The lower chamber of Italy's Parliament will finally discuss on October 17 a bill that regulates the use of cannabis for therapeutical purpose. However, the political associations and movements that presented the original proposal are on the warpath, and the rapporteur of that draft bill, Daniele Farina of the Italian Left (SI), has resigned her position.

Why? Because the Italian Parliament has in effect buried the original proposal, emptying it of its original content and inspiration.

Original legalisation proposal

When it was presented in July 2005, the law had the support of 300 parliamentarians – senators and MPs from different parties who joined together in the Cannabis Legale inter-parliamentary group – and its content was completely different.

In its original form, the proposal provided for the legalisation of cannabis - including recreational use beyond the therapeutical purpose – from production to sale, and allowed the people to possess up to 15 grams of cannabis at home and five grams outside of the home.

It also opened the way to the self-growing, subject to the authorisation of a monopoly agency, with the possibility of owning up to five plants. Cannabis social clubs, for a maximum of 50 people, could also be formed.

The bill also stipulated that 5% of the proceeds from the sale of legal cannabis would be used to fight drugs, so as to stimulate prevention campaigns.

At the same time, another bill, supported by 60,000 signatures, was submitted to Parliament. This draft law had the held many of the same views, but was generally seen as even more favourable for consumers.

Parliament's takeover

Roughly one year after the original proposal was released, it began working its way through Parliament, being sent first to the competent committees (parliamentary groups dealing with specific topics - in this case those of Justice and Social Affairs).

These two committees changed the original meaning of the proposal, removing completely the part that would have regulated the recreational use and limiting the debate to therapeutic use, which has already been regulated through decrees by the minister of health since 2007.

According to Senator Della Vedova, under-secretary of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and a spokesperson for the Cannabis Legale group, political parties avoid the discussion on this issue out of fear of where the debate could go:

"It’s paradoxical that a proposal signed by 221 deputies comes to the Chamber of Deputies with a disfigured text, from which the main content has been completely deleted. Refusal to address the issue of legalising cannabis means standing in favour of the prohibitionist status quo."

Daniele Farina, the former rapporteur of the proposal who resigned following its amendments, has the same opinion:

"Unfortunately, the text that will be debated in the Chamber of Deputies does not respond to requests and expectations on this topic. The text is far removed from the public discussion of recent years in our country and from the concrete experiences that have already spread in several countries around the world. For these reasons, I felt that I had to resign as rapporteur."

In short: the Italian Parliament will finally discuss the law, yes. But at this point, there's not much to be discussed. This is despite the fact that, according to pollsters Ipsos, actually 83% of Italians see their country's laws on light drugs as ineffective, 73% would like to see cannabis legalised and 58% of people think legalization would benefit public finances.

Moreover, the recreational use of cannabis is extremely popular in Italy, with 25% of all people aged 15 to 19 admitting to using the drug at least once in 2014.

Know your rights

Waiting for Parliament to approve a concrete bill that gives sufficient consideration to this data as well, the Italian Coalition for Liberties and Rights has launched a specific guide for cannabis consumers – because knowing your rights is the first step to enforce them.

Is Cannabis use a criminal offense? What are the possible risks for using marijuana? What is the difference between personal use and dealing? What if I was stopped by police while driving under the effect of substances? Answers to these and many more questions can be found in the guide, which you can download here.

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