Cannabis in Italy

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Legality of cannabis in Europe.

Cannabis in Italy is legal for medical and industrial uses, although it is strictly regulated, while it is decriminalized for recreational uses. In particular, the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use is a misdemeanor and it is subjected to fines, as well as the suspension of personal documents (e.g. passports and driver's licenses). Nevertheless, the unauthorized sale of cannabis-related products is illegal and punishable with imprisonment, as is the unlicensed cultivation of cannabis, although recent court cases have effectively established the legality of cultivating cannabis in small amounts and for exclusively personal use. The licensed cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes requires the use of certified seeds, however there is no need for authorization in order to plant certified seeds with minimal levels of psychoactive compounds (a.k.a. cannabis light).^[1][2]

Historical background[]

Advertisement for cannabis indica cigarettes, which are promoted as a remedy for several ailments, Bergamo Provincial Gazette, 1881.

A 1914 USDA report described the Italian hemp as the highest-priced hemp fiber in both the American and European markets, noting that it was obtained from plants similar to those cultivated in Kentucky at the time.^[3] The cause of the higher price was attributed to water retting and to increased care and labor in the preparation of the fiber. The report identified four main varieties of hemp being cultivated in Italy:^[3]

• the Bologna, (a.k.a. great hemp or chanvre de Piedmont in France), was cultivated in the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Rovigo, and Modena, with plants averaging nearly 12 feet (i.e. 3.66 m) in height in the local rich alluvial soil, while ranging between 8 and 11 feet (i.e. 2.44 and 3.35 m) in height when grown in test sites in Washington, D.C. and Lexington, KY;
• the Canapa piccola, (a.k.a. small hemp), was cultivated in the Arno valley in Tuscany, with plants ranging between 4 and 7 feet (i.e. 1.22 and 2.13 m) in height locally, while ranging between 4 and 6 feet (i.e. 1.22 and 1.83 m) in height in the test sites;
• the Neapolitan, large seeded variety, was cultivated in the vicinity of Naples and even on the sides of Mount Vesuvius, with plants ranging between 7 and 10 feet (i.e. 2.13 and 3.05 m) in height in the test sites;
• the Neapolitan, small seeded variety, was cultivated in the same area of the large seeded variety, with plants rarely exceeding 4 feet (i.e. 1.22 m) in height in the test sites.

In the 1940s, Italy was believed to be the second-biggest producer of industrial cannabis in the world, after the Soviet Union, although statistics from China, another major producer, are not available.^[4] According to the national farmers association Coldiretti, almost 100 thousand hectares (i.e. 1000 km²) of farm land in Italy were dedicated to the production of cannabis at the time.^[5] The decline of hemp production in Italy came with the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s, during which time synthetic fibers were introduced into the market and the international campaign against narcotics intensified.^[5] In particular, Italy endorsed all the three major drug control treaties, namely the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, and soon after the passage of the anti-drug Cossiga Law 685/75 of 1975, hemp fields in Italy all but disappeared.^[5]

In recent years, hemp production for medical and industrial purposes has seen a resurgence in Italy thanks to new technologies and innovative applications involving cannabis plants. In particular, hundreds of new businesses started growing cannabis in several Regions after looser requirements came into force in 2016 regarding the cultivation of cannabis plants with levels of THC below 0.2% (a.k.a. cannabis light), with the estimated cultivation area increasing from 400 hectares in 2013 to almost 4000 hectares (i.e. 40 km²) in 2018.^[5]

Legalization efforts[]

Pro-legalization graffiti in Venice, marking the cannabis leaf symbol as Erba Buona (i.e. good weed), and the symbol of the Northern League party as Erba Cattiva (i.e. bad weed).

