Parliament discussions on responsible cannabis use bill begin

Nov 17 2021

The House of Representatives started its discussion in the stage of the Second Reading of the Bill to create an authority on responsible cannabis use.

Owen Bonnici, the Minister for Equality, Research and Innovation, said that the Government is not afraid to change and has already carried out reforms like this it is time for Malta to stop hurting people by treating them like criminals.

To date, whoever wanted cannabis for personal use had to buy from drug traffickers who do not care whom they sell to.

The Minister said that the law, which was introduced in 2015, meant that whoever consumes a small amount of cannabis would appear in front of a tribunal and does not go to jail. The next step, said Bonnici, is to remove the fine on those who use cannabis for personal use controllably.

Explaining the 20 points included in the reform, Bonnici highlighted that whilst the management of a workplace has the right to impose its own rules, there should not be any persecution.

Opposition MP Claudette Buttigieg criticised the bill because it does not indicate which four plants can be grown at home.

She also warned against an environment of ‘anything goes’ wherein children would consider such consumption normal. The Bill does not also stipulate how far away from a school a house that grows cannabis can be situated.

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Drake & Kanye West squashing their beef is just the kind of energy we need right now

Nov 17 2021

In one of the most unlikely twists in the global music scene, hip-hop titans Kanye West and Drake seem to have reconciled their recent issues and shared a couple of snaps at Drake’s home for the Canadian artist’s birthday.

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Kanye West shocked fans on both sides of the squabble after posting a picture with Drake & J Prince captioned with a dove emoji. Instagram along with sharing some videos of acclaimed comedian Dave Chappelle toasting to the artists’ reconciliation after wishing Drake a happy birthday. What followed is a light-hearted video of the two sharing a wholesome moment.

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Kanye had previously asked Drake to join him for a December event in Los Angeles, stating that “It’s time to put it to rest” after a number of episodes dating back to 2018 when Kanye-associate Pusha T put out one of the most devastating diss tracks in recent history ‘The Story of Adidon’ aimed at Drake’s son and relationship with ghostwriters and his father.

Send this story to a Drake or Kanye fan!

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WATCH: Meta’s gloves will create a realistic sense of touch in virtual reality

Nov 17 2021

In a post which looks like something straight out of Black Mirror, Mark Zuckerberg revealed new haptic gloves which will introduce a sense of touch to the meta verse and virtual reality.

‘One day you’ll be able to feel texture and pressure when you touch virtual objects’ said the Meta CEO.

In an accompanying video, Zuckerberg could be seen donning a virtual reality headset and proceeding to play jenga, chess and even giving a handshake to another person.

All these actions are supposedly designed to actually create the sensation of touching the same objects. This will create a realistic sense of immersion, ‘tricking’ the brain into believing that what one experiences is real.

Meta has been working for the past seven years ever since it purchased virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR for $2 billion.

In an update on their progress, one of Meta’s Reality Labs Research teams are working on making these gloves comfortable enough for extended use by reducing the generated heat and facilitating air flow.

From a more philosophical perspective, these technologies will challenge the very concept of what we deem is real.

How will this change human interaction? How will it impact everything from relationships to partying to even basic actions such as eating?

It will probably be a while before such technology is disseminated to the everyday citizen so we’ll have to wait and see how the future will change given these new advances.

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Inconsistent health measures leaving graduates frustrated

Nov 17 2021

An anonymous student contacted this newsroom to express their frustration at how the COVID-19 pandemic health measures are being handled.They shared screenshots of two separate events – a graduation ceremony and Sigma art auction.

We must clarify before going any further that this is not an attack on Sigma or any other event hosting large numbers of people in any way shape or form. This is a criticism of the measures and how they are being applied according to different events.

With Sigma being a major front-runner in the global tech and gaming industry and initiative MaltaDaily representatives will continue to support, the event still allowed for massive groups of people to be gathered in the same area.

Meanwhile, during the graduation event, students had to adhere to social distancing rules, with their parents being forced to watch the ceremony through a ‘bad quality’ stream in a tent.

The juxtaposition of this suggests an inconsistency in how public health measures are being carried out. This despite the fact that Malta’s population is mostly vaccinated as well as having very low hospitalisations.

Students have been waiting an entire pandemic to celebrate their hard earned achievement but are still unable to fully celebrate it due to restrictions. What do you make of this?

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