Over 27,000 signatures for the legalization of cannabis. The M5s: “We will deposit the law in the Senate”
Almost 30,000 signatures collected online in support of a collective proposal to legalize cannabis and regulate the market. The associations behind the initiative were welcomed at the Ministry of Justice and Senator Mantero of the M5S said he will submit it to the Senate in the coming days.
NEWS DOCTOR CANNABIS 20 JUNE 2019 17:21 by Mario Catania
A grassroots movement to shake up public opinion on the issue of cannabis legalization. It is the “Manifesto for free cannabis”, born from an idea of the Free Weed association, which was joined by associations, companies in the sector and citizens, unleashing a media buzz that led to the online collection of over 27 thousand signatures.
In recent days, a group of representatives of the initiative, composed of Stefano Armanasco, Lisa Gandini and Lucio Badini of the Free Weed association, as well as activist Valentina Varisco and Marco Maffione of the Canapese association, was received at the Ministry of Justice by Undersecretary Vittorio Ferraresi and Senator Matteo Mantero, both members of the M5S.
"The signatures were collected online as popular and social support for the proposed law and the ideals contained in the Manifesto. We asked for the intercession of the Ministry of Justice and parliamentarians of the various parties, to ensure that the law that had the support of over 27 thousand people is deposited", says Stefano Armanasco, underlining that: "It was a result possible thanks to the work on the territory, for the creation of a very simple proposal, which goes to unify the various aspects related to free cannabis: from the regulation of self-production with clear details, a free market with precise rules to fight drug mafias, and then the right progress in the health sector with a careful eye on patients".
According to the associations, if a political agreement to discuss the law is not found in a short time, the solution could come from the propositive referendum, approved by the Chamber at the beginning of 2019 and currently under discussion in the Senate, which would give citizens a tool to be able to propose and approve a law directly, without going through Parliament.
“It is a fairly complex bill,” Senator Mantero emphasizes, “which I will table within the next two weeks, alongside the one I proposed a short time ago.” The reference is to the bill from early 2019 that provides, among other things, for the domestic cultivation of cannabis in a personal or associated form.
On the possibility that this new proposal could be discussed in the short term, according to Mantero, "the discussion could start, but with the government majority and the composition of Parliament that exists at the moment, it is difficult to reach the approval of a bill for legalization". On the fact that, by joining forces with parliamentarians from M5S, PD and Leu, this result could in fact be achieved, given that they would have a parliamentary majority, Mantero maintains that: "The PD has already shown itself to be against it in the last legislature, when it could have voted with us, and Zingaretti has already reiterated that it is not a proposal in the PD's style, so we and Leu would remain. We could start the discussion, hoping that it will be a stimulus to talk about the topic and that we can at least better clarify the position of light cannabis inflorescences, which have nothing to do with narcotics but it would be desirable to take a step forward given the importance of the sector".
After the ruling of the joint sections of the Court of Cassation, Mantero has in fact presented a legislative proposal to modify law 242 of 2016, the one dedicated to industrial hemp, adding to the marketable products also light cannabis inflorescences with a THC content of up to 0.6%, specifying that they can be sold as a food or herbal product, with the relative controls on the healthiness of the product.
In general, we recall that, as far as legalization is concerned, in addition to the law presented by Mantero in January, this one that will be presented shortly and the two proposals presented by Senator Ciampolillo to allow the cultivation of cannabis by private individuals and patients, there is always in the drawer the popular initiative law for which Radicali and the Luca Coscioni association had collected over 68 thousand signatures, which was relaunched with an appeal to all parliamentarians a short time ago.
On the fact that in the rest of the world cannabis in general is being legalized, while in our country even light cannabis is being criminalized, Mantero argues that: "Unfortunately, the Italian political class, on this issue as on many others, and I am thinking of euthanasia currently being discussed in the Senate, shows that it is truly backward. While the rest of the world regulates a market to stop drug trafficking, have a controlled product available and relaunch the economy, we, who were the best producers of hemp, are boycotting ourselves, and the main cause is ignorance"
NEWS DOCTOR CANNABIS 20 JUNE 2019 17:21 by Mario Catania
A grassroots movement to shake up public opinion on the issue of cannabis legalization. It is the “Manifesto for free cannabis”, born from an idea of the Free Weed association, which was joined by associations, companies in the sector and citizens, unleashing a media buzz that led to the online collection of over 27 thousand signatures.
In recent days, a group of representatives of the initiative, composed of Stefano Armanasco, Lisa Gandini and Lucio Badini of the Free Weed association, as well as activist Valentina Varisco and Marco Maffione of the Canapese association, was received at the Ministry of Justice by Undersecretary Vittorio Ferraresi and Senator Matteo Mantero, both members of the M5S.
"The signatures were collected online as popular and social support for the proposed law and the ideals contained in the Manifesto. We asked for the intercession of the Ministry of Justice and parliamentarians of the various parties, to ensure that the law that had the support of over 27 thousand people is deposited", says Stefano Armanasco, underlining that: "It was a result possible thanks to the work on the territory, for the creation of a very simple proposal, which goes to unify the various aspects related to free cannabis: from the regulation of self-production with clear details, a free market with precise rules to fight drug mafias, and then the right progress in the health sector with a careful eye on patients".
According to the associations, if a political agreement to discuss the law is not found in a short time, the solution could come from the propositive referendum, approved by the Chamber at the beginning of 2019 and currently under discussion in the Senate, which would give citizens a tool to be able to propose and approve a law directly, without going through Parliament.
“It is a fairly complex bill,” Senator Mantero emphasizes, “which I will table within the next two weeks, alongside the one I proposed a short time ago.” The reference is to the bill from early 2019 that provides, among other things, for the domestic cultivation of cannabis in a personal or associated form.
On the possibility that this new proposal could be discussed in the short term, according to Mantero, "the discussion could start, but with the government majority and the composition of Parliament that exists at the moment, it is difficult to reach the approval of a bill for legalization". On the fact that, by joining forces with parliamentarians from M5S, PD and Leu, this result could in fact be achieved, given that they would have a parliamentary majority, Mantero maintains that: "The PD has already shown itself to be against it in the last legislature, when it could have voted with us, and Zingaretti has already reiterated that it is not a proposal in the PD's style, so we and Leu would remain. We could start the discussion, hoping that it will be a stimulus to talk about the topic and that we can at least better clarify the position of light cannabis inflorescences, which have nothing to do with narcotics but it would be desirable to take a step forward given the importance of the sector".
After the ruling of the joint sections of the Court of Cassation, Mantero has in fact presented a legislative proposal to modify law 242 of 2016, the one dedicated to industrial hemp, adding to the marketable products also light cannabis inflorescences with a THC content of up to 0.6%, specifying that they can be sold as a food or herbal product, with the relative controls on the healthiness of the product.
In general, we recall that, as far as legalization is concerned, in addition to the law presented by Mantero in January, this one that will be presented shortly and the two proposals presented by Senator Ciampolillo to allow the cultivation of cannabis by private individuals and patients, there is always in the drawer the popular initiative law for which Radicali and the Luca Coscioni association had collected over 68 thousand signatures, which was relaunched with an appeal to all parliamentarians a short time ago.
On the fact that in the rest of the world cannabis in general is being legalized, while in our country even light cannabis is being criminalized, Mantero argues that: "Unfortunately, the Italian political class, on this issue as on many others, and I am thinking of euthanasia currently being discussed in the Senate, shows that it is truly backward. While the rest of the world regulates a market to stop drug trafficking, have a controlled product available and relaunch the economy, we, who were the best producers of hemp, are boycotting ourselves, and the main cause is ignorance"
