Italian Hemp Industry in Battle for Survival After Amendment Criminalising All Hemp Is Approved by Two Committees
Italy Moves to Ban Flowering Hemp: A Blow to the Cannabis Industry.
Italy’s government has approved a controversial amendment to its Security Bill, which, if passed by the Chamber and Senate, would effectively shut down the country’s hemp industry.
On July 31, the joint Constitutional Affairs and Justice committees of the Chamber approved voted to add the amendment to the Security Bill, currently being debated in the Chamber, making flowering cannabis of all types, regardless of THC content, illegal and considered a narcotic.
The country’s cannabis industry has warned that this amendment would not only destroy Italy’s thriving ‘cannabis light’ industry, but would also criminalise the handling of all industrial hemp throughout the supply chain, potentially jeapardising 11,000 jobs.
What happened?
In June, Business of Cannabis reported that Meloni’s government had proposed an amendment on the ‘measures concerning hemp inflorescences and products derived therefrom’.
Following a major pushback across the industry and calls for the European Commission (EC) to step in and assess the legality of the move, amendment 13.06 was ‘set aside’ in early July.
After successfully pushing the bill back, industry associations celebrated, stating that it showed the amendment ‘was not based on any legal-scientific evidence’, given that industrial hemp is not intoxicating.
Despite this, leading voices in the sector warned that the amendment was not yet defeated, and could still be voted on at a later date. This is exactly what happened on the evening of June 31.
The contested amendment was introduced by the government and supported by the majority parties. It aims to add a new article to the Security Bill, modifying Law No. 242 of 2016.
This law initially supported the cultivation and wider supply chain of hemp, specifically low-THC varieties listed in the EU’s ‘Common Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species.’ Under the 2016 law, sanctions were only imposed on hemp crops exceeding 0.6% THC.
If the new article is passed, it would add the term ‘industrial’ to references about the entire hemp supply chain, and restrict the law’s support for hemp cultivation for the production of food, cosmetics and biodegradable materials.
It would also exclude the importation, processing, possession and sale of hemp ‘inflorescences’, which refers to the complete flower head of a plant, including stems, stalks, and flowers, placing these activities in the Consolidated Law on Narcotic Substances.
What next?
The latest attack on the country’s hemp industry, which has been in the sights of Meloni’s administration for some time, does not yet mean the amendment has become law.
Next, the bill will be presented in the Chamber in September and must be approved by both the Chamber and Senate before it can be passed into law.
However, cannabis expert and lawyer Giacomo Bulleri has suggested that the government could opt to push through the Security Bill, which covers a myriad of issues, via a vote of confidence, meaning that opposition parties will have no say in its passage.
“Despite the opposition of all national agricultural associations, and not only those of hemp, which were united in condemning the measure that is illogical from both a legal and scientific point of view , it happens that for the ideological will to limit this plant, the entire supply chain is blocked, prohibiting the production and processing of the flower – and it is impossible, even for those who make fiber, to prevent the plant from flowering – stopping an entire agricultural sector and free enterprise, ” Mr. Bulleri told L’Independente.
As a final resort, industry associations have already written to the EC, calling for them to step in and reverse what they say is a breach of free trade rules.
Following the proposed amendment, cannabis trade groups, including Canapa Sativa Italia (CSI) and Federcanapa, penned a letter to the EC raising their concerns about the ‘restrictions on the cultivation and trade of hemp inflorescences and derived products’.
The CSI states in their complaint that the move could violate EU law on free competition and movement of goods, a principle that allows goods legally manufactured and marketed in one member state to be freely sold in any other member state, even if they comply with slightly different national regulations.
Furthermore, the CSI argues that the Italian government may have violated EU rules by failing to consult with the Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS), a mandatory step for regulations which could impact other single-market members.
In a press release published last week, the CSI said: “The industrial hemp sector is one of the most prosperous in the world, with a ‘Made in Italy’ recognized for its quality. However, this development is hindered by legislative initiatives that do not comply with European regulations, which recognize CBD and hemp inflorescences as non-narcotic.
“Consequently, they cannot be limited by national laws. We are ready to undertake legal appeals, both at the Constitutional Court and through administrative proceedings.”
