The Italian government is not giving up its fight against CBD hemp and its derivatives

Ter repetita. The Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has not conceded defeat and is once again tackling the industrial hemp in legislation that would eliminate CBD and all other products derived from the plant's flowers.

The proposal would prohibit importing, processing, possessing, transferring, distributing, trading, transporting, shipping, delivering, or otherwise dealing with any of these products. public sale and consumption of hemp flowers, even in semi-finished, dried or shredded form, according to the wording of a draft amendment to the country's controversial security bill.

Describing the measure as «grotesque repression», the trade association Federcanapa declared that the provisions «prohibit any productive and commercial activity linked to hemp inflorescences, even if they contain little or no THC».

Serious consequences for the Italian hemp industry

If passed, the law will completely block the hemp extract sub-sector, affecting CBD and other non-psychoactive hemp cannabinoids used in phytotherapy, cosmetics and dietary supplements, according to Beppe Croce, President of Federcanapa.

Some members of parliament and other experts have said that adoption of the amendment, which would also ban the production of flowers and flower-based products for export, would lead to the closure of 3,000 businesses and put 15,000 workers out of work.

Italy's 2023 security bill covers a wide range of issues, including law enforcement, prison conditions, immigration and even public demonstrations. It strengthens the powers of law enforcement and creates harsher criminal penalties that could be applied to violations of the hemp amendment.

Against European Union legislation

Federcanapa said it would ask members of the Constitutional Affairs and Justice Committees, responsible for examining the bill, not to approve the amendment. Giacomo Bulleri, the trade group's legal expert, said the amendment was contrary to European legislation and exposed Italy to possible infringement proceedings from the European Union, which has affirmed the legality of products derived from hemp flowers.

In a legally binding decision applicable throughout the Union, the European Commission declared in 2020 that CBD was not a narcotic and that it could be legally marketed in and between member states. This decision is based on the famous Kanavape ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union earlier that year.

However, this did not stop the Italian authorities from repeatedly attacking CBD and other cannabinoids, as well as «cannabis light», a low-THC flower for smoking.

Attempts and defeats

In October 2020, the Ministry of Health has classified CBD as a narcotic and banned it from the Italian market, asking retailers to liquidate their stocks, before cancelling the order ten days later.

In early 2022, the State-Regions Conference - a platform for dialogue and cooperation between central and regional governments - updated the wording of a 2018 decree to classify hemp as a strictly medicinal plant. Four cannabis associations took legal action and the decree was cancelled a year later by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, which ruled that it was contrary to European law.