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Cannabis products with a THC content of 0.2% or less can be bought in stores all over Italy, but only from licenced suppliers (they're "collectors' items" and "not for recreational use"). Private individuals should never try to cross international borders with their own product, even if it complies with the possession and sale law within the country. Flying from U.S. to Italy w/ CBD a bad idea? June 28, 2022 9:44 PM SubscribeI'm flying from the U.S. to Rome soon and would like to pack a few CBD and Delta8 edible gummies. After much googling - it seems
medical CBD and 'marijuana light' as they call it, is legal and plentiful in Italy. (Doesn't look like Delta 8 is though) Seems like I could easily just throw these into a jar w/ my other meds etc. But I'm a little spooked about it all since I don't travel internationally and frankly don't know if my bags will be searched/ sniffed out for such items. Any advice/ recent experience? Grazie  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] The history of cannabis cultivation in Italy dates back to Roman times, when it was primarily used to produce hemp ropes, although pollen records from core samples show that Cannabaceae plants were present in the Italian peninsula since at least the Late Pleistocene. The mass cultivation of industrial cannabis for the production of hemp fiber in Italy really took off during the period of the Maritime Republics and the Age of Sail, and continued well after the Italian Unification, only to experience a sudden decline during the second half of the 20th century, with the introduction of synthetic fibers and the start of the war on drugs, and only recently it is slowly experiencing a resurgence. History of cannabis in Italy[edit]Prehistory[edit]The family of Cannabaceae includes the two genera of cannabis and humulus, with the former believed to be native exclusively to Asia, while the latter also to Europe.[3] According to Greek historian and geographer Herodotus, the Scythians brought hemp from Asia to Europe during their migrations around 1500 B.C., while the Teutons were a major factor in the spread of the cultivation of hemp throughout Europe.[4][5] Other sources attribute the introduction of hemp into Italy to the arrivals of both the Scythians and the Illyrians between the 10th and the 8th centuries B.C. while, by the 6th and 5th centuries B.C., hemp cultivation was present throughout Italy.[6] Nevertheless, the oldest evidence of the presence of cannabis and humulus in central Italy dates back to the Late Glacial, as inferred from sediment cores extracted from the Albano and Nemi lakes, in which pollen records show an increase in the human influence on the local vegetation.[3] In particular, humulus pollen values increase during the mid Holocene, while hemp pollen values start to rise from about 3000 cal BP (i.e. 1050 B.C.) onwards, reaching their earliest peak during the 1st century A.D., as a clear consequence of the cultivation of hemp by the Romans, although the pre-Roman trends can be attributed to natural sources, and possibly to anthropogenic sources as well.[3] Ancient Rome[edit]In the 1st century A.D., Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder described in his Naturalis Historia the cultivation and use of cannabis plants in the Roman Empire, both for industrial and medical purposes.[7][8] Ancient Romans would sow hemp seeds during spring and harvest the ripe hemp seeds after the autumn equinox, after which they were dried in the sun, or the wind, or by the smoke of a fire, while the hemp plants were plucked after the vintage, to be then peeled and cleaned.[7] According to the De re rustica by contemporary writer Lucius Columella, hemp plants require either rich, manured, and well-watered soil, or alternatively soil that is level, moist, and deeply worked.[9] Roman farmers would plant six hemp seeds per square foot toward the end of February however, if the weather was rainy, sowing could be done up to the spring equinox without harming the crop.[9] The main use of hemp fiber was for manufacturing ropes, sheets, wickers, and nets;[10] in particular Pliny mentions three Alabandica varieties to be the best ones to be used for hunting nets, the variety produced in Mylasa to be the second best, and the hemp cultivated in the Sabine territory to be particularly tall.[7] Furthermore, archaeological excavations at Pompeii, in Campania felix (i.e. part of what is now Campania), unearthed samples of hemp textiles that have been preserved by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.,[11] reportedly including cloth sandals made of hemp,[12] although linen was generally preferred in antiquity for the production of canvas, sails, and clothing.[5][13] In 2018, excavations on the eastern bank of the ancient Natiso cum Turro river of Aquileia, in the area of Venetia et Histria that is now Friuli-Venezia Giulia, revealed the first system of basins from the Roman world that is known to have been used for the maceration of hemp, as inferred from archaeobotanical and archaeo-palynological studies of the site.[10] The long and shallow pools were dated between the late 2nd – early 3rd century A.D. and the late 3rd – early 4th century A.D.; they were delimited by parapets made of clay, sand, and tiny pebbles; and they were coated with thin layers of cocciopesto for waterproofing.[10] Similarly to more recent water retting procedures, the harvested stalks of cannabis sativa were bundled into sheaves and then submerged into either stagnant or running water by tying them to dedicated poles, in order to extract the fiber.[10] In Italia, different parts of the hemp plants were used for various culinary purposes, in particular Pliny mentions hemp seeds being stored in pots for later use and lasting for as much as one year, while the stalks and branches were used as vegetables.[7] In terms of the contemporary beliefs on cannabis plants and the effects of their personal use, according to Pliny, wild hemp first grew in woods and had darker and rougher leaves, while its seeds were said to cause impotence.[8] The juice derived from it was used to drive out worms and other creatures that could enter the ears, although it would cause headache as a side effect, and it was said to be so potent that it was able to coagulate water when it was poured into it.[8] Furthermore, when the hemp juice was mixed with water and then drunk by beasts of burden, it was said to be able to regulate their bowels.[8] Moreover, hemp roots boiled in water were thought to ease cramped joints, gout, and similar violent pains, while they could also be applied raw to burns, but they would be changed before getting dry.[8] The ability of boiled cannabis roots to lessen inflammation was also attested by contemporary Greek physician and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides in his De Materia Medica, a pharmacopoeia that mainly focuses on medicinal plants.[14] In regards to the recreational use of cannabis in the Roman Empire, 2nd century Greek physician and philosopher Claudius Galenus wrote that it was customary in Italia to serve small cannabis-based cakes for dessert, whose seeds would reportedly create a feeling of warmth and, if consumed in large quantities, affect the head by emitting a warm and toxic vapor.[14] Middle Ages[edit]The mass cultivation of industrial cannabis in Italy started during the High Middle Ages, with the demographic and agricultural recoveries, the rise of Medieval communes and the Maritime Republics, and the increase of their trade in the Mediterranean Sea.[13] Between 1304 and 1309, Bolognese jurist and landowner Pietro de' Crescenzi compiled an agricultural treatise entitled De agricultura vulgare, alternatively known as the Ruralia commoda, which includes a section on the cultivation of industrial cannabis at the time.[15] In the treatise, hemp is described as having the same nature as flax, namely requiring similar air and soil, although the latter does not need to be ploughed as much.[16] Nevertheless, for the production of ropes, the seeds must be planted in rich soil, in order to increase the resulting yield, while the sparser the seeds are planted, the more ramified the grown plants will be.[16] Conversely, for the production of textiles such as cloth sacks, sheets, or shirts, the soil does not need to be as rich, while the seeds must be more densely sowed, in order to obtain plants without branches, which are more suitable for such products.[16] Morover, hemp fiber is described as necessary for the production of fishing nets, since it is more water resistant than flax fiber.[16] Furthermore, hemp seeds have been used for food for several centuries, especially by the poorer social classes, since they were inexpensive, rich in nutrients, and available even during droughts.[17][18] In fact, several centuries-old Italian recipes use cannabis sativa as the main ingredient, and these recipes include:[18]
Republic of Venice[edit]The mass production of naval ropes, cables, and hawsers from hemp at the Venetian Arsenal dates back to between 1303 and 1322, when the first corderia was established, known as the Tana hemp house.[19][20][21] Its construction was approved on 7 July 1302 by the Major Council, in order to localize the storage of hemp and the production of ropes, as part of the first enlargement of the Arsenal.[21] The elongated ropewalks, located on the southern side of the Arsenal, were later reconstructed between 1579 and 1585 under architect Antonio da Ponte, resulting in a 317 m (1,040 ft) long and 21 m (68.9 ft) wide building divided into three aisles by two rows of 6 m (19.7 ft) tall and 1 m (3.3 ft) wide brick columns, for a total of 84 pillars.[19][20][21] The raw hemp was mainly imported through trade agreements from the Don river delta, on the Azov Sea, where the Venetians established several trading posts, whose importance is attested by the fact that the Tana hemp house reportedly derived its name from Tanai, the ancient greek name for the Don river.[19][21] Nevertheless, in order to maintain favorable prices and ensure steady supplies, Venice also imported hemp from Emilia, the Marches, and the Middle East.[21] The importance of the raw material for shipbuilding is also attested by its exception from tariffs, as well as by several deliberations from the Venetian judiciary that were aimed at the protection and promotion of hemp cultivation in the mainland.[13] The imported hemp was primarily used to manufacture ropes at a low cost, but it was also used for caulking ship hulls.[19][21] The produced ropes would then be safely stored, thus creating strategic stockpiles that would allow the Republic to remain independent from external suppliers during wartime.[19] These stockpiles were overseen by three magistrates, known as the Visdomini alla Tana, who were elected by the Major Council, and one of the required checks was that the ropes produced for vessels had to be made from exactly 1,098 twisted hemp strings.[21] When needed, the rope would be taken out of storage through dedicated holes, and cut at the required size, rather than already being produced with standardized lengths, while the fiber of any leftover would be repurposed.[19][21] The rope could also be sold at a lower price to foreign ships transiting at the port, thus making it competitive in the international market at the time, although sales from the Arsenal to private third parties required an appropriate licence issued by the authorities.[19][21] After the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797, with the arrival of Napoleon, the Tana hemp house ended its centuries-old activity, to be then turned into a warehouse, while it has more recently been used as an exhibition center during the Venice Biennale since 1980.[20][21] The production of ropes was instead moved to the Corte dei Cordami (i.e. Cordage Courtyard) on the island of Giudecca, where hawsers were still being twisted in open-air ropewalks, and activities continued there up until 1995.[21] The legacy of the once thriving hemp rope industry, as well as many other related activities, is attested in the toponyms of several streets in Venice.[21] Traditional hemp rope making[edit]At the Tana hemp house, the hemp fiber would arrive in large square bales, already macerated and dry, and it would be forcefully slammed against a wooden pole, equipped with metal rods, to complete the breakage of the stalk.[22] The remaining woody fragments would then be removed using comb-like tools of different shapes for both coarser and finer combing, in preparation for the spinning phase.[22] The spinning device would consist in a large rotating wooden wheel, placed vertically and firmly fixed to the ground, equipped with laterally protruding rods that supported a winding rope connecting the wheel to several interchangeable wooden cylinders of different dimensions, depending on the final size of the rope to be produced, which were located a few meters away.[22] The rotating wheel would make such cylinders spin, and they would be used to either twist a twine (with a single cylinder), or intertwine three or four strings (with multiple cylinders) to produce different types of rope.[22] Several other tools would be used in order to keep the rope always tightly stretched, while also sustaining its weight along the ropewalk; to avoid hand contact with the rope during twisting; and to keep it constantly lubricated, thus preventing any damage from friction-related heat.[21][22] Afterwards, the rope would be soaked overnight, and then an iron mesh would be used to rub the rope, in order to remove the last few remaining streaks, while a stretch of coarse rope would be rolled up and run around the rope for a final smoothing and polishing.[22] Kingdom of the Two Sicilies[edit]The cultivation of hemp in southern Italy dates back to the Roman Empire and continued during the Middle Ages, when Emperor Frederick II promulgated the Constitutiones Augustales in 1231, which included provisions to protect populated places in the Kingdom of Sicily from the decomposition fumes emanating from the maceration basins.[6] In particular, maceration sites around Naples had to be located at least one mile away from population centers, although any waste from the retting process could still be disposed of in either local rivers or the sea.[6] Following significant public protests, King Charles II of Anjou decreed the closure and reclamation of several maceration sites in 1300 and 1306, which were followed by similar projects during the Angevin and Aragonese periods, until King Alfonso I of Aragon permanently moved the processing of hemp plants to the shallow Agnano lake, about 8 km (4.97 mi) west of Naples.[6][23] Moreover, the Miano-Agnano highway, known as Via dei Canapi (i.e. Hemp street), was constructed in order to facilitate the transport of hemp between the fields North of Naples and the maceration sites at the lake, while also avoiding population centers.[6] Despite two temporary bans, the first one during the plague of 1656 and the second one following the death of one of the sons of Viceroy Gaspar de Bracamonte from an infection in Pozzuoli in 1663, retting activities continued in the Phlegraean Fields until the second half of the 19th century, when they became unprofitable.[6] Subsequently, the Agnano lake was decontaminated and drained between 1866 and 1870, with its surface at the time spanning between 90 and 130 ha (0.9 and 1.3 km2; 0.3 and 0.5 sq mi) within a volcanic crater about 2.07 km (1.29 mi) wide.[6][23][24] This land reclamation project was carried out in order to remove the rotting fumes, as well as to prevent further outbreaks of the mosquito-borne malaria by reducing the local habitat of the Anopheles mosquito.[6] Nevertheless, from the 17th century onwards, the hemp cultivation area in Campania steadily increased to include the southern part of the modern-day Province of Caserta, and most of the former Province of Naples, including the sides of Mt. Vesuvius.[6] According to an economic census compiled under King Joachim-Napoleon, during the French rule of the Kingdom of Naples between 1806 and 1815, hemp fields were mainly located in the fertile Volturno river basin, between the comuni of Capua, Caserta, Maddaloni, and Aversa; while significant exports of hemp from Naples towards the rest of Europe were recorded around 1840.[6] The legacy of the once-flourishing industry of hemp cultivation and processing in the area is attested in the toponyms of several streets and towns around Naples.[6] Furthermore, the oldest corderia that is still operating in Italy was established in 1796 in Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, in order to produce high-quality cordage from hemp as part of the local shipyard, which was founded in 1773 by royal decree of King Ferdinand IV of Naples.[25] Another noteworthy site for the production of ropes in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was located near the Ear of Dionysius in Syracuse, Sicily, where the wide humid spaces within the Grotta dei Cordari (i.e. Cave of the Ropemakers) have been utilized as ropewalks for three centuries, using hemp produced in Campania, until the last ropemakers left in 1984 due to the risk of collapse.[26][27] Papal States[edit]
After the affirmation of Papal rule over Romagna in the early 16th century, hemp and wheat became two of the main exports of the Papal States, so much so that several regulations emanated by Pope Paul III in 1523,[a] and later reaffirmed by Pope Sixtus V in 1586, defined the processing standards required for hemp in order for it to be exported.[5][13] In fact, the exportation of raw hemp from Bologna, when it was temporarily under Papal rule, had already been forbidden by a bull from Pope Gregory XI in 1376, which aimed at allowing the inhabitants to keep the revenue derived from the processing of hemp plants.[5] Historically, the cultivation of hemp in what are now Umbria and the Marches was already widespread during the mid 13th century, as attested in the cartulary of the Abbey of Sassovivo, and in ancient statutes of the town of Foligno, as well as other towns in the March of Ancona.[13][29][30] Similarly to the regulations implemented in southern Italy, city laws sometimes dating back to 14th century statutes and subsequently updated up until the 18th century, banned maceration sites both inside and outside city walls in the areas around Foligno and Ascoli Piceno, for public health reasons based on the miasma theory.[13][29][30] Nevertheless, these activities were so widespread that the retting of hemp plants was still carried out almost everywhere, even within urban centers.[29] Several other laws regulated the production of hemp fiber and ropes, in order to ensure high-quality products.[29] Industrial use of cannabis[edit]Engraving depicting the lifting tower and plentiful hemp cordage used to re-erect the Vatican Obelisk at the center of St. Peter's Square in 1586. Hemp plants were used in their entirety, namely the roots were used as firewood, the woody fragments of the stalk were dipped in sulfur to produce matches, the seeds were used as food for livestock, and the fiber was used to make fishing nets, ropes to be used in various agricultural activities, and textiles such as packaging for fine linens, flour sacks, family clothing, and trousseaus for daughters' weddings.[13][31][32] Hemp ropes were also widely used for the numerous architectural and engineering projects that took place in Rome, and Foligno in particular is cited by architect Domenico Fontana as a major producer of hemp fiber.[33] As an example, Roman ropemakers used fiber from Foligno to produce the significant amount of cordage that was used to move and re-erect the Vatican Obelisk at the center of St. Peter's Square in 1586, for a total of 4,700 canne (10.5 km; 6.65 mi) of rope with an average thickness equal to a third of a palm (7.17 cm; 2.82 in).[33] Another important center for cannabis production was located near Viterbo, in Lazio, in the town of Canepina, which derives its name from the once locally widespread cultivation of the plant.[34] In particular, the lands surrounding the town are rich in water, which flowed along a multitude of streams and rivulets, while the predominantly stony grounds caused the local hemp to acquire a pure white color, which made it particularly sought-after in all contemporary markets, and especially by Roman noblewomen.[34] In terms of the cultivation area, industrial cannabis in Umbria was cultivated both in the river valleys, such as along the Nera river banks, and in the Apennine mountains, such as in Gavelli, Monteleone di Spoleto, and Castelluccio di Norcia.