product regulations and documentation.[@cap628customs26]
cap628cap101, cap537, customs26
Non-profit Cannabis Harm Reduction Associations are the only legal source besides home gro … h a Maltese identity or residence card and may belong to only one; tourists cannot join.[@cap628cap537] Members may receive up to 7 g a day and 50 g a month. Nothing may be consumed on the pre … 25 the premises must stand 250 metres from schools, sports facilities and youth centres.[@cap628cap537,mi25]
chras, aruc, cap628cap537, mi25
Maltese has its own hemp word, [qanneb](/culture/language/qanneb/), from Arabic, familiar through ropes, textiles and birdseed; the 2021 reform literally replaced qanneb indjan with cannabis in the drug law.[@qanneblg,cap628act21] The island's cannabis culture is the licensed association scene traced in [cannabis-soci … l-clubs/), whose Maltese associations began handing out cannabis in January 2024.[@chras] A [survey published in December 2025](/history/malta-population-survey-published-2025/) examined 2023 substance use among residents aged eighteen–sixty-five, using about 3,400 completed questionnaires.[@survey25]
qanneblg, cap628act21, chras, survey25
A law in force since [10 March 2026](/history/malta-drug-driving-law-2026/) sets a permitted level of 2 microgrammes of THC per litre of blood for ordinary drivers.[@ … shown after a positive test but does not exempt the driver from responsibility.[@act2026]
The associations are for residents only. The cannabis authority states that tourists may n … ource. Consuming cannabis in public is prohibited and fined €235 under the cannabis act.[@cap628cap537,mt]
chras, cap628cap537, mt
Malta — Drug Dependence (Treatment not Imprisonment) Act, Cap. 537, current consolidation
Malta — Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 101, current consolidation
Malta Medicines Authority — Cannabis for medicinal and research purposes, 2026 guidance
Malta Medicines Authority — Approved medicinal cannabis products, updated 21 August 2026
Malta Parliament — Oral questions, sitting 441, 4 March 2026, questions 34761–34763
Malta Government — Publication of the 2023 general population survey, 26 December 2025
Malta — Original Act LXVI/2021, articles 24–25
Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis Act (Cap. 628)
12 unchanged
EUR
EUR
label Supply — Magistrates’ Court · treatment criminal · term Article 22(2)(b)(i) · prison min 6 months · prison 10 years · fine min 465.87 · fine 11646.87, label Supply — Criminal Court · treatment criminal · term Article 22(2)(a)(i) · life possible · prison min 4 years · prison 30 years · fine min 2329.37 · fine 116468.67 · note Finite term and fine where life is inappropriate or the jury verdict is not unanimous
EUR
label Public consumption or odour nuisance · treatment civil · term Cap. 537, Article 4(3) · fine 235 · fine min 235, label Consumption knowingly in a minor’s presence · treatment civil · term Cap. 537, Article 4(4) · fine min 300 · fine 500
word qanneb · lang Maltese · meaning hemp; traditional word · atlas qanneb · sources qanneblg, word qanneb indjan · lang Maltese · meaning Indian hemp; former statutory term · atlas qanneb · sources act21, word cannabis · lang English · meaning current statutory term · sources cap101