A 62-year-old Canadian man now faces drug charges after Malta’s Police Drug Squad was tipped off that three postal packages addressed to him contained approximately 18,000 cannabis cigarettes.

The man was arrested on June 25 after officials with the Customs Department reported the find to the drug squad, according to the Malta Police Force. The boxes contained what officials believe to be cannabis.

The man has been arraigned in court for importation, trafficking and aggravated possession of cannabis. Police report that the man pleaded not guilty and was given bail under several conditions.

According to Malta Today, a tribunal was created several years ago to handle possession of small amounts of drugs (3.5 grams or less).

“By means of this provision, persons found in possession of said amounts are subject to proceedings before the Commissioner for Justice, and are liable to a fine ranging between €50 to €100 ($73.50 to $143),” notes a recently released white paper from the government.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports, however, that “only use of prepared opium is explicitly prohibited and punishable by imprisonment depending on the type of court.”

As it stands, “the cannabis plant and all its forms are, to date, considered illegal in Malta,” states the white paper, Towards the Strengthening of the Legal Framework on the Responsible Use of Cannabis. That means the possession, consumption, sale, production and trafficking of weed are all criminal offences.

Among other things, the paper proposes decriminalizing possession of up to seven grams of weed; allowing each household to grow as many as four plants in a space that is not visible to the public and does not emit smells (and which can be consumed only by those in the same home); prohibiting weed use in public. No final decisions have yet been made on how Malta will proceed.