Italian farmers go to the front to save hemp

Italy's agricultural sector is mounting a coordinated defence against the government's restrictive stance on hemp flowers, The confusion surrounding their legal status continues to disrupt one of Europe's leading producers.

Early October, Confagricoltura, Italy's leading agricultural association, has formally requested the government to clarify the legality of industrial hemp. The organization submitted a authentic act of interpretation to the Ministry of the Interior, urging the authorities to officially distinguish hemp from narcotic substances and confirm that the cultivation, processing and marketing of non-psychoactive hemp products remain legal.

«We demand rapid clarification, otherwise we risk jeopardizing the efforts of entrepreneurs and creating a gap with the rest of Europe,» said Nicolò Panciera di Zoppola Gambara, president of Confagricoltura.

According to the group, the Italian hemp flower industry employs some 30,000 workers and generates 150 million euros in annual tax revenues. However, the « safety decree »In fact, the country's "ecosystem" is in danger of being dismantled overnight.

A legal grey area for’hemp industry

At the heart of the controversy lies article 18 of the safety decree, which classifies all hemp flowers and cannabinoids such as CBD, the CBG and the CBN as narcotics, irrespective of their drug content. THC. This measure blurs the legal distinction between the industrial hemp and the cannabis used for medical purposes or by adults.

Confagricoltura warns that this rule, ostensibly adopted to «protect public safety», has instead sown chaos for more than 3,000 companies all along the value chain, from agriculture to manufacturing, building materials and bioenergy.

In the Italian legal system, a law of authentic interpretation can clarify how an existing law is to be applied without rewriting it. Confagricoltura hopes that the Ministry of the Interior will approve this process in order to harmonize the way law enforcement agencies deal with the industrial hemp, by ensuring that legitimate farmers and processors are not criminalized under anti-drug laws.

The association insists that the government must standardize controls and issue clear administrative guidelines to restore investor confidence in a market once considered a sustainable pillar of Italy's rural economy.

Growing opposition to hemp flower ban in Italy

Confagricoltura's request comes against a backdrop of wider opposition to the ban from regional governments and farming organizations. The Italian Confederation of Agriculture (CIA) has criticized the measure, calling it ’ideological« and warning that it compromises both regional autonomy and economic development.

Several regional councils and advocacy groups are currently preparing legal appeals, while the European Commission asked Rome for an explanation of the decree's compatibility with European law, which protects the free movement of industrial hemp and its derivatives within the single market.

This reaction follows a court ruling in April upholding the Italian government's ban on oral CBD products, reinforcing their classification as pharmaceutical products under the « precautionary principle ». This decision ignored scientific data from national and European sources confirming the safety of consuming cannabidiol.

A call for pragmatism and European alignment

For Italian hemp growers, the situation has become untenable. The government's ambiguity threatens jobs, investment and the credibility of Italian agriculture within the EU, who was asked about the legality of Italian texts.

«Every time we asked, we were assured that the government had no intention of criminalizing hemp cultivation or the agro-industrial supply chain,» recalls Nicolò Panciera di Zoppola Gambara.

But so far, the country's position on hemp remains suspended in a cloud of confusion.