San Marino says yes to recreational cannabis

The Great and General Council of San Marino, a mountainous microstate in north-central Italy, adopted on September 18 an initiative to legalize cannabis for adults.

San Marino backs up its proposal with numerous arguments. In particular, the text sanctions the total failure of repressive policies, citing a report from 2015 of Italy's National Anti-Mafia Directorate. He also points out that cannabis consumption is less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes, that it is also weaker than the cannabis-induced dependence is lower than alcohol and cannabis use does not encourage the use of other drugs and in countries where it is legalized, the consumption is not increasing among young people all like road accidents.

For all these reasons, the State of San Marino proposes :

1. authorize adults to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis and its derivatives for personal use, with possibly different limits for residents and non-residents of the Republic
2. to authorize the consumption of cannabis derivatives by adults in non-public places or places not open to the public where minors or pregnant women are not present, in the sales outlets referred to in point 4 and in the associations referred to in point 6
3. authorize the production, extraction and processing of cannabis. Before being put on sale, products will have to be tested for the presence of parasites, molds, mycotoxins, solvents, heavy metals and anything else deemed necessary, as well as for their content in THC and CBD
4. legalize sales, with specialized stores modelled on American cannabis dispensaries, and sales and consumption outlets modelled on Dutch coffee shops. Sales would be restricted to people of legal age, subject to the limits on possession for personal use.
5. authorize self-production, or the possession of cannabis plants at home, up to a maximum number to be set. The presence of a crop will have to be reported to the competent authorities, along with the quantity of substance produced at each harvest. The amount of substance produced may exceed the limits for personal possession, and must be kept at the place of cultivation. Only the person with whom the crop is registered may take the product or part of it with him/her, in compliance with the limits on personal possession.
6. to authorize associations for the collective cultivation of cannabis, following the example of the Spanish Cannabis Social Club, within the limit of the maximum number of plants authorized for self-production. The distribution of the harvest will have to take place between the members of the association, as set out in the association's articles of association.

The proposal is now awaiting examination by the relevant Permanent Council Commission, which will have to decide on the proposal's future, otherwise the bill will have no concrete impact.

San Marino currently makes no distinction between soft and hard drugs, or between personal use and drug trafficking. The state did, however, legalize medical cannabis in 2016.