[31] Moreover, following several land reclamation projects carried out between 1561 and 1562 in the swampy areas between the comuni of Foligno, Trevi, Montefalco, and Bevagna, under Francesco Jacobilli, and in 1588 in the swamp of Colfiorito, vast sections of the newly recovered fertile farm land were turned into hemp fields, which resulted in a significant increase in the local hemp production already in 1563.[29] Most of these reclaimed lands belonged to the Jacobilli noble family, who leased them to other noble families, and these families then subleased them to the eventual farmers, who would then grow hemp and wheat on a rotationary basis, switching their crops every two or three years.[29] The legacy of the cultivation and processing of industrial cannabis is attested in the traditional tools, toponyms, and even nursery rhymes, that can still be found in the area around Foligno.[29] Conversely, in the Marches, hemp fields were less common in the countryside, with the exception of the elevated valleys of the Potenza and Chienti rivers, although they steadily increased during the 18th century around Ascoli Piceno and the Tronto river valley, in order to accommodate the contemporary population and economic growths.[13][30] In particular, besides the increased needs of the general population, the higher demand for hemp was also prompted by the expanding maritime trade and fishery sectors in the nearby Adriatic coast, as well as the establishment of the free port of Ancona in 1732.[13] Moreover, another noteworthy center for the production of ropes and fishing nets in the Papal States was located in San Benedetto del Tronto, where ropemakers used hemp grown in Ferrara, Ascoli Piceno, as well as other cultivation centers in Romagna.[13] In the territory of Bologna, which firmly returned under Papal rule in the early 16th century, the cultivation of cannabis increased significantly between the 14th and 17th centuries, with the development of new production techniques that remained in use until the 19th century.[32][35] Starting from farm lands located between the comuni of Bologna, Budrio, and Cento, the mass cultivation of cannabis spread to large parts of Emilia and Romagna, particularly around the cities of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, Rovigo, Ravenna, and Cesena.[32] Initially sustained by the demand for hemp fiber from the Venetian Arsenal, as well as from local customers, in the 17th century producers in Bologna started exporting hemp to shipyards in Northwestern Europe, where it was used for the manufacture of ropes and sails.[32] The last boost in the production of industrial cannabis occurred during the 19th century, particularly after 1870, with significant applications in the industrial sector.[32] Savoyard state[edit]The Abbey of Santa Maria di Casanova in Carmagnola, near Turin. The introduction of hemp plants in Piedmont is generally attributed to the arrival of Roman legions in what was then Cisalpine Gaul, in the 3rd century B.C., with the earliest cultivations being located in the area around modern-day Carmagnola, since it was rich in water without being swampy.[36] During the Middle Ages, in particular the 11th century, the cultivation of hemp spread to the entire Padan plain, while a major boost to the production of hemp in Carmagnola was given by the foundation of the Abbey of Santa Maria di Casanova, between 1127 and 1150, after a land donation made by the Marquis of Saluzzo to the Cistercians.[36] Several documents from the 12th and 13th centuries attest the cultivation and processing of hemp in the area, in particular with the monks working on the expansion and improvement of their crops, which spanned for several hectares.[36] In the 14th century, hemp fields in Piedmont covered a large area between the comuni of Cavour, Cercenasco, La Loggia, Moretta, and Racconigi.[36] The importance of cannabis cultivation in the region is attested by the fact that the historical area of Canavese reportedly derives its name from the plant, while the comuni of Barone Canavese and Prascorsano even show a hemp plant in their coats of arms.[37][38][39] Nevertheless, under the Marquisate of Saluzzo, Carmagnola became an important trading center for hemp fiber and seeds, and by the second half of the 16th century it was the main center for all of Piedmont, with the Carmagnola variety being exported to the rest of the Italian states, as well as to France.[36] In the 15th century, the main use of the produced fiber was in warfare, and it was mainly acquired by the Marquisate of Saluzzo, the Duchy of Savoy, the Republic of Genoa, as well as the French army.[36] After its annexation by the Savoyard state under Duke Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy in 1588, Carmagnola became an important center for the production of hemp ropes, although this was mainly driven by artisan family businesses, while the main product being traded in the region was still the raw fiber, with significant purchases being made by Spanish, French, and Genoese merchants.[36] Nevertheless, a rope factory was established in Carmagnola in 1617, in order to produce stocks of strings for the matchlocks used in arquebuses, as well as to supply hemp ropes to the army and the navy.[36] Despite a temporary interruption due to the plague of 1630, the production of ropes in Carmagnola significantly increased during the 17th century, as did their exportation, particularly to France; and by the 18th century, nine of the twenty provinces of the Kingdom of Piedmont produced a surplus of hemp.[36] After the Italian Unification of 1861, in particular with the annexation of Veneto and Friuli, then parts of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, by the Kingdom of Italy after the Third Italian War of Independence of 1866, the demand for ropes produced in Carmagnola decreased, while profits made from exports were limited by tariffs.[36] Nevertheless, Carmagnola remained the primary center for the production of hemp seeds, which became the main source of revenue for the local economy between 1875 and 1889.[36] Kingdom of Italy[edit]Italian hemp in the United Kingdom[edit]The reputation of Italian hemp well preceded the unification of the country in 1861; in particular, its higher quality, durability, and strength had already been noted during its first introduction into the United Kingdom in the 1820s, where it was initially used for the production of fishing nets, despite its higher price.[40][41] As an example, a smack-owner from Barking, Essex, who combined Russian and Italian twines for his fishing net, reported that the Russian hemp portion had to be renewed with the same material several times before the Italian hemp portion was worn out.[40] In fact, tests performed at the Chatham Dockyard in January 1855 found the strength of Italian hemp to be nearly one-fourth higher than that of Russian hemp.[41] For instance, ropes made from Italian hemp only broke at a strain of 5 long tons (11,200 lb; 5,080 kg) and several cwt, while Russian hemp ropes with the same number of strands broke at 3 long tons and 3 cwt (7,056 lb; 3,201 kg), and Irish hemp ropes broke at 3 long tons (6,720 lb; 3,048 kg).[42][43] Furthermore, following a Navy Board inspection of the Chatham and Portsmouth ropeyards on 4 November 1823, a more extended use of Italian hemp was recommended, particularly for lines and twines, in order to counter the monopoly that Russia held in the country at the time, while it was reckoned that the higher cost of the fiber would be recouped by its longer duration.[44] At the time, it was estimated that the sails and cordage of a first-rate man-of-war required 180,000 lb (82,000 kg) of raw hemp for their manufacturing, and that the land required to produce 1 long ton (2,240 lb; 1,016 kg) of hemp averaged at 5 acres (0.02 km2), meaning that a single large ship could require the yearly hemp production from as much as 424 acres (1.72 km2) of farm land, in order to furnish its necessary tackle.[45] Therefore, it was reckoned that Great Britain could not provide for the immense demand from the Royal Navy by relying solely on its own production, hence the need for imports.[45] As an example of the resources needed just for the rigging of a navy ship, a total of 34 mi (55 km) of Italian hemp rope, 3 long tons (6,720 lb; 3,048 kg) of spun yarn, 300 yd (270 m) of canvas, and over 200 imp gal (910 l) of tar were used in 1964 for the re-rigging of the HMS Victory.[46] The strategic importance of ensuring the steady supply of raw hemp became even more evident during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, which prompted a discussion on possible alternative suppliers of fibers among the British colonies and dominions, such as the Cape Colony and British India.[42][43] In fact, the potential introduction of both Italian hemp and rhea into the Indian subcontinent, together with proper processing machinery, was proposed as a way for the United Kingdom to become independent from the rest of the world in terms of supplies.[47] In the 1850s, the Italian hemp was selling at £70 per long ton in the London market, which was more than double the price for the best Russian hemp,[42] and would roughly correspond to £9,800 (€11,200; 10,900 US$) per long ton in 2022.[48] Hemp fiber produced in Italy has also been used for scientific explorations, such as the sounding of the deep sea bed off the coast of Ireland by the HMS Porcupine in 1869;[49] and the Challenger expedition of 1872–1876, in which the HMS Challenger carried 181 mi (291 km) of Italian hemp rope that was used for measuring the depths of the ocean through plummets, as well as lowering dredges in order to sample the sea floor.[50][51] However, since submerged ropes tend to carry air in their interstices, they would have been increasingly slowed down the more they descended, thus significantly distorting the measurements at great depths.[52] Moreover, in the case of the HMS Challenger, since the weights attached to the hemp lines were too heavy for the limited steam power available on board, which was mainly used either to power the dredging platform or to keep the ship from drifting during depth soundings, such plummets were slipped and left at the bottom of the sea after each measurement.[51][52] Medical use of cannabis[edit]Advertisement for cannabis indica cigarettes in 1881.
