Mamma Mia! Italy is on the verge of decriminalizing adult cannabis use and home cultivation

From Franca Quarneti via El Planteo

In Italy, the House of Commons Judiciary Committee passed a reform that decriminalizes recreational marijuana use and allows up to four plants to be grown at home.

What remains to be done The vote must be debated and ratified by the House of Lords before it becomes law.

If approved, Italy will be the first country in Europe to decriminalize adult marijuana use. And one of the pioneering states in legalizing self-cultivation in Spain and the Czech Republic.

Photo by Caleb Miller via Unsplash

Increased penalties

According to ANSA, Mario Perantoni, President of the Chamber of Deputies and co-author of the bill, said: “Growing no more than 4 female plants at home is decriminalized”.

However, the reform will increase the penalties for trafficking and selling cannabis from six to ten years.

The European country is taking a more relaxed approach as it allows cannabis with a high CBD content and THC content of less than 0.6% to be sold in pharmacy stores.

In 2019, a study by the University of Magna Graecia showed that the legal cannabis market claims between € 90 million and € 170 million a year from organized crime networks. In this context, allowing home-growing in Italy would further reduce the involvement of criminal gangs in the cannabis business and allow Italians access to the plant without prosecution.