In 1993, the Radical Party led by Marco Pannella successfully campaigned for a referendum that repealed criminal penalties for the personal use of soft drugs.^[6] However, the controversial Fini-Giovanardi Law 49/06 removed the distinction between hard and soft drugs in 2006, and thus made the possession of marijuana and hashish punishable as harshly as the possession of heroin or cocaine, until it was eventually struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2014.^[7] In particular, the law tripled sentences for selling, cultivating, and possessing cannabis from 2–6 years to 6–20 years, thus leading to prison overcrowding, with 40% of inmates being jailed for drug-related crimes, although cannabis consumption was never criminalized.^[8][9]

At present, the possession of cannabis for personal use is decriminalized and subjected to fines and the confiscation of personal documents like passports and driver's licenses, while its unlicensed cultivation and sale are still illegal and punishable with imprisonment,^[10] although there have been cases in which followers of the Rastafari religion have been acquitted of possession charges on religious grounds.^[11][12] Nevertheless, according to a 2015 poll by Ipsos, 83% of Italians deem laws prohibiting soft drugs as ineffective, 73% are in favour of legal cannabis, and 58% think that legalization would benefit public finances.^[13] In terms of consumption, 25% of people aged 15 to 19 years old have admitted using cannabis for recreational purposes at least once in 2014.^[13] Moreover, according to a 2018 report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Italy ranks third in the European Union in terms of cannabis use.^[14][15]

The popularity of recreational cannabis led in 2016 to renewed legalization efforts in Parliament, where legislation was proposed with the support of several politicians, mainly from the centre-left Democratic Party, the left-wing Left Ecology Freedom party, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, the anti-prohibition Radical Party, and even a few from the conservative Forza Italia party, as well as members of the Anti-Mafia Directorate.^{[7][13][16][17]} Proponents of the legislation point to the failure of prohibitionism in reducing cannabis consumption and argue that legalizing cannabis would regulate the circulation of cannabis-related products, reduce consumption among adolescents,^[18] allow the police and courts to focus their resources on other issues, and deprive criminal organizations of a significant source of revenue by redirecting it toward the State in the form of taxes, similarly to what happened in Colorado after it legalized cannabis in 2012.^{[10][13][16][17]} In particular, the value of the illegal cannabis market in Italy is estimated between 7.2 billion and more than 30 billion euros, while the potential tax revenue from legal cannabis is estimated between 5.5 and 8.5 billion euros.^[7][10][13] Moreover, the potential GDP boost resulting from a legal cannabis market in Italy is estimated between 1.30% and 2.34%.^[7]

Nevertheless, legalization efforts were opposed by several conservative and catholic-leaning politicians, mainly from the Northern League party and the New Centre-Right party, who argued that the consumption of cannabis constitutes a health risk and that legalization will not reduce drug addiction.^[7][10] The PD-led coalition government at the time, of which the New Centre-Right was a partner, was mainly focused on ensuring the passage of constititutional reforms, therefore cannabis legalization was not considered a priority.^[7][10][13] After the defeat of the constitutional referendum and the subsequent resignation of then Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on 12 December 2016, legalization efforts stalled in Parliament.

Cannabis light[]

In 2016, the "cannabis light" Law 242/16 removed the need for authorization to plant certified cannabis seeds with levels of THC below 0.2%, while the detection of THC levels between 0.2% and 0.6% during field inspections is still considered acceptable, when it can be attributed to natural causes.^[4][5] The law also requires farmers to keep the certification receipts for up to one year, however the use of cannabis leaves and inflorescences for edible products is still prohibited.^[4][5] The potential revenue from the sale of cannabis light in Italy is estimated to be more than 40 million euros, and by 2018 hundreds of new businesses started growing cannabis in several Regions.^[5]

Even though these looser requirements were originally intended to benefit farmers growing industrial hemp, with the production being limited to the 64 varieties of industrial hemp certified by the European Union, a lack of clarity regarding the use of cannabis inflorescences effectively created a booming unregulated market for recreational light cannabis.^[4][15] Since the law does not explicitly prohibit the sale of hemp flowers, customers can legally buy them, and then they can simply crumble them, roll them, and smoke them.^[15] The aforementioned 0.2% limit for the allowed THC content is considerably lower than the 15-25% range typically found in marijuana, thus preventing cannabis light users from actually getting stoned, however proponents of cannabis legalization are confident that the spread of cannabis light can contribute to the normalization of cannabis overall.^[4]

