Cannabis, nine proposals in parliament: PD and M5S united on legalization

Cannabis and legalization, topics that are heating up politics again. "Salvini's statement on the closure of shops is just another mass distraction bomb. I have never been in favor of the legalization of cannabis." This is what the secretary of the Democratic Party Nicola Zingaretti said about the crackdown on "hemp shops" (immediately after the revocation of the Lega undersecretary for Infrastructure, Armando Siri) launched by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini. Yet in parliament there are nine proposals on cannabis (3 from the Democratic Party, 3 from the M5S, one from Leu, one from the Mixed Group and one from a popular initiative). And the Democratic Party and the M5S are united on the request for legalization.

Salvini asked M5S leader Luigi Di Maio that "the 5 Star senator Mantero withdraw the proposal on free drugs" because "it is not in the government contract and I do not want the State to be a drug dealer". But Matteo Mantero , first signatory of a bill with "provisions on the legalization of the cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis and its derivatives", said he was unavailable. "It is a somewhat absurd request given that it comes from the Minister of the Interior. The Constitution says that parliamentarians have their independence from the government" replied Mantero, who spoke of a "historic battle of the 5S" and a "battle of common sense". Also noteworthy is the similar bill by M5S senator Lello Ciampolillo , which legalizes the domestic cultivation of cannabis for personal use, as well as "the possession of the products obtained from it".

But the Democratic Party, despite the opposition of Secretary Zingaretti, has also presented three bills in favor of legalization . One, first signatory Senator Vincenza Bruno Bossio , contains, like Mantero's, "provisions regarding the legalization of the cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis and its derivatives. And among other things it decriminalizes "the free transfer to an adult and the transfer of small quantities of cannabis for personal consumption between minors".

Another (first signatory Nadia Ginetti) contains «provisions on the pharmaceutical and medical use of cannabis and the legalization of the cultivation , possession and personal consumption of the same and its derivatives». The proposal is to legalize the personal and private consumption of cannabis and its derivatives for adults; also allow the individual cultivation of cannabis, under certain conditions (communication to the Customs and Monopolies Agency, and up to five plants); make it legal to possess corresponding quantities of cannabis (up to 5 grams). The legislation therefore does not contemplate a liberalization of the production of cannabis, but on the contrary a production and sale under an «authorization» regime.

Even more permissive is the bill signed by Democratic Senator Tommaso Cerno (with "rules for the legal regulation of the production, consumption and trade of cannabis and its derivatives") that abolishes all types of criminal and administrative sanctions for the use and personal possession of plants and substances that are currently illegal. Once the production of the cannabis plant is legalized, "it must also be permitted for non-profit purposes, for personal or collective consumption, to be practiced in designated places or in private homes."