"Light" Cannabis in Italy: The ban on hemp flowers will be delayed until February 2027 pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court

The legal uncertainty surrounding “light cannabis” in Italy will continue for a few more months. The Italian Constitutional Court has postponed its review of the legality of Article 18 of the Security Decree until February 9, 2027, which, since 2025, has been regulated in a particularly restrictive manner the trade in hemp inflorescences and their derivatives.

Originally scheduled for October 21, 2026, the hearing was postponed so that the Court could hear three constitutional challenges from the courts of Brindisi, Trani, and Brescia. This postponement is strictly procedural and therefore does not prejudge the judges' future decision.

Three courts are now challenging Article 18

Introduced by Decree-Law 48/2025 and subsequently enacted as Law 80/2025, the’Article 18 explicitly incorporated into Italian law prohibitions on the importation, processing, distribution, and sale of hemp flowers.

Products containing these inflorescences are also affected, as are the extracts, resins, and oils derived from them.

The measure is now being challenged in three courts. Visit Brindisi case Trani’s case was already before the Constitutional Court when the Brescia court, in turn, raised a constitutionality issue in July 2026. The addition of this case explains the new schedule: following a procedural hearing on January 25, the three cases will be heard together on the merits on February 9, 2027.

The ban remains in effect, but the details of its enforcement are becoming clearer

The postponement does not suspend the’Article 18, which therefore remains formally in effect until such time as the Constitutional Court may declare it unconstitutional. Its application by the courts, however, appears to be more nuanced.

In a decision filed on July 8, 2026, Italian Court of Cassation held that the actual, remarkable effectiveness of a product must be established and cannot be automatically presumed. The case in question was referred to another judge for a new ruling: this is therefore neither an acquittal nor a general legalization of hemp flowers.

Several courts have since ordered the return of products or rejected certain measures when the available analyses did not establish their narcotic effects.

In other words, the law remains in effect, but the mere fact that it exists does not necessarily mean that a hemp-derived product can automatically be treated as a narcotic without examining its specific characteristics.

The Constitution, Proportionality, and European Law

The Constitutional Court will now have to rule on several objections. The courts that filed the appeals are questioning, in particular, the conditions of necessity and urgency that justified the use of a decree-law, as well as the principle that a criminal penalty requires conduct that is actually capable of infringing upon the protected interest.

Whether the ban is consistent with the free movement of goods within the European Union is another major aspect of the case. The Constitutional Court, however, is unlikely to be the final stage in this legal saga.

The hemp case is also being heard before the CJEU

A separate proceeding is already pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The case C-716/25 This concerns, in particular, industrial hemp, European agricultural regulations, and the free movement of leaves, flowers, and derivatives.

At the same time, the Natural CBD for oral use is the subject of another set of referrals to the CJEU. Orders 6198, 6200, and 6202/2026 of the Italian Council of State ask the European judges, in particular, about free movement, the precautionary principle, and proportionality.

These procedures must remain clearly distinct: the suspension of domestic litigation relating to the Oral CBD does not constitute a general authorization to market all CBD products in Italy.

For the Italian sector of the hemp, so the next major deadline is now set for February 9, 2027. On that day, the Constitutional Court will examine the merits of the three challenges to Article 18. Its decision, which may be published at a later date, will determine whether the system established in 2025 can continue to apply as is.