Nevertheless, in September 2018, then Interior Minister and Northern League party leader Matteo Salvini issued a memo to law enforcement agencies outlining a zero-tolerance policy towards cannabis retailers.^[19] In particular, the directive stated that cannabis products that contain THC levels above 0.2%, or that are made from plants not included in the official list of industrial hemp varieties, must be considered as narcotics and thus confiscated.^[19] Moreover, the Superior Council of Health, which provides technical-scientific counsel to the Ministry of Health, recommended in April 2018 to stop the free sale of cannabis light, as a public health precaution.^[20] The Council argued that the industrial applications of cannabis, as envisaged in the Law 242/16, do not include cannabis inflorescences; and they also cited a lack of scientific studies on the effects of even small levels of THC on possibly vulnerable subjects such as older people, breastfeeding mothers, and patients suffering from certain pathologies, which prevents them form ruling out possible health risks.^[20] Adding to the uncertainty in the cannabis light market, the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled in May 2019 that the sale of derivatives of cannabis sativa which do not fall within the scope of the Law 242/16, most notably oils, resins, buds, and leaves, is illegal under Italian Law unless such products are effectively devoid of narcotic effects.^[21][22] The Court also reaffirmed that only certain agricultural varieties of cannabis are permitted under the Law 242/16, which was meant to benefit farmers growing industrial hemp.^[21][22]

In 2019, a team of economists from the University of Magna Graecia, Université Catholique de Louvain, and the Erasmus School of Economics published a study on the effect of light cannabis liberalization in Italy on the organized crime. Albeit light cannabis does not generate hype as illegal marijuana, the study showed that confiscations of illegal marijuana declined with the opening of light cannabis shops. The authors also found a reduction in the number of confiscations of hashish and plants of marijuana along with a reduction of arrests for drug-related offenses. Forgone revenues for criminal organizations were estimated to be at least 90–170 million euros per year.^[23]

Personal use[]

Lifetime prevalence of cannabis use among all adults aged 15 to 64 years old, in nationwide surveys among the general population of Europe.

In December 2019, the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled that cultivating domestically small amounts of cannabis for the exclusive use of the grower is legal under Italian Law, after being asked to clarify previous conflicting interpretations of the law.^[24][25][26] The Court did not specify what constitutes a legally allowed small amount of cannabis, however the ruling came from a case in which the defendant possessed two plants, and was initially sentenced by a lower court to one year in prison and a 3000 € (i.e. about 3500 US$) fine.^[25][26]

The Court argued that public health is not threatened by a single cannabis user cultivating a few plants in a domestic setting and, in order to justify the assessment of a personal use of the plants, it pointed out the small size of the cultivation.^[25][27] In particular, the Court argued that, given the rudimental techniques used, the small number of plants present, the modest achievable amount of the final product, and the lack of evidence connecting it to a larger narcotic market, the cultivation appears to be destined exclusively for the personal use of the defendant, and should therefore be considered excluded from the application of the penal code.^[25][27] The ruling came just days after a proposed amendment to the 2020 budget calling for legalisation and regulation of domestic cannabis use, although already approved by the Lower House, was ruled inadmissible by the President of the Senate on technical grounds.^[24][26]

In April 2021, a patient suffering from acute rheumatoid arthritis was acquitted of drug pushing after a court ruled that he was allowed to exceed the legal limits of cannabis cultivation, after running out of an adequate supply of medical cannabis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the grounds that it was for his personal health use.^[28] As of July 2021, another patient suffering from fibromyalgia, for which a daily dose of one gram of medical cannabis is usually prescribed, is currently on trial for the same charge of drug trafficking, after two cannabis plants were found in his house, together with rudimental tools for cultivating, preserving, and weighing cannabis, as well as a stock of the final product sufficient for just above a month of therapy, with a THC content ranging between 0.32% and 2.38%.^[29] The defendant lives in Calabria which, similarly to Molise and Aosta Valley, has not yet approved for medical cannabis to be covered by its Regional Health Agency, thus leading to higher costs and a distribution limited to a few pharmacies.^[29] Moreover, critics have argued that such charges would lead patients to buy cannabis directly from illegal pushers instead of growing it themselves, since they would risk just a fine, confiscation of documents, and a mandatory rehabilitation program for the charge of possession, as opposed to 6 years in prison for drug pushing.^[29] In fact, a third of all the illegal marijuana produced in Italy is reportedly cultivated in Calabria, due to its favorable climate, with the 'Ndrangheta being the leading criminal organization for drug trafficking in both Italy and Europe.^[29]

