Cannabis, M5s-Pd convergences on legalization and hemp
ROME (Public Policy) – From the crackdown on cannabis shops to liberalization : the XVIII legislature could radically change its orientation in a few months. Only a few months ago, the outgoing Interior Minister Matteo Salvini announced his intention to review law 242 of 2016, which paved the way for the cultivation and trade of hemp sativa (the plant with low THC content, therefore not a drug), threatening to close cannabis shops . Now with the new PD-5 Star majority, things could change soon, at least according to the parliamentary history of recent years and the proposed laws filed by the two political forces.
On the subject of cannabis, the PD proposals filed so far are three: one in the Senate, first signed by Tommaso Cerno; and two in the Chamber, one first signed by Enza Bruno Bossio and the other by Nadia Ginetti. All three proposals propose the decriminalization and liberalization of possession and trade of the plant. The 5 Star Movement has also filed three bills so far, all three in the Senate: one first signed by Matteo Mantero and the other two first signed by Lello Ciampolillo. The first is very similar to the PD proposals and is the best known of the three because it was filed by the M5S senator in the days when the controversy over the rumored closure of cannabis shops was mounting, attracting criticism from Salvini himself. The two bills signed by Ciampolillo aim only to allow personal cultivation of cannabis (one restricts the scope to therapeutic use; the other opens it to anyone who wants it). Among the bills in favor of legalization, we must also take into account the proposal presented to the Chamber by Leu (the first candidate to enter the new majority, after the PD and the 5 Star Movement) and the popular bill filed more than a year ago (given that the 5 Star Movement has always declared itself in favor of giving priority to these bills).
Recent parliamentary history offers another starting point to support those who want to bet on a possible Pd-M5s legislation . In the last legislature, in July 2017, when the Pd-Ncd majority voted together with Forza Italia to remove the part relating to legalization from the bill on cannabis (leaving only the part relating to therapeutic use standing) the 5 Star Movement voted together with the Radicals in favor of the alternative text, the one proposed by Daniele Farina of the Italian Left (now part of Leu). In this legislature none of the proposed laws on the subject have yet begun examination but with the new majority things could change.
Similar convergence could be found on the topic of hemp, which directly concerns the agricultural and commercial world . In this legislature, the issue has only been addressed through policy acts. The Social Affairs and Agriculture committees in Montecitorio have been examining a series of resolutions for several months: some (like that of FdI) to try to curb the new business opened by the 2016 law; and others (led by Pd and Leu) to try to develop the sector by first of all asking for clear rules, starting with the issue of the sale of inflorescences and the quantity of THC in hemp-based foods. The committees have so far only held hearings without approving commitments, due to the differences between the League and the 5 Star Movement, with the former more favorable to the FdI approach and the latter closer to the left-wing positions.
The president of the Agriculture Commission Filippo Gallinella (M5s) , speaking to Public Policy , has already announced that he “wants to find a solution to allow farmers to sell inflorescences to extraction companies ”. Convergence, on the other hand, already experienced in March of this year, when in the Senate the majority voted in favor of the Pd motion that asked the Executive to commit to the issuing of the long-awaited decree on THC in food and – among other things – on “a new regulation for both the cultivation and marketing of hemp”.
For the promotion of the cultivation and agro-industrial supply chain of hemp, 4 M5S proposals have been presented , two to the Chamber (first signed by Castaldi-Cunial) and two to the Senate (also first signed by Mantero-Ciampolillo). In July, Mantero presented the urgent request for his proposal in favor of the hemp sector, to allow in particular the sale of inflorescences. The request was signed by almost 50 M5S senators and if approved will allow a rapid discussion of the bill. When the assembly of Palazzo Madama reopens, the urgent request should be put to the vote. This could be the first occasion in which the new majority could mark the change of pace of the legislature. (Public Policy)
