Speaking at the closing of the XXIII Congress of the JS, in which he was re-elected, Miguel Costa Matos said that legalising cannabis "is not a divisive cause", but rather "a structuring cause in public health".

"There are other [causes] in which we must take advantage of this absolute majority of the Socialist Party to advance. And that is, without a doubt, the case of the legalisation of cannabis", he said.

"Legalising cannabis is not a divisive cause, it is a structural cause in public health, it is a need for us to control, regulate and supervise the substance that is currently being sold on the streets. It is legislating by evidence, it is following the examples of Canada, Uruguay, of some states of the United States of America and it will be the case of Germany and Malta", he added.

For Miguel Costa Matos, it is now necessary to sign "a new social contract" with young people, "at a time when so many are turning to the extreme right or liberalism".

"We need to demonstrate that it is here with the socialists, it is here through the Welfare State, through equal opportunities that we truly build freedom and fulfilment", he said.

For Miguel Costa Matos, "an absolutely central axis in this new social contract must be the fight against climate change".


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