In September 2021, a preliminary text was approved by the Justice Committee in the Lower House that would decriminalize the small-scale cultivation of up to four female cannabis plants at home for exclusively personal use.^[30] The stated aim of the proposed legislation is to make sure that patients have access to medical cannabis, as well as to combat criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking.^[30] The law would also lower the penalties for minor cannabis-related infractions from 2–6 years in prison to 1 year at most, thus distinguishing it from hard drugs like heroin, while it would increase penalties related to drug trafficking to 6–10 years.^[30]

At the same time, a ballot initiative was launched that aims at the decriminalization of the cultivation of marijuana, as well as the repeal of penalties for cannabis possession, by amending the relevant laws through a referendum.^[6][31][32] In particular, the objective of the campaign is to amend several articles of the Presidential Decree DPR 309/90 of 1990, regarding the discipline of narcotics and psychotropic substances, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of the related stages of substance dependence, which is reportedly responsible for 35% of the current prison population in Italy.^[32] The initiative is supported by several pro-legalization organizations, including ARCI and the Luca Coscioni Association, as well as several political parties, including Italian Radicals, +Europa, Possible, Power to the People, Communist Refoundation, and Italian Left.^[6][31][32] In its first week of operation, the campaign collected 400 thousand signatures in less than four days and reached the required 500 thousand signatures well before the deadline set at the end of September, which will allow the referendum to take place as early as spring 2022.^{[6][31][32][33]} The speed at which the signatures were collected was made possible by a law approved in July 2021 that allows for signatures to be collected online, while previously only in-person signing was allowed, and the campaigners continued to collect signatures up until the deadline, in order to make sure that the initiative would not be rejected due to some of them being ruled invalid.^[34] In particular, the collected signatures must be verified by the Supreme Court of Cassation, while the Constitutional Court must verify that the ballot question is in line with the Constitution, after which the President will set a date for the referendum.^[6][33]

Law enforcement[]

CIA map depicting the major international drug trafficking routes for opiates and cocaine.

Cannabis inflorescences are classified as narcotics and their pharmaceutical use is strictly regulated in accordance with the aforementioned UN Conventions of 1961 and 1971, EU regulations, as well as national legislation, including the aforementioned DPR 309/90 of 1990.^[35] The cultivation of cannabis plants for pharmaceutical use, as well as the production and distribution of cannabis-based medicine, are allowed only for authorized entities, while the DPR 309/90 forbids both the direct and indirect advertisement of a list of derived substances.^[35] Nevertheless, farmers can cultivate cannabis for exclusively non-pharmaceutical purposes, such as the production of hemp fibers or other industrial applications, using certified seeds under the direction of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Policies.^[35]

Central Office for Narcotics[]

In November 2015, Italy instituted the Central Office for Narcotics, in accordance with the 1961 UN Convention and subsequent amendments, which instruct countries allowing the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes to create a state agency for its management.^[36] The functions of the Central Office for Narcotics include:^[36][37]

• implementing national and EU regulations regarding narcotics and psychoactive drugs;
• updating the official list of narcotics and psychoactive substances;
• authorizing the cultivation of cannabis for the production of medicine and other substances;
• approving areas dedicated to the cultivation of cannabis;
• approving the exportation, importation, distribution within the national territory, and storage of cannabis plants and derived materials, with the exception of stocks kept in facilities authorized for the production of medicine;
• determining the production quotas based on Regional requests, and relaying that information to the International Narcotics Control Board.

Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services[]

The Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services (CDA) is a joint organization involving the State Police, the Carabinieri, and the Financial Guard, as well as civil administration personnel from the Ministry of Interior, in the fight against drug trafficking.^[38] The three law enforcement agencies are equally represented in the Directorate, with the general director being selected every three years from the three agencies on a rotationary basis.^[38] The Directorate was originally instituted as the Anti-Drug Directorate through the Law 685/75 of 1975, and underwent several changes over the years, becoming the Central Anti-Drug Services through the Law 121/81 of 1981, until the Law 16/91 of 1991 defined its current structure and functions.^[38] The Directorate is made of three main branches, each containing two Divisions.

