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The Italian hemp industry has received unexpected support from the centre-right Forza Italia party, strengthening its position against an existential threat from the wider government.
As the Meloni administration continues its relentless efforts to impose a ‘grotesque crackdown’ on all commercial activity surrounding industrial hemp, the European Commission (EC) has also said it will launch an investigation into the legality of this project.
Elsewhere, Italy’s hemp industry has also claimed a victory on another front, with the Council of State questioning the government’s efforts to classify hemp as a medicinal plant and regulate its usage strictly.
While thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of jobs are still fighting for their survival, the tide appears to be turning in their favour.
What happened?
As Business of Cannabis previously reported, on July 31, the joint Constitutional Affairs and Justice committees of the Chamber voted to add an amendment to the Security Bill that would make flowering cannabis of all types, regardless of THC content, illegal and considered a narcotic.
This inflammatory bill is expected to lead to the closure of 3000 businesses and the loss of 15,000 jobs supported by the hemp industry.
In September 2024, a petition penned and supported by various Italian hemp industry associations was sent to the EC, calling for international intervention amid accusations that this would contravene European law.
Earlier this month, the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament (PETI) accepted the petition, and announced plans to conduct a ‘preliminary investigation into the issue’.
In a response to the signatories, which include Canapa Sativa Italia, Federcanapa and the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), the committee referenced one of several European Court of Justice rulings which state in no uncertain terms that hemp production cannot be banned as long as the plants remain under the legal 0.2% THC limit.
The ruling from October 2024, ruled that indoor hydroponic hemp production cannot be banned by EU member states, and confirmed that hemp farming is protected under EU agricultural policy (CAP).
According to EUNews, no EU parliamentary group has opposed the investigation, and the issue will be placed on the agenda for the next Petitions Committee meeting.
MEP with the 5-Star Movement and member of the Petitions Committee, Valentina Palmisano, has called for the petition to be discussed ‘urgently’ given the threat to ‘business, employment and environmental objectives’, meaning it could be discussed as early as March, 2025.
Meanwhile, centre-right party Forza Italia has also chosen to support the petition, according to an unexpected public announcement from its member and former mayor of Verona, Flavio Tosi.
As Forza Italia is currently part of Meloni’s ruling coalition, his support for the petition and cause points to increasing splits within the government over the issue.
In a video shared across social media, Tosi called the bill ‘illiberal’, adding that it ‘goes against the European principle of free competition’.
Speaking later to La Stampa, he added: “I am a liberal, which means I always prefer common sense positions to absolute bans. In this case, one has to be pragmatic, it is not that if you clamp down on the sector then you cannot find low-THC inflorescences, you can still find them on the internet. I realise that the subject is complex, but I remain convinced that banning tout court is not the solution.”
Progress in the courts
Separate efforts by the government to appeal a previous decision by the Italian Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) to overturn a ban on hemp have hit legal trouble.
In February 2023, Business of Cannabis reported that the TAR of Lazio overturned an ‘absurdly restrictive’ decree which sought to place the cultivation, processing and marketing of ‘non-narcotic’ hemp flowers and leaves back under the umbrella of narcotics, meaning operators would be required to seek authorisation from the Ministry of Health, or face penalties.
The Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Health challenged this ruling and appealed against the court’s decision.
Earlier this month (February 13), the Council of State examined the government appeals and questioned their legitimacy, given the numerous previous court cases which have determined that the production and sale of industrial hemp is legal across the EU.
As such, judges gave participants 30 days to submit further evidence as part of the case and have now set a hearing date of October 02, 2025.
While the conflict remains unresolved, it means that the annulment will stay in place for the time being, and hemp traders can continue unabated.
Furthermore, as with previous cases, it is likely to centre around the government’s ability to provide evidence that industrial hemp is intoxicating, meaning the scientific data is on the side of the hemp industry.
“}]] The Italian hemp industry has received unexpected support from the centre-right Forza Italia party, strengthening its position against an existential threat from the wider government. Read More
