Malta
Europe
#6 of 196 worldwide
#3 of 45 in Europe
First EU country to legalise (2021): 7 g in public, 50 g at home, four plants per household, and licensed non-profit associations. Public consumption remains prohibited.
Score breakdown ▏world average
Select a segment to show or hide the exact rules and sources.
Possession · 25%4/10adds 10.0 of 25 points
Adults 18+ may carry up to 7 g in public and keep up to 50 g of dried cannabis at home. Between 7 g and 28 g in public is not a crime but goes to a tribunal with a fine of €50–100. Above 28 g, ordinary drug law applies.
Personal cultivation · 25%4/10adds 10.0 of 25 points
Up to four plants per household (not per adult), which must not be visible from outside. The dried harvest kept at home may not exceed 50 g.
Punishment & enforcement · 20%6/10adds 12.0 of 20 points
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. Trafficking still carries prison.
Sharing & gifting · 10%2/10adds 2.0 of 10 points
The law provides for personal use and for distribution by licensed associations to their own members. There is no explicit right to give cannabis to another adult, and supply outside an association remains trafficking.
Consumption · 10%3/10adds 3.0 of 10 points
Private only. Consuming in public is prohibited and fined €235; consuming in front of a minor is fined €300–500. Associations may not allow consumption on their premises.
Legal access · 10%4/10adds 4.0 of 10 points
No shops. The only legal source besides home growing is a licensed non-profit Cannabis Harm Reduction Association: maximum 500 members, residents only, one association per person, at most 7 g a day and 50 g a month. Tourists have no legal source.
More context not part of the score
Only licensed non-profit associations may grow, for their own members, under ARUC supervision and away from schools and youth centres. For-profit recreational production is not allowed. Medical production is separately licensed.
Associations distribute dried flower (and seeds). Edibles and concentrates are not part of the regulated adult-use channel. Advertising is banned.
Legal since 2018 on prescription from a registered doctor, with an approval card for the patient, dispensed in pharmacies. Products are limited and paid out of pocket.
People convicted of simple possession before the reform can have the conviction struck from their record. Association membership is recorded, though privacy rules limit access. Driving under the influence remains an offence.
All sources
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