The General and International Affairs (GIA) branch manages multilateral, training, and legislative initiatives, as well as technical support to the Judiciary Police. International initiatives are coordinated with the United Nations, the European Union, as well as other agencies including the G7 Rome-Lyon Group, the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre, Ameripol, the Paris Pact Initiative, and the International Drug Enforcement Conference.^[39] The GIA branch manages training and educational activities at both a national and international level through courses, conferences, and workshops; and it also gives technical-juridical advice regarding bills and regulations on narcotics and drug trafficking.^[39]

The Studies, Research, and Information (SRI) branch conducts research and intelligence activities, in particular monitoring national and international drug trafficking. The analysis includes local consumption statistics, trafficking routes, production and market areas, concealment methods, demographics of the people involved, and evolution of new narcotics.^[39] At the international level, the SRI branch collaborates with the International Narcotics Control Board. It also gathers and processes information from both national and foreign sources regarding drug-related confiscations, arrests, and deaths, subsequently relaying these data to the National Statistics System (SISTAN), as well as using them for internal reports. Finally, the SRI branch offers support upon request in terms of providing bibliographical references for academic and research purposes.^[39]

The Anti-Drug Operations (ADO) branch coordinates police activities against drug trafficking through intelligence, strategic, operational, and technical-logistical support both at a national and international level.^[39] The ADO branch also approves and coordinates undercover operations, manages naval boarding requests against suspicious vessels in international waters, and monitors internet activities related to drug trafficking.^[39]

Illegal drug trade[]

The main narcotic substances obtained from the female inflorescences and resin of cannabis plants are marijuana, hashish, and hashish oil.^[40] According to the CDA, the major marijuana producers worldwide are Albania, supplying Italy and parts of Europe; Mexico and the United States, mainly supplying North America; and Paraguay, which represents the main distribution center for all of South America; while Morocco represents the main producer of hashish.^[40] Moreover, the three main routes for the illegal trade of cannabis-derived substances are from Mexico towards the United States and Canada; from North Africa, through Spain, towards the European markets; and from Albania, through the Adriatic Sea, towards Italy and other European markets.^[39] Furthermore, the Italian black market for marijuana is also supplied by the Netherlands, as well as local producers.^[40]

Medical cannabis[]

Nineteenth century medicine bottles on display at the Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Amsterdam.

In January 2013, Italy legalized the medical use of cannabis with a doctor's prescription.^[41][42] However, at the time, the cost of cannabis-based medicine wasn't covered by the State and the drug had to be imported from abroad, primarily from the Netherlands and through intermediary agencies, making it too expensive for the average patient to buy legally at pharmacies, with prices reaching up to 50 € (i.e. about 59 US$) per gram, as well as waiting times reaching up to a month.^[43][44][45]

For this reason, then Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti announced in September 2014 that the army would begin growing cannabis plants in a secure room at the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Facility in Florence, which is already tasked with the production of orphan drugs both as an application of the constitutional right to health care and as a matter of national security.^[43][45][46] The military facility manages all stages of the production of medical cannabis, including growing and harvesting the plants, drying and grinding the leaves, sanitizing the final product with gamma rays, and then shipping it to pharmacies and hospitals.^[45]

The state-approved cannabis is prescribed for several conditions, in particular for chronic pain relief to patients with cancer and multiple sclerosis,^[43] and the army production increased from 20 kg between 2014 and 2016 to more than 100 kg of cannabis in 2017,^[44] resulting in a 30% decrease in the cost of the final product.^[47] Moreover, in order to keep up with the demand from doctors and patients, which was estimated between 400 and 450 kg a year in 2017,^[45] the army is expanding its cultivation to other areas of the military facility, where new greenhouses have already been set up in order to reach an estimated production of 300 kg per year.^[44][47]

In February 2021, Bio Hemp Farming became the first italian company to be granted authorization by the Ministry of Health to grow medical cannabis and to extract its active principles for pharmaceutical purposes.^[48] The potential revenue from medicinal cannabis is estimated to be more than 1.4 billion euros, with the internal market creating at least 10000 jobs and reducing the dependence on imports.^[5]

The prescription of cannabis for medical use is allowed when the patient is unresponsive to conventional or standard therapies, and the list of medical uses includes:^[49]

• relieving chronic pain, as well as pain associated with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries;
• treating nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and HIV treatments;
• stimulating appetite for patients suffering from cachexia, anorexia, cancer, and AIDS;
• inducing hypotension within glaucomas;
• reducing involuntary movements for patients affected by Tourette syndrome.

