Italy: Matteo Salvini declares war on cannabis stores

For some time now, «cannabis light» stores have been operating without a hitch in Italy. Matteo Salvini, the controversial Minister of the Interior, doesn't seem to like this, and has just declared a merciless war on them. For her part, the Minister of Health considers this repression to be pointless. The disagreement between the two ministries is part of a deeper rift between the two coalition parties that share power: the 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the League, to which Salvini belongs.

A declaration of war

Following a meeting with health agency representatives, Matteo Salvini declared Drugs are a devastating national emergency: starting tomorrow, I will be ordering all public security and law enforcement officials in Italy to go and check these stores one by one, with the aim of closing them all down. As far as I'm concerned, all stores suspected of «cannabis tourism« will be sealed from top to bottom, because they encourage the use of narcotic substances».

During a television program on Corriere TV, the Minister of Health - who is part of the M5S - replied «no to closing the stores, yes to restricting sales». She points out that the THC concentrations in light cannabis have no narcotic effects: «Some people say that these stores are freely selling drugs. This is not the case at all. From the point of view of the Ministry of Health, we must above all guarantee and defend the fragile categories (minors, pregnant women)».

The controversy between the two ministries is part of the power struggles between the two coalition parties. Shortly before Salvini's announcement, the M5S had rejected a proposed law presented by the head of the League's parliamentary group, Maurizio Politi, which consisted of establishing a zoning policy for light cannabis stores. It aimed to limit outlets and ban them from being located near schools, community centers, places of worship and sports facilities.

Light cannabis in Italy

A law that came into force in March 2018 allows the sale of flowers with a THC percentage between 0.2% and 0.6%. However, the text specifies that flowers may only be intended for «technical» or «ornamental» purposes, but in reality, the vast majority of consumers smoke them. The authorities are well aware of this, but for all that, the stores are not explicitly illegal. What's more, they seem to be capturing a proportion of cannabis consumers at the expense of organized crime.

According to a study conducted by economists, the emergence of these stores would result in annual losses of 90 to 170 million euros for organized crime. The researchers compared police data on illegal cannabis seizures in different provinces before and after the emergence of cannabis light stores: «we found that the legalization of cannabis light led to a 11% to 12% reduction in illegal cannabis seizures, for each outlet present in each province, and an 8% reduction in the availability of hashish». Their calculations suggest that each cannabis light store corresponds to an annual reduction of 6.5 kilos of seized illegal cannabis.

Yet Salvini clearly sees these stores as a threat: «There are now over a thousand of them operating outside all laws and controls. I wouldn't wait for the Court of Cassation's sentence at the end of May, we have to close down one by one all these places of mass mis-education». The Minister of the Interior is referring to a verdict soon to be handed down by the Italian Court of Cassation by the National Consortium for the Protection of Cannabis. The latter's aim is to defend the production of legal cannabis and establish a certification system, but it is possible that the Cour de Cassation will rule in favor of a ban.

The Italian situation echoes the French one, where CBD and hemp-derived products traders are awaiting crucial verdicts (Dijon Court of Cassation, European Court of Justice) which will define once and for all whether their activity is legal or not. Nevertheless, it seems that Matteo Salvini is reluctant to wait for a court decision. As Minister of the Interior, he can easily use the resources of his ministry to hinder the business of these stores. as did the French authorities before him, We've also been able to increase the number of searches, police detentions and sealing operations.