In the late modern period, the spread of the use of cannabis for recreational purposes in Europe is generally attributed to the return of French soldiers from Napoleon's military campaings of 1798–1801 in Egypt, where the lack of alcohol prompted them to try hashish as an alternative.[53] Nevertheless, the first scientific studies on the medical use of cannabis were made by Irish doctor William Brooke O'Shaughnessy in 1839, when he administered cannabis-based medicine to patients suffering from various diseases, ranging from epilepsy to rheumatism, and noticed an anticonvulsant, analgesic, and antiemetic efficacy.[53] One the earliest attempts to treat patients with cannabis indica in Italy was made in 1887 by Dr. Raffaele Valieri, the then chief physician at the Hospital for the Incurables in Naples, which was dedicated to the treatment of patients in conditions of extreme poverty.[37][54] In particular, the hospital operated in the context of four major outbreaks of cholera, which ravaged the city in 1855, in 1866, in 1873, and in 1884, causing thousands of deaths due to the severe overcrowding of the poorer neighborhoods combined with an underdeveloped sewage system, and thus prompted several major redevelopment projects in 1885.[54] Nevertheless, Dr. Valieri spent years experimenting with the medical use of cannabis for treating nervous conditions both on patients and on himself, testing different administration methods, while also taking notes on both positive and adverse effects.[54] The tested administration methods included mastication, smoking pipes and cigarettes, decoctions and infuses, liquors, distilled water, pills, pearls, essential oils, tinctures and extracts.[54] According to his findings, medical cannabis proved to be helpful in the treatment of hysteria, asthma, pulmonary emphysema, migraine, exophthalmic goiter, facial hyperkinesia, as well as other neuroses originating from both the central and peripheral nervous systems, neuralgia of the peripheral nerves, the trigeminal nerves, the occipital cervical plexus, the brachial plexus, the lumbar plexus, and the sacral plexus.[54] Based on the observed beneficial properties of medical cannabis, and considering its popularity especially among patients with asthma, Dr. Valieri started lobbying the Health authorities so that they would reduce the cost of cannabis, in order to make it more affordable for patients.[54] Furthermore, the doctor campaigned for the establishment of an inhalation room in all of the Local Health Agencies, similar to the one he established in his hospital, in which patients could inhale the air-filling smoke produced by the combustion of cannabis.[37][54] The main setback for the spread of medical cannabis in Italy was that, while by the end of the 19th century its use in clinical practice was well established in several parts of the world,[14][53] the popular Indian variety was difficult to find in the Italian market.[54] For this reason, Dr. Valieri tested the medical properties of several Italian varieties found in Casoria noting that, while the effects were the same as the ones experienced with cannabis indica, they required a doubling of the previously prescribed dose.[54] Nevertheless, the medical use of cannabis suffered a significant global decline during the 20th century due to several factors, including the introduction of more effective treatments for various ailments; its pharmacological instability, derived by the fact that the active principle (THC) had not yet been isolated, and therefore its effects were difficult to predict and standardize; and the economic costs associated with importing the medicine from abroad, especially in the context of two world wars.[53] Early drug proibition[edit]In the early stages of the international cannabis prohibition, the United states did not play a leading role at all, while the role of Italy, South Africa, Egypt, and Turkey is seen as largely overlooked.[55] At the First International Opium Conference, held in the Hague in 1911–1912, Italy lobbied for an international ban on cannabis, largely due to the prevalence of the use of hashish in its North African colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, which were annexed from the Ottoman Empire after the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912.[56] Even though the 1912 Conference was focused on opium, leading to the first International Opium Convention, the so-called issue of Indian hemp was examined, however nothing substantial came out of it.[55][56] Instead, the regulation of cannabis came with the Second International Opium Conference, held in Geneva in 1925, at the behest of Egypt, and previous encouragements from South Africa and Italy, among others.[55] The section of the 1925 Opium Convention dealing with cannabis represented a compromise, in which the signatories were committed to limit exclusively to medical and scientific purposes the manufacture, import, sale, distribution, export and use of extracts and tinctures of Indian hemp.[55][57] The compromise did not constitute an absolute prohibition, since it only dealt with the international trade of cannabis, while it neither prohibited its production, imposed controls on domestic traffic or consumption, nor mandated government production estimates.[55] The final document changed the language that was used in the proposed first draft, which incurred the objections of countries like India, where weaker cannabis-based preparations often accompanied social events, religious ceremonies, and festivals, even though the more potent hashish was generally frowned upon.[55] In regard to the matter, the United Kingdom remained ambivalent, while the United States remained focused on opium.[55] Italian hemp trade[edit]In 1914, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) compiled a report on the worldwide production of hemp, citing Italy as one of the main producer of hemp fiber for export, together with Russia, Hungary, and Romania.[58] In fact, the yearly average estimates for the five years between 1909 and 1913 reported 80,902 ha (809 km2; 312 sq mi) of farm land in Italy being occupied by hemp fields, producing 83,500 t of hemp fiber, compared to a yearly worldwide production ranging between 500,000 and 800,000 t.[59] As an average, the hemp fiber produced in Italy was exported at a rate of 50% of production, together with a considerable amount of tow, with the available yearly export estimates reporting 51,942 t of hemp fiber in 1924, 46,355.7 t in 1925, 53,697.1 t in 1926, and 83,903.3 t in 1927.[59] The main importers of Italian hemp were Germany, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States.[59] Furthermore, the 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 that were similar to those cultivated in Kentucky at the time.[58] The cause of the higher price was attributed to the process of water retting, as well as to the increased care and labor involved in the preparation of the fiber. This made the water-retted Italian hemp less competitive against the dew-retted American hemp, whose main competitors at the time were the dew-retted Russian and Hungarian hemp.[58] Nevertheless, its different qualities made it more suitable for use in certain kinds of twines, as well as the finer grades of carpet warp, for which the American hemp was not well suited.[58] In regards to hemp seeds, they were primarily used in Italy for planting new crops, but they were also exported, especially the Carmagnola variety.[59] However, in case of short supplies, such as during the shortage that occurred in 1924 as a consequence of the significant reductions in the cultivation area in 1922 and 1923, hemp seeds could also be imported from abroad.[60] In the case of the 1924 shortage, hemp seeds were imported from Manchuria, although they were considered of low quality, which was seen as an opportunity for American exporters to promote their seeds as an high-quality alternative.[60][61] In particular, American exporters were advised to provide guarantees, such as the year in which the seeds were gathered and the assured germination percentage, since it was more or less customary for Italian farmers to delay payment until after germination, and to seek either a discount or a rebate in proportion to the difference between the percentage of germinating seeds and the initial guarantee.[61] Industrial hemp cultivation[edit]Harvesting hemp in Kentucky, USA, in 1898. The plentiful home supply of good raw hemp, combined with comparatively cheap labor, generally gave the Italian hemp industry a competitive advantage in the international market of the 1920s.[60] However, the significant costs associated with the utilized machinery, combined with the somewhat limited domestic demand for hemp textiles, made the industry dependent on its foreign customers for disposing of its products, mostly in the form of raw hemp and tow.[60] According to contemporary analyses, the improvements needed by the Italian hemp industry at the time included a more careful selection of the planted seeds, using the plant residues to manufacture cellulose instead of burning it, mechanizing the process of separating the fiber from the plant, enhancing the existing agricultural methods, as well as the techniques used in the domestic textile industry, in order to make hemp textile preferable to linen and cotton.[60] The 1914 USDA report identified four main varieties of hemp being cultivated in Italy:[58]
The average yield in Italy, based on statements of annual average yields for 5 to 10 years, was estimated in 1914 to be equal to 622 lb/acre (697.2 kg/ha) of hemp fiber, which was the second-biggest yield in Europe after France, which produced an average of 662 lb/acre (742.0 kg/ha).[58] In the 1920s, the average yield in the whole Kingdom was instead reported equal to 1,000 kg/ha (892.2 lb/acre), with peaks of more than 1,200 kg/ha (1,071 lb/acre) in the major production centers.[59] 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.[62] According to the national farmers association Coldiretti, almost 100,000 ha (1,000 km2; 386 sq mi) of farm land in Italy were dedicated to the production of cannabis at the time.[63] Moreover, according to contemporary newsreels, the main hemp-producing Regions were Emilia-Romagna, Terra di Lavoro, and Piedmont, with the annual national production of bast fibre reaching as much as 130,000 t, while the average yield was still reported equal to 1,000 kg/ha (892.2 lb/acre).[64][65] In addition to the areas mentioned in the 1914 USDA report, other noteworthy centers for hemp cultivation were located in Frattamaggiore and Aversa in Campania, and Carmagnola in Piedmont.[66][67] Hemp fiber production[edit]A Swedish woman scutching flax by hand, in the early 1900s. The hemp plants were harvested between the end of July and the beginning of August, either manually or mechanically, after which the stalks were bundled together, stacked, weighed down, and immersed into open-air tanks filled with soft water.[58][59][64][65][68] The initial water retting usually lasted for eight days, after which the sheaves were taken out and dried, and then returned to the tanks for a second slightly longer retting, resulting in a soft white fiber.[58] In the retting tanks, specific bacteria (e.g. Bacillus felsineus)[59] processed the stalks while being kept at the best conditions in terms of temperature and air supply.[58] In some locations the retting process was done using running water, still the tanks had to be located far away from population centers, due to the strong odors produced by the maceration of the hemp plants.[59] The retting lasted until the bark, which includes the fiber, readily separated from the stalk, after which the process was interrupted before other bacteria could attack the fiber.[58] After water retting, the inner woody shell of the barks was broken into pieces and removed using either manual tools or movable breaking-and-scutching machines, thus leaving just the clean, long, and straight fiber.[58][64][65][68] Besides the need of deep, soft, moist, and deeply worked soil that is rich in organic matter, several other factors were identified that could affect both the quality and the quantity of the produced hemp fiber:[59]