The state-run production and distribution of medical cannabis is the result of a collaboration between the Ministries of Health and Defence, as well as other entities including the Ministry of Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Policies; the Regions; the Italian Medicines Agency; the Superior Institute of Health; the Defence Industries Agency; and qualified experts.^[50] The aim is to ensure the availability of the raw material; guarantee the safe preparation and use of cannabis-based medicine; prevent the use of unauthorized, illegal, or counterfeit products; and make therapies affordable by reducing the cost of cannabis.^[44][51]

The military facility currently produces two types of cannabis-based ingredients, which are then distributed to pharmacies in a minced form to be used in their formulations.^[46] Cannabis FM2, which is similar to the Bediol strain,^[52] has been available to the Regions since December 2016, and its THC content (i.e. between 5% and 8%) is lower than the levels commonly found in similar drugs sold in the black market, or even in those legally imported from the Netherlands, while its CBD content (i.e. between 7.5% and 12%) is comparatively higher due to its more useful anti-inflammatory properties.^[51][53] Since July 2018, Cannabis FM1, which is similar to the Bedrocan variety,^[52] has also been available to the Regions, and it shows a considerably higher THC content (i.e. between 13% and 20%), as well as a considerably lower CBD content (i.e. less than 1%).^[51] The higher THC content makes Cannabis FM1 more suitable to mitigate the symptoms of conditions like multiple sclerosis.^[45]

The final price of the product being sold to pharmacies by the military facility, based on the estimated production costs, is equal to 6.88 € (i.e. 7.39 US$) per gram, not including the VAT.^[53][54] Furthermore, in June 2017, the Ministry of Health established a maximum price for medical cannabis between 8.50 € and 9.00 € per gram, in order to standardize the expenses sustained by patients.^[44] However, this price cap has resulted in a short supply of the product due to limited profit margins for pharmacies, while regional legislative differences also add to the overall complexity of the cannabis market.^[44] For example, the Regions have the ability to increase local prices in order to make it profitable for pharmacies to sell medical cannabis, and they can also decide for which health conditions the drug can or cannot be prescribed.^[44]

Consumption statistics[]

The Ministry of Health also publishes consumption statistics for medical cannabis both at a national and a regional level, based on regional distribution requests and the authorized sale of the product, and the military facility determines its production quotas by taking into account the consumption data from the previous two years, as well as the yearly increases.^[54] The annual legal consumption of medical cannabis has grown from 40 kg in 2013 to nearly 10 times that in 2017, and the demand is expected to further quadruple as the value of cannabis is more widely understood by doctors.^[4] The high demand caused pharmacies throughout Italy to run out of medical cannabis by September 2017, prompting many patients with prescriptions to turn to the black market, while in January 2018 the importation of cannabis was extended to Canada.^[4][55][56] As of March 2021, it is estimated that more than 2 million patients in Italy could benefit from medical cannabis, while the total needs are estimated to be at least 2000 kg per year.^[57] However, only a few tens of thousands of patients have access to cannabis-based drugs, while the COVID-19 pandemic has affected both the importation and the distribution of the medicine.^[57]

Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Facility[]

The origins of the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Facility in Florence date back to 1853 in the Kingdom of Sardinia, when the General Chemical-Pharmaceutical Laboratory was established in Turin by royal decree, as part of the Military Pharmacy Warehouse, in order to provide the military with the medicine and medical supplies needed, as well as combating diseases like malaria, which was widespread in Italy at the time.^[58] After the Great War, plans were made to modernize the Laboratory, and move it to a more central location within the Italian peninsula, in order to improve the distribution of supplies.^[58] The current facility, covering about 55000 m², was thus constructed in Florence, becoming operational in October 1931, and producing several types of medicine, medical supplies, cosmetics, and food products, with a workforce peaking at 2000 people in the 1940s.^[58]

