A referendum to decriminalize cannabis launched in Italy

Last week, several pro-cannabis organizations and political parties launched the a campaign to collect signatures and put to the vote a referendum to decriminalize domestic cannabis cultivation and end penalties for personal use.

Some 350,000 Italian citizens have already deposited their signatures and joined the campaign, with a target of at least 500,000 verified electronic signatures to be collected by September 30 in order to proceed with the referendum.

The referendum aims to decriminalize personal cannabis cultivation and abolish penalties for cannabis possession by amending several articles of Italian narcotics law.

If all the signatures are collected, the Supreme Court of Cassation will verify the legitimacy of all the signatures. In the meantime, the Constitutional Court will ensure that the referendum question complies with the Italian Constitution. If all the signatures are validated, Italian President Sergio Mattarella can issue a decree setting the date for the referendum. Italian citizens will then vote «yes» or «no» to remove the articles of the narcotics law that criminalize the cultivation of cannabis for personal use and administrative penalties for personal possession.

Campaign to decriminalize cannabis follows to the recent vote by the Chamber of Deputies' Judiciary Committee on a new proposal to decriminalize cannabis cultivation. However, the proposal still has to be examined and voted on by Parliament.

This is not the first time that Italian cannabis activists have attempted to decriminalize the recreational use of cannabis through a vote. In 1993, a referendum promoted by the Italian Radical Party led by Marco Pannella succeeded in decriminalizing criminal penalties for the personal use of cannabis. Over the years, activists have made several attempts to decriminalize or legalize cannabis, but so far without success.

Several court judgments have already stated the legality of growing cannabis for personal use. And even the Anti-Mafia Investigation Department recently supported the decriminalization of cannabis due to the failure of the war on drugs.

By decriminalizing cannabis for personal use, Italy would join other European countries that have decriminalized recreational cannabis, including Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal.