LEAMINGTON, Ontario, Feb. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tilray Brands, Inc. ("Tilray" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY), a leading global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company inspiring and empowering the worldwide community to live their very best life, today announced that its medical cannabis division, Tilray Medical, has completed its first sale of medical cannabis in Malta. Tilray’s EU-GMP medical cannabis products are now available in pharmacies across Malta, providing patients with safe and reliable access to high-quality medical cannabis.

Move by EU’s smallest member state likely to be followed by reform across rest of continent in 2022

Malta will this week become the first European country to legalise the cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use, pipping Luxembourg to the post, as the continent undergoes a wave of change to its drug laws.

Possession of up to seven grams of the drug will be legal for those aged 18 and above, and it will permissible to grow up to four cannabis plants at home, with up to 50g of the dried product storable.

A vote in favour of the legislation in the Maltese parliament on Tuesday will be followed by the law being signed by the president in order for it to be enacted by the weekend, Owen Bonnici, the minister responsible, told the Guardian.

As cannabis legalization spreads across the North American continent, industry insiders and pot stock investors alike look to diversify their portfolios in the global marijuana trade.

With Canada on track to become the first G7 nation to legalize both recreational and medical cannabis nationally, overcrowding in the market is becoming an issue for stakeholders on all sides. It’s the reason why cannabis companies are starting to look for more opportunities internationally. These are the top four marijuana stocks with international expansion plans:

Malta, a small island country near Italy has had its Labour Government pressing for cannabis reform for quite a while. Pot remains illegal in the country, however, possession of the plant has been largely decriminalized. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat wants to take that one step further through the “regularization” of recreational cannabis use within the country. He and a growing number of federal agencies are looking to conduct a “national discussion” on legalization.

Growing cannabis in Malta could become easier if the government accepts a proposal being made by a magistrate who handles the bulk of drug cases on the island. 

Magistrate Natasha Sciberras has called for more leniency when it comes to cultivating more than one plant of cannabis if it can be shown that the plants were grown for personal consumption and not with intent to traffic. 

Somebody caught growing more than one cannabis plant in Malta currently faces a mandatory jail term but the magistrate believes the judiciary should have more discretion once it is evident that the cultivation was for personal use. 

A father of two has just been jailed for 20 months because he was caught growing his own cannabis... eight years ago. 

Walter Desira said he smoked cannabis to help him sleep because he was being kept away by the prescription medication he was taking for a health condition. After spending some time buying cannabis from a drug dealer in Qormi, Desira decided to grow the plant for himself. 

"The court accepted his statement that he never gave or sold marijuana to anyone else"

Even though he was caught with 14 pots, the court accepted his statement that he never gave or sold marijuana to anyone else. The magistrate dropped the trafficking charges, after agreeing there was no evidence to counter his claims.

No matter how slow politicians are to game, medical marijuana is becoming a thing in Malta – Sativex spray, containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), has already been licensed, and at the end of this month the Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties Helena Dalli will be discussing whether Bedrocan should be made available in Malta.