Republic of Italy[edit]The decline of hemp production in Italy came with the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s, during which time synthetic fibers (e.g. nylon) were introduced into the market and the international campaign against narcotics intensified.[63][87] In particular, industrial cannabis almost completely disappeared from most Western European countries by the end of the 1960s, with France and Spain being the only two countries which basically never interrupted the cultivation of hemp, although they still had significantly different and volatile trends.[79][88] This significant decline is mainly attributed to competition from both industrial fabrics and cotton for textiles, metallic materials for naval ropes, as well as Manila and jute for packaging during long sea voyages.[5][88] Other contributing factors include a tightening of regulations for textile hemp, increases in the cost of labor that could not be easily replaced by mechanization, and the significant environmental impact of the retting tanks.[5][6] Furthermore, in regard to drug prohibition, 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.[63] Hemp production decline[edit]Harvesting cannabis in the Soviet Union in 1956. In the 1950s, while the Soviet Union remained the biggest producer of hemp in the world, Italy was overtaken by India in the second place, and then by Yugoslavia in the third place.[77] The production of hemp in Asia in general, and India in particular, did not yet show significant oscillations since switching to more profitable crops was not yet feasible.[77] Similarly, in Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe (e.g. Poland, Hungary, and Romania) the production trends remained more or less stationary, in part due to labor costs not yet being a limiting factor, and thus the produced hemp constituted significant competition.[5][77] Nevertheless, the total cultivation area in Europe was ever-shrinking, namely declining by 45.3% between 1961 and 1973, with the regional reduction peaking at 97.3% in Italy.[81] In particular, hemp fields in the Soviet Union were reduced from an average of 663,000 ha (6,630 km2; 2,560 sq mi) between 1934 and 1938, to an average of 556,000 ha (5,560 km2; 2,147 sq mi) between 1948 and 1952, and then to 400,000 ha (4,000 km2; 1,544 sq mi) in 1958; while in Italy the cultivation area declined from an average of 85,000 ha (850.0 km2; 328.2 sq mi) between 1936 and 1939, to 16,000 ha (160.0 km2; 61.8 sq mi) in 1958.[77] Global exports of hemp fiber were also declining, namely dropping by 46% from an average of 70,000 t between 1948 and 1952, to 38,000 t in 1958.[77] In particular, Italy was the biggest exporter between 1948 and 1952 with 22,000 t of fiber and 9,000 t of tow, followed by India with 22,000 t of fiber, and then by Yugoslavia with 5,000 t of fiber and 7,000 t of tow; however, India was the biggest exporter in 1958 with 11,200 t of fiber, followed by Yugoslavia with 10,600 t, and then by Italy with 10,300 t.[77] The main importers of Italian hemp were West Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, France, Austria, and the United Kingdom, while Italy started importing hemp mainly from Yugoslavia and India.[77] In 1973, Italy was the biggest importer with 8,238 t, which accounted for 25.8% of the global demand, while no significant export was reported, considering that the total cultivation area was reduced to just 270 ha (2.70 km2; 1.04 sq mi), producing 300 t of fiber.[81] The decline of hemp production in Italy was more pronounced in the North, while it was slower in the South, but it was nevertheless irreversible.[77] In particular, Campania accounted for 77% of the national cultivation area in 1958, followed at a significant distance by Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont, with the latter being noteworthy primarily for the production of hemp seeds rather than fiber.[77] In 1991, Italy was still reported as the biggest importer of hemp, while the national production completely ceased by that time.[85] Similarly, world production continued to decline, with the total cultivation area reduced to 330,000 ha (3,300 km2; 1,274 sq mi), while India and China both surpassed the Soviet Union, which was still a major producer nonetheless, to contend for the position of biggest producer.[85] Drug prohibition[edit]CBD pre-rolled joints infused with hemp flower and delta-8 THC. The Law 685/75 introduced the concept of modest quantity in order to differentiate between those who merely consume drugs and those who push them, with the latter being the ones whom the law was supposed to punish, while previously no such distinction was made.[89] Nevertheless, with the lack of a specific definition for what constitutes a modest quantity of a certain drug, the matter was left to the discretion of the judges, and thus the Supreme Court of Cassation presented guidelines so that judges would reach consistent verdicts.[89] In particular, the guidelines established that a modest quantity did not necessarily refer to a particular quantity of narcotics and that, before reaching a verdict, a court had to clarify the level of drug dependence of the defendant, and to scientifically establish the nature and composition of the confiscated drugs, as well as the average quantity of active principles that could be obtained from them.[89] However, the so-called Iervolino-Vassalli Law, which was included in the Presidential Decree DPR 309/90 of 1990, substituted the concept of modest quantity with the one of average daily dose, where the maximum quantities that could be legally consumed were defined for each drug by Ministerial Decree.[89] In the context of the DPR 309/90, a mere drug abuser is considered to be a patient in need of rehabilitation, and therefore not subjected to penal system, but they can still be subjected to administrative penalties.[89] Such penalties include the suspension of their driver's licence, gun licence, and passport, for a period of at least one month and at most one year.[89] Nevertheless, the Radical Party led by Marco Pannella successfully campaigned for a referendum that repealed criminal penalties for the personal use of soft drugs in 1993,[90] and thus the concept of average daily dose was eliminated, while the judicial discretion on a case-by-case basis was re-established.[89] In 2006, the controversial Fini-Giovanardi Law 49/06 removed the distinction between hard and soft drugs, 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.[91] In particular, the Law 49/06 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.[92][93] Furthermore, the Law 49/06 introduced the criterion of quintifying the amount of active principle within the confiscated drugs, as well as a zero-tolerance policy regarding behaviors and circumstances which could indicate drug trafficking.[89] As a consequence, a crime would be committed if the quantity of active principle was above the limits set by the Ministerial Table, which for cannabis was established at 500 mg, corresponding to a gross weight of about 5 g, or about 15-20 joints.[89] Recent developments[edit]Despite renewed interest in hemp cultivation from the early 1990s onwards, when it started being promoted throughout the European Union, industrial cannabis remained a niche crop for more than 20 years afterwards, with an estimated cultivation area between 10,000 and 15,000 ha (100.0 and 150.0 km2; 38.6 and 57.9 sq mi) in the entire Union.[88] In particular, in 1994 and 1995, the only cannabis plants officially cultivated in Italy were the ones grown at the State research agency ENEA, under the strict control of the authorities, while research projects that were started in Emilia and Aosta Valley for educational purposes had been shut down.[37] Furthermore, following the cessation of hemp production in Italy, concerns were raised in the European Parliament in 1998, over the recovery and protection of the remaining endangered Italian varieties, as well as the potentially permanent loss of the biodiversity and economic benefits previously derived from the cultivation of hemp.[94] The subsequent response from the European Commission referred to Council Regulation (EC) 1467/94 of 20 June 1994, whose objectives are to help ensure and improve the conservation, characterisation, documentation, evaluation and utilisation of potentially valuable plant and animal genetic resources in the Community.[95] Further interest in hemp was prompted by Council Regulation (EC) 1251/99 of 17 May 1999, and subsequent implementing regulations, which established a support scheme for farmers growing specific arable crops, from a list that included industrial hemp.[96] As a consequence of these regulations, and thanks to new technologies and innovative applications involving cannabis plants, the production of cannabis for both medical and industrial purposes has seen a resurgence in Italy in recent years. In fact, said EU regulations are specifically referenced in the cannabis light Law 242/16 of 2016, of which one of the stated purpuses is to support and promotion of the hemp sector (Cannabis sativa L.) as a crop capable of reducing environmental impact in agriculture, reducing land consumption and desertifcation and loss of biodiversity, and as a crop to be used as a possible substitute for surplus crops and as a rotational crop.[96] Such law also introduced looser requirements regarding the cultivation of cannabis plants with levels of THC below 0.2%, which came into force in 2017, and prompted hundreds of new businesses to start growing cannabis in several Regions, with the estimated cultivation area increasing ten-fold, from 400 ha (4.0 km2; 1.5 sq mi) in 2013 to almost 4,000 ha (40.0 km2; 15.4 sq mi) in 2018.