Renamed the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Facility in 1976, beside the production of medical cannabis with hydroponic cultures, the institute also produces five different orphan drugs, as well as mantaining the national stockpile of antidotes in case of mass poisoning, terrorist attacks, and nuclear disasters, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health which manages a net of warehouses located in each Region.^[59] In particular, the facility was involved in relief efforts during several natural and man-made disasters, including the Florence flood of 1966, the Friuli earthquake of 1976, the Irpinia earthquake of 1980, as well as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986, for which the institute produced 500 thousand pills of potassium iodide in less than 24 hours, in order to combat the thyroid damage caused by Iodine-131.^[58] The facility has also been involved in the production of medicine and medical supplies for international assistance, such as during the Romanian revolution of December 1989.^[58]

The military facility is a non-profit institute, operating on a balanced budget since 2008 and reinvesting any surplus into research and production, and collaborating with several Italian universities in several fields of research and education.^[59] In order to avoid unfair competition with the private sector, the facility mainly focuses on the research and production of unprofitable drugs used to cure rare diseases, which are defined as affecting just one every 2000 people, although possible revenue may still be obtained from exporting such drugs, with potential customers numbering at least 400 million people worldwide.^[59] With regards to the production of medical cannabis, the facility is looking for a public–private partnership in order to increase the overall production, possibly reaching 4000 kg a year, thus covering the national demand while also providing export opportunities.^[59]

Industrial cannabis[]

A hemp field in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, France (Europe's largest hemp producer).

In 2016, Italy removed the need for authorization to grow certified hemp with levels of THC below 0.2%, in order to stimulate the production of industrial hemp and to offer an alternative to the cultivation of wheat for farmers damaged by low prices, desiccated lands, and competition from large corporations importing grain from abroad.^[15] In particular, the potential profit from the cultivation of hemp in Italy is estimated to be more than 2500 € (i.e. about 2900 US$) per hectare, which is more than 10 times the estimated yield for wheat, and with the increasing number of farmers turning to hemp production, the overall production of durum wheat in Italy decreased by more than 4% in 2017.^[15] An important cultivar for Italy is Fibranova, which was developed in the 1950s as 'Bredemann Eletta' x 'Carmagnola', while 'Bredemann Eletta' was developed at the Max Planck Institut. Other cultivars include Carmagnola Selezionata, the landrace Carmagnola, Eletta Campana (a Carmagnola cross), and Superfibra.^[60]

The cultivation of industrial hemp with minimal levels of psychoactive compounds has several commercial applications, including food, fabrics, clothing, biofuel, construction materials, and animal feed.^[4] In Italy, certified hemp plants can be used for both industrial and ornamental purposes, however food products can only be derived from the hemp seeds, since they have no THC content, while the consumption of hemp flowers and leaves is still prohibited.^[4][5] On the other hand, the hemp seeds reportedly contain all essential amino acids in optimal proportions and in an easily digestible form, and edible products include biscuits, bread, flour, anti-inflammatory oil, ricotta, tofu, and beer.^[5] The elevated protein content also makes cannabis-based food a suitable meat replacement for vegetarians, while its intense flavour has even been used for gelato, chocolate bars, and pastries.^[61][62] Other hemp-derived products include oils used in cosmetics, thermally insulating ecobricks, pellet fuel, as well as natural resins and fabrics that can be used for clothing due to their thermal properties, and for furnitures due to their resistance.^[5]

Another significant application of industrial cannabis is soil decontamination through phytoremediation, a process in which contaminants are absorbed by the fast-growing roots of hemp plants, which store the toxins or even transform them into a harmless substance.^[63][64] Examples of applications include the removal of toxic chemical dioxins from farm lands and grazing fields around the Ilva steel plant near Taranto, as well as the removal of radioactive strontium and cesium from areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.^[63][64]

See also[]

• Adult lifetime cannabis use by country
• Annual cannabis use by country
• Legality of cannabis
• Legality of cannabis by country

References[]

External links[]

• Italy could be about to legalise marijuana – here are health arguments for and against. International Business Times (UK). Author - Léa Surugue. Published 4 August 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.