Growing your own cannabis is no longer a crime in Italy

Growing cannabis at home, if the plants are few and intended for personal use, is not a crime in Italy, according to a precedent-setting decision by the Italian Court of Cassation on December 19.

The Court's supreme body ruled that «the smallest cultivation activities carried out at home, which, through rudimentary techniques, the small number of plants, the very small quantity of products that can be obtained, the absence of other indicators of their inclusion on the drug market, appear to be intended exclusively for the personal use of the producer are not a crime.» In other words, if home cultivation is for personal use only and does not affect public health, growing small quantities of cannabis is legal.

The law on cannabis in Italy has been littered with contradictory rulings. As long ago as 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that the cultivation of a cannabis plant could not be considered dangerous to public health and safety, and was therefore legal. This ruling opposed the Italian Constitutional Court's interpretation that growing plants from which narcotic substances can be extracted is always a crime, regardless of the quantity and intended use, and recalled in 2016 by judgment of the same court.

Matteo Mantero, already an active senator on the issue of cannabis light, called on MPs to follow up this decision with legislation.

«Once again, jurisprudence is taking the place of a cowardly legislator. Cassation has paved the way, now it's up to us. commented the senator on Facebook. «Until this historic sentence, buying cannabis from a dealer, feeding criminal networks and endangering your health with questionable products, is not a criminal offense, while growing certain plants on your balcony for personal use could cost prison.

Now,« continues Mantero, «it puts an end to a law that entrusted the mafia with the monopoly market for soft drugs. The time has come for lawmakers to wake up, stop shirking their duty and decide to tackle these »slippery« or »divisive« problems, whatever the adjectives,« writes Mantero. He then concludes: »My proposal to regulate self-production was already tabled at the beginning of the legislature, it can be a starting point. Let's do it.»

Contradictions resolved

The Supreme Court's decision followed a ruling on a case involving the cultivation of 2 cannabis plants (one 1 metre high with 18 branches, the other 1.15 metres high with 20 branches), for which the accused was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and fined 3,000 euros.

The decision puts an end to a number of contradictory rulings that did or did not take into account the purpose of production and the quantities that could be produced.