[63] More specifically, the estimated national cultivation area involves more than 800 farms, mainly spread between the Regions of Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Sicily, Apulia, Emilia-Romagna, Basilicata, Abruzzo, and Sardinia.[87] The size of the individual hemp farms can vary from small patches of 0.001 ha (10.0 m2; 12.0 sq yd) in the mountains, to fields spanning more than 100 ha (1.0 km2; 0.4 sq mi) in the plains, particularly in Campania, and almost all of them use the harvested crops to produce more than one type of end-product.[88] Furthermore, it is estimated that with the potential redevelopment of already-existing greenhouses, which either fell into disuse or were abandoned due to the crisis of the horti-floriculture sector, Italy would have ready access to a further 1,000 ha (10.0 km2; 3.9 sq mi) of farm land for the production of medical cannabis within secure environments.[97] At the same time, the area dedicated to hemp cultivation in the entire European Union increased by 75.1%, from 19,970 ha (199.7 km2; 77.1 sq mi) in 2015 to 34,960 ha (349.6 km2; 135.0 sq mi) in 2019, while the production of hemp increased by 62.4%, from 94,120 to 152,820 t.[98] In particular, with the enlargement of the EU toward the countries of Eastern Europe, the Union became third in the world in terms of hemp cultivation area, after China and Canada.[79] At present, France is the largest hemp producer in Europe, accounting for more than 70% of the EU production, followed by the Netherlands at 10%, and Austria at 4%.[98] In terms of imports of industrial cannabis, Italy reported in 2017 a total of 8 t of seeds for sowing, 884 t of seeds for other uses, and 0.3 t of fiber, while the reported numbers for 2018 were equal to 46, 557, and 11 t, respectively.[87] Such imports were mainly from Canada, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and China.[87] In fact, the certified seeds used for sowing can come from Italian Hemp Associations and Cooperatives, such as Tecnocanapa, Assocanapa, and Federcanapa; as well as from abroad, particularly Germany, France, and the general area of Northeastern Europe.[88] Legalization efforts[edit]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). 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 a prison sentence between 2 and 6 years, as well as a fine between €26,000 (29,000 US$) and €260,000 (290,000 US$).[99][100] 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.[101] In terms of consumption, 25% of people aged 15 to 19 years old reported using cannabis for recreational purposes at least once in 2014.[101] 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.[102][103] 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.[91][101][104][105] 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,[106] 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.[100][101][104][105] 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.[91][100][101] Moreover, the potential GDP boost resulting from a legal cannabis market in Italy is estimated between 1.30% and 2.34%.[91] 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.[91][100][107] The PD-led coalition government at the time, which included the New Centre-Right, was mainly focused on ensuring the passage of constititutional reforms, therefore cannabis legalization was not considered a priority.[91][100][101] 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[edit]Cannabis light store in Naples. 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.[62][63] The law also requires farmers to keep the certification receipts for up to one year, while also prohibiting them to plants the hemp seeds produced with a previous crop, as well as to use the cannabis leaves and inflorescences for edible products.[62][63][108] The State Forestry Department is in charge of checking that farmers are complying with the established legal framework, as indicated by European regulations, although other State entities can carry out inspections if it is deemed necessary.[87][88] The potential revenue from the sale of cannabis light in Italy was estimated to be more than 40 million euros, and by 2018 hundreds of new businesses started growing cannabis in several Regions.[63] Even though these looser requirements were originally intended to benefit farmers growing industrial hemp, with the production being limited to the 75 varieties of industrial hemp certified by the European Union,[98] a lack of clarity regarding the use of cannabis inflorescences effectively created a booming unregulated market for recreational light cannabis.[62][103] In particular, approximately 1,300 light cannabis shops, delivery services, and vending machines have sprung up in Italy, selling hemp inflorescences and leaves as collector's item.[87] In fact, 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.[103] 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.[62] 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.[109] 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.[109] 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.[110] 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 with certain pathologies, which prevents them form ruling out possible health risks.[110] 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.[111][112] 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.[111][112] 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.[113] Conversely, the total revenue from the cannabis light market was estimated to be more than 200 million euros in 2020.[114] Personal use[edit]Lifetime prevalence of cannabis use among all adults aged 15 to 64 years old, in nationwide surveys among the general population of Europe. In July 2008, the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled that followers of the Rastafari religion can smoke marijuana as a meditative herb after a man from Perugia, who was initially sentenced in 2004 to 16 months in jail and a €4,000 (4,900 US$) fine for possession of 97 g of marijuana, was acquitted on religious grounds.[115][116] In December 2019, the Court 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.[117][118][119] The ruling did not specify what constitutes a legally allowed small amount of cannabis, however the defendant involved was initially sentenced by a lower court to one year in prison and a €3,000 (3,900 US$) fine for the possession of two plants.[118][119] 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.[118][120] 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 appeared to be destined exclusively for the personal use of the defendant, and should therefore be considered excluded from the application of the penal code.[118][120] 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.[117][119] In April 2021, a patient with 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.[121] As of July 2021, another patient with 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%.[122] 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.[122] 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.[122] 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.[122] 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.[123] 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.[123] 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.[123] Decriminalization initiative[edit]At the same time, a ballot initiative was launched that aimed 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.[90][124][125] According to Article 75 of the Constitution, general referendums are allowed for repealing a law or part of it, when they are requested by either 500 thousand voters or five Regional Councils, while neither propositional referendums nor referendums on a law regulating taxes, the budget, amnesty or pardon, or a law ratifying an international treaty are recognised.[126] Therefore, the legislative process regarding the legalization of recreational cannabis can only go through Parliament. Instead, the objective of the campaign was to amend several articles of the DPR 309/90, 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.[125] The initiative was 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.[90][124][125] 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 would have allowed the referendum to take place as early as spring 2022.[90][124][125][127] 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.[128] In fact, the campaign managed to collect as much as 630 thousand electronic signatures in a single week, 70% of which were from people under 35 years old.[114] As prescribed by the law, the collected signatures were verified by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 12 January 2022, however the Constitutional Court ruled on 16 February 2022 that the ballot question was inadmissible, thus preventing the referendum from going forward.[90][114][127][129] The Court argued that the proposed changes to the legislation would not have affected just the cultivation of marijuana, but also of plants like poppy and coca, from which opioids and cocaine can be derived.[129] These potential changes to legislation regarding hard drugs would have violated international obligations, and therefore were ruled not in line with the constitutional provisions on referendums in Italy.[129] International treaties[edit]On 2 December 2020, under the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted to remove both cannabis and cannabis resin from the Schedule IV classification of the aforementioned 1961 UN Convention, while still including them both in the less strict Schedule I category.[130][131] In its capacity as a serving member of the CND, and in agreement with other members of the EU, with the exception of Hungary, Italy voted in favor of the rescheduling proposal, since it would allow more research, in line with our evidence-based drugs policy, on the medical use of cannabis and cannabis resin.[132] Among the other recommendations of the WHO, there was the proposed addition of a footnote to the Schedule I section of the Convention, stating that preparations containing predominantly cannabidiol and not more than 0.2 per cent of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol are not under international control.[130] However, the proposal was ultimately rejected by a majority of member states for several reasons, including the argument that no action is needed on CBD since it is not currently under international control.[131] In this case, Italy voted against the recommended footnote, citing as reasons the lack of scientific evidence on the proposed 0.2% limit, ambiguous wordings within the draft that could lead to divergent interpretations, and the absence of justification for the proposed different treatment of cannabidiol compared to other non-psychoactive cannabinoids.[132] Law enforcement[edit]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.[133] 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.[133] Nevertheless, farmers can cultivate cannabis for exclusively non-pharmaceutical purposes, such as the production of fibers or other industrial applications, using certified seeds under the direction of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Policies (MAF).[133] Central Office for Narcotics[edit]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.[134] The functions of the Central Office for Narcotics include:[134][135]
Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services[edit]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.[136] 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.[136] 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.[136] 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 providing 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.[137] 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 with regards to bills and regulations on narcotics and drug trafficking.[137] 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.[137] 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.[137] 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.[137] 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.[137] Illegal drug trade[edit]The main narcotic substances obtained from the female inflorescences and resin of cannabis plants are marijuana, hashish, and hashish oil.[138] 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.[138] 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.[137] Furthermore, the Italian black market for marijuana is also supplied by the Netherlands, as well as local producers.[138] Medical cannabis[edit]Since 1998, doctors in Italy have been able to prescribe cannabis products and synthetic cannabinoids for therapeutic use, with a non-repeatable prescription, while the therapeutic uses of THC, dronabinol, and nabilone are recognized since 2007.[53] After the inclusion of the active compounds of cannabis plant origin in the Medical Table by Ministerial Decree on 23 January 2013, doctors in Italy are able to prescribe cannabis-based medicine and any pharmacy, if properly supplied, can distribute cannabis products in the forms and doses defined in the doctor's prescription.[53][139][140] Medical cannabis can be used for treating several conditions, and its prescription is allowed when the patient is unresponsive to conventional or standard therapies, while the list of medical applications includes:[53][141][142][143]
There are three methods to administer cannabis-based medicine, namely infusions that can be normally sipped, oil extracts that can be spread on bread, and decoctions, the latter being less common since their packaging is more complicated.[144] The reported list of possible side effects derived from the consumption of medical cannabis include tachycardia, hypotension, paranoia, dizziness, reduction in the cognitive development and psychomotor performance, alteration of attention and memory, psychiatric disorders, damage to the airways and lungs, risk of addiction, and weight reduction in newborn babies if used during pregnancy.[53] The cost of medical cannabis is completely covered by the Healthcare system for six medical conditions, while for others it can be purchased from pharmacies at a greatly reduced price.[145] Furthermore, in June 2017, the Ministry of Health established a maximum price for medical cannabis between €8.50 (9.1 US$) and €9.00 (9.7 US$) per gram, in order to standardize the expenses sustained by patients.[146] However, this price cap has resulted in a short supply of the product due to limited profit margins for pharmacies, while regional legislative differences also add to the overall complexity of the cannabis market.[146] For example, the Regions have the ability to decide for which health conditions the drug can or cannot be prescribed, and they can also increase local prices in order to make it profitable for pharmacies to sell medical cannabis (e.g. Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol), or alternatively they can completely cover the cost for patients through their Regional Health Agencies (e.g. Sicily).[146][147] As a comparison, the cost of medical cannabis imported from the Netherlands is reported between €5 (5.3 US$) and €10 (10.7 US$) per gram.[145] State-produced medical cannabis[edit]A dried cannabis flower bud. At the time of the legalization of medical cannabis, the cost of the medicine wasn't covered by the State and the drug had to be imported from abroad through the Office of Medicinal Cannabis,[53] primarily from the Netherlands, making it too expensive for the average patient to buy legally at pharmacies, with prices reaching up to €50 (59 US$) per gram, as well as waiting times reaching up to a month.[141][146][148] 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 Institute 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.[141][142][148] 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, all in accordance with the Good Agricultural and Collecting Practices and the Good Manufacturing Practices of the EU.[53][148] The army production of medical cannabis increased from 20 kg (44.1 lb) between 2014 and 2016 to more than 100 kg (220.5 lb) in 2017,[146] resulting in a 30% decrease in the cost of the final product.[149] Moreover, the army expanded its cultivation with new greenhouses in other areas of the military facility, in order to reach an estimated production of 300 kg (661.4 lb) per year and to keep up with the demand from doctors and patients, which was estimated between 400 and 450 kg (881.8 and 992.1 lb) a year in 2017.[146][148][149] Furthermore, in November 2019, the Ministry of Health increased the maximum amount of cannabis inflorescences allowed to be produced by the facility from 350 to 500 kg (771.6 to 1,102.3 lb) per year.[150] 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 MAF; the Regions; the Italian Medicines Agency; the Superior Institute of Health; the Defence Industries Agency; and qualified experts.[151] 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.[146][152] In particular, the final price of the product being sold to pharmacies by the military facility, which is just based on the estimated production costs, is equal to €6.88 (7.39 US$) per gram, not including the VAT.[153][154] 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.[142] The first product is Cannabis FM2, which is similar to the Bediol strain;[155] consists of unfertilized, dried, and milled female inflorescences; and has been available to the Regions since 14 December 2016.[53] The THC content of Cannabis FM2 (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.[152][153] There are also minimal contents of cannabigerol, cannabichromene, and tetrahydrocannabivarin, for a total percentage of less than 1%.[53] Since July 2018, Cannabis FM1, which is similar to the Bedrocan variety,[155] 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%).[152] The higher THC content makes Cannabis FM1 more suitable to mitigate the symptoms of conditions like multiple sclerosis.[148] Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Institute[edit]Entrance to the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Institute in Florence. The origins of the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Institute 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.[142] 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.[142] The current facility, covering about 55,000 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 2,000 people in the 1940s.[142] Renamed the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Military Institute in 1976, beside the production of medical cannabis with hydroponic cultures, the institute also produces five different orphan drugs, as well as maintaining 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.[156] 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.[142] 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.[142] 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.[156] 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 2,000 people, although possible revenue may still be obtained from exporting such drugs, with potential customers numbering at least 400 million people worldwide.[156] 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 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) a year, thus covering the national demand while also providing export opportunities.[156] Private sector[edit]The potential revenue from medicinal cannabis is estimated to be more than 1.4 billion euros, with the internal market creating at least 10,000 jobs and reducing the dependence on imports.[63] In February 2021, Bio Hemp Farming, which is a consortium between the Bio Hemp Trade company and the Palma d'Oro cooperative, became the first private entity in Italy to be granted authorization by the Ministry of Health to grow medical cannabis and to extract its active principles for pharmaceutical purposes.[157][158] The consortium currently manages two different sites for growing medical cannabis, with a total cultivation area of 300 ha (3.0 km2; 1.2 sq mi), in Cerignola, Apulia.[158] The leaves and inflorescences harvested from these sites are sent to two pharmaceutical laboratories for the extraction of cannabidiol for medical purposes, while the stems and fiber are instead used for industrial purposes, such as the production of paper, yarns, or biomaterial for construction.[158] An innovative method implemented by the consortium, for the extraction of active principles from medical cannabis, is a cryogenic process in which the low temperatures allow to reduce the preparation time for the final product from 2 or 3 days to about 15 minutes.[158] Consumption statistics[edit]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.[154] The annual legal consumption of medical cannabis has grown from 40 kg (88.2 lb) 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.[62] 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.[62][159][160] In October 2019, the first public clinic specifically dedicated to the prescription of medical cannabis was established in Naples by the University of Campania, in order to facilitate access to it by patients, who previously had to rely on either a private clinic at a cost, or a specialist familiar with cannabis-based drugs.[144][161] 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 2,000 kg (4,409 lb) per year.[162] 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.[162] National consumption of medical cannabis in Italy in kg[154]
