Italy’s Supreme Court has ruled that home-growing cannabis for private use is legal, according to a Guardian report. In the landmark ruling the court said narcotic laws should exclude “small amounts grown domestically for the exclusive use of the grower.”
The ruling does not outline what “small amounts” would be considered legal by the court. However, the case stems from a case dealing with the cultivation of two cannabis plants. In Italy, cannabis containing less than 0.6 percent of THC has been sold commercially after being legalized three years ago; however, Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League Party has threatened to shut down shops that sell the low-strength “legal” cannabis.
Maurizio Gasparri, a Forza Italia senator which is an ally to the League, told the Guardian that they “will cancel the absurd verdict of the court” if the center-right coalition came to power.
5-Star Movement, the opposition, favors a more liberal approach to cannabis laws. Party Senator Matteo Mantero said the court’s ruling “opened up the way” and now it was up to reformers in the legislature to push for a taxed and regulated cannabis market. Mantero proposed an amendment to the 2020 budget to legalize and regulate cannabis use in the nation, but Senate Speaker Silvio Berlusconi of the Forza Italia party ruled the measure inadmissible.
Medical cannabis is already legal in Italy, although until 2018 it was cultivated exclusively by the Italian Army. Last year Pedanios GmbH, the German subsidiary of Canadian firm Aurora Cannabis, became the first company to import medical cannabis into Italy.
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