If the possibility of growing up to four seedlings of cannabis on the balcony without being denounced he trudges in Parliament, apparently the road of decriminalization proceeds quickly through the referendum. Which could be held next spring. Leaving a glimpse of greater freedom for the medical and recreational use of marijuana but also incandescent controversy among political forces, with foreseeable parliamentary attempts to change the current law to defuse the mine of popular consultation. In the background, a conflict that crosses the country and implies divergent conceptions on the impact on health, freedom, rights, youth policies and the fight against crime. But also the development of a sector that is growing dramatically in the real economy and, between peaks and falls, in the stock exchanges all over the world. While, pending definitive regulation, the local news reports daily complaints on a variable scale, from domestic crops discovered on Wednesday on a balcony in Bari, to 327 plants seized by the Carabinieri yesterday in a disused warehouse in the Lucchese area.
The referendum
Even if the necessary 500 thousand signatures have already been reached, at record speed thanks to the novelty of the online collection, the effort of the promoters does not stop, in view of the presentation of the signatures in the Supreme Court which was extended by the government at the end of October, due to bureaucratic delays in the Municipalities, among the inevitable controversies. Today in Rome, in Piazza del Pantheon, + Europa launches its national campaign for subscriptions with Senator Emma Bonino, the secretary Benedetto Della Vedova and the deputy and president of + E, Riccardo Magi. Goal of the initiative reach at least 800 thousand signatures and mobilize the pro cannabis front. Which according to some recent polls would be large and growing. According to the latest Swg survey, commissioned by the BeLeaf magazine and the Meglio Legale campaign – that is, by members of the pro-liberalization front – 58% of Italians would in fact be in favor of the legalization of cannabis.
What does the question really entail?
As always happens on such divisive issues, there is a lot of confusion in the debate, including online, on the topic of the referendum. The question (referring to the Consolidated Law on the discipline of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, referred to in Presidential Decree 309/1990) aims to decriminalize the cultivation of any substance and to eliminate the prison sentence for any illegal conduct related to Cannabis, with the exception of association aimed at illicit trafficking. The possession, production and manufacture of all substances that can be applied for conduct other than personal use are not decriminalized. On the administrative level, the question proposes a rather critical distinction: to eliminate the sanction of suspension of the driving license and of the certificate of fitness to drive mopeds currently intended for all conducts aimed at the personal use of any narcotic or psychotropic substance, but to maintain the penalty for whom guide in a state of psycho-physical alteration due to the use of drugs.
The bill in the House
On 8 September the House Justice Committee laboriously approved a basic text (starting from the 14 different proposals filed in Parliament last April) on cannabis but the majority was immediately split. The text would allow the cultivation at home of no more than four “female” cannabis plants (ie richer in active ingredients, ed) for personal use, relying on the reduction of penalties for minor facts (article 73, paragraph 5 of Consolidated drug law) with the differentiation between substances, and the cancellation of administrative sanctions for people who use these substances.
The clash between the parties and the anti-referendum push
To the satisfaction of M5S – who with the speaker Mario Perantoni talked about an important result in the wake of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, a reasonable synthesis between the different proposals and important help to those who use medical cannabis – immediately reflected the center-right wall. On cannabis, in fact, September 8 marked anything but an armistice for the majority: they voted against the League (the text “is a prelude to legalization”), Coraggio Italia and Forza Italia, Italia viva abstained. In favor of the others, from the radical Magi to the M5s, from Pd to Leu. Obviously, Fdi’s opposition is also radically opposed. (Rampelli: “The majority sells home-made joints to Italy in an economic and health crisis”). Now we have to wait for the amendments to be filed in committee, the deadline for which has been postponed to 20 October. But the road promises to be bumpy to say the least. And in Parliament there are rumors about a possible attempt by the anti-cannabis front to change the law to defuse the referendum mine. “On the basis of experience I do not find it hard to believe – replies Riccardo Magi, engaged today in the collection of signatures in Rome – that the Center-Right may be trying to overturn the situation, but I remember that, to stop the referendum, the legislative modification must go in the direction indicated by the promoters ».