Industrial cannabis[edit]The cultivation of industrial hemp with minimal levels of psychoactive compounds has several commercial applications, including food, fabrics, clothing, biofuel, building materials, and animal feed.[62][96][98] 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.[62][63] On the other hand, the hemp seeds reportedly contain all essential amino acids in optimal proportions and in an easily digestible form, as well as high levels of protein and considerable amounts of fibers, vitamins, Omega-3, and minerals; and edible products include biscuits, taralli, bread, flour, anti-inflammatory oil, ricotta, tofu, and beer.[63][98][163] 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.[164][165] Considering that the demand for hemp-based food was estimated in 2021 to have grown by 500% since 2017, the production chain derived from hemp could significantly grow the Italian food industry, which is worth 50 billion euros in exports alone and is considered one of the pillars of the Italian economy.[96] In regard to the construction industry, building materials that can be derived from hemp include mortar, plaster, finishing products, thermally insulating panels, bricks, and ecobricks, as well as hemp-cement and hemp-lime biocomposites.[63][166] Moreover, hemp concrete is a carbon sequester, since the amount of carbon stored in the material is higher than the emissions generated during its production, and it continues to store carbon during the building's life.[98] This could have significant applications in Italy, where the construction sector is worth 237 billion euros, and alone is responsible for 30% of the total CO₂ emissions in the country.[96] Other hemp-derived products include oils used in cosmetics, wax, paint, soap, detergents, paper, packaging materials, pellet fuels for a clean combustion, 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.[63][163] Moreover, hemp paper is considered to be a more sustainable alternative to paper made from wood-pulp, since hemp stalks only take up to five months to mature, while hemp paper does not necessarily require toxic bleaching chemicals, and it can be recycled up to seven or eight times.[98] Furthermore, as a good substitute for plastic due to their light weight and durability, hemp-derived products can be used in different sectors, such as car manufacturing, railway, aviation, and aerospace.[98] Environmental benefits[edit]Top view of the root system of a 1.8 m tall cannabis sativa plant, acquired at the beginning of August, before flowering, in a field located near Klagenfurt, Austria. 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, without the need of removing and processing large quantities of soil, as with more traditional methods.[167][168][169] Cannabis plants are particularly suitable for phytoremediation, since their roots have a high resistance to heavy metals and therefore they can store them in higher quantities (e.g. more than 100 mg/kg in the case of cadmium), with the younger roots producing phytochelatins for detoxification after the excessive absorption of these metals.[167] Examples of applications include the removal of radioactive strontium and cesium from areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986, for which the pilot project started in 1998; as well as the removal of toxic chemical dioxins from farm lands and grazing fields around the Ilva steel plant near Taranto, with the project starting in 2012 after the establishment in 2010 of an exclusion zone for grazing livestock up to 20 km (12.4 mi) from the plant, due to the high levels of dioxins, lead, nickel, and tens of other toxic substances in the ground.[167][168][169] Other similar projects have been tested in several sites in Brescia, in Sardinia, and in the Land of Pyres near Naples.[167] Further environmental benefits of cannabis cultivation derive from the fact that, among the other commonly grown crops, hemp plants reportedly have one of the lowest impact on their surroundings, since they do not require herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides due to the lack of natural parasites, thus resulting in a higher biodiversity in terms of the local wildlife and insects; they have a minimal need for fertilizers and necessitate far less water than cotton; and they provide the soil with a good amount of organic matter, consisting of a significant amount of fallen foliage, as well as an extensive and deep-reaching root system.[98][163][166] Given this significant soil enrichment, when turning the cultivation within a field from cannabis plants to other crops, the resulting yield tend to significantly increase with respect to more traditional crop rotations. For example, in some cases, the production of wheat can increase by as much as 20% with respect to what it would have been, had the same field previously been growing either grass or chard.[163] Furthermore, hemp plants can help to break the cycle of diseases when used in crop rotation, their fast growth and shading capacity prevent the growth of weeds, and the dense foliage just three weeks after germination constitutes a natural soil cover, which reduces water loss and protects against soil erosion.[98] Hemp plants also consume a significant amount of CO₂, so much so that the gas is sometimes artificially added to indoor cultivations in order to increase the resulting yield.[166] This carbon capture quality results in a significant plant growth rate, as much as 4 m (13.1 ft) in three months, and can have significant applications in the removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere, with a hemp field spanning just 1 ha (0.01 km2; 2.47 acres) being able to sequester between 9 and 15 t of CO₂ after just five months.[98][166] In fact, hemp is seen as a potential new protagonist of Italian agriculture, in order to achieve the objectives of EU 2030, which aim at a 40% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990.[96] Private sector[edit]Shirt made of hemp, with initials. In 2016, Italy removed the need for authorization to grow certified hemp with levels of THC below 0.2%, while also providing tax incentives and including a research and development funding up to €700,000 (826,000 US$) per year from the MAF.[87][103][108] Moreover, a Common Agricultural Policy payment ranging between €250 (285 US$) and €400 (457 US$) per hectare can be granted to Italian hemp growers, and this does not include further possible local funding independently allocated by the various Regions and comuni.[87][108] In regard to research and development, as opposed to farmers, the aforementioned Law 242/16 allows public research institutes to reproduce for a year the certified hemp seeds that were purchased in the previous year.[88] In particular, the replanted seeds can be used to grow small amounts of hemp for either demonstrative, experimental, or cultural purposes, which are nevertheless subject to communication to the MAF.[88] Furthermore, the legislation also encourages educational activities, such as training for those who operate in the supply chain for industrial cannabis, in order to illustrate the properties of hemp plants, as well as their use in the agronomic, agroindustrial, nutraceutical, bio-building, biocomponent, and packaging fields.[88] In fact, the aim of the Law 242/16 is to stimulate the production of industrial hemp in the country, as well as 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.[103][108] In particular, the potential profit from the cultivation of hemp in Italy is estimated between €600 (700 US$) and more than €2,500 (2,900 US$) per hectare, while the estimated yield for durum wheat is equal to €300 (350 US$) per hectare.[87][103] Moreover, as a consequence of the increasing number of farmers turning to hemp cultivations, the overall production of durum wheat in Italy decreased by more than 4% in 2017.[103] Approximately 80% of the hemp produced in Italy is reportedly destined to the food industry, with an estimated yeld for the production of hemp seeds between 350 and 650 kg/ha (312.3 and 579.9 lb/acre), while the remaining 20% is utilized for various industrial purposes, including green buildings, cosmetics, and the nutraceutical sector.[87] The main hemp varieties cultivated in Italy include Antal, Carmagnola, Carmagnola Selezionata, Dioica 88, Eletta Campana, Fedora 19, Felina 32, Fibranova, Finola, Futura 75, Juzo 31, Kompolti, Superfibra, Tiborszallasi, Tisza, and Uso 31.[87][88][170] The Fibranova cultivar was developed in the 1950s as a cross between Bredemann Eletta and Carmagnola, the Bredemann Eletta variety was developed at the Max Planck Institut using hemp strains originating from Northern and Central Russia, while the Eletta Campana resulted from a cross between the Carmagnola landrace and German cultivars, most likely Fibridia.[170] Nevertheless, producers of hemp fiber in Italy still face significant competition from the low-price fiber produced in China, as well as other Asian countries.[166] This competition is reportedly contributing to the prevalence in Italy of cannabis cultivations aimed at the production of inflorescences, as opposed to fiber, since the wholesale of flowers from cannabis sativa can result in a profit between €300 (350 US$) and €1,500 (1800 US$) per kilogram, depending on the quality, and 1 ha (0.01 km2; 2.47 acres) can yield as much as 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) of inflorescences.[166] In February 2022, a collaboration protocol was signed between Coldiretti Toscana and the Vecchiano start-up CanapaFiliera, which aims to revamp the hemp industry in Tuscany.[171] In particular, the agreement provides for 1,000 ha (10.0 km2; 3.9 sq mi) of farm land between Lucca and Pisa to be dedicated to the production of high-quality hemp fiber, that would then be used in the paper industry, clothing industry, and sustainable architecture.[171] More specifically, the start-up would provide the seeds to the agricultural businesses participating in the project, which would then manage the cultivation of hemp as a rotational crop between the months of March and July, as part of a circular economy model.[171] See also[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]Traditional hemp rope making[edit]
Veneto[edit]
Campania[edit]
Sicily[edit]
Italian hemp production[edit]
Italian hemp use[edit]
Can I bring Delta 8 on a plane to Europe?Each country has its own laws on cannabis, with some similar to our “less than 0.3% delta-9” hemp rule. Other countries, like the European Union, call for even less of a presence of Delta-9 – 0.2% or less. Realistically, if you're flying internationally, it's best to leave your Delta-8 at home.
Is CBD Delta 8 legal in Italy?CBD products derived from industrial hemp, including oils, tinctures, and capsules, are available from specialty Italian stores and online. CBD edibles and beverages are currently prohibited under the Novel Food Regulation, which extends throughout Europe.
Is Delta 8 legal internationally?While you can legally fly with delta 8 THC on domestic flights, flying internationally with such products is a completely different story. Most countries in the world (including the USA) consider cannabis to be an illegal drug, and some countries have unbelievably heavy penalties for cannabis possession.
Is smoking CBD legal in Italy?Italy and CBD – 2022 standards
This is because oils that are legal are those with THC levels of less than 0.6%. However, it is prohibited to smoke dried CBD in Italy. Where did these regulations come from?
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Is Delta 8 legal in Italy
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