Italy’s Senate blocks the legalisation of ‘cannabis light’

The head of Italy's Senate has blocked the legalisation of a weaker form of cannabis, in a last-minute reversal of a bill approved by parliament last week.

Published: 17 December 2019 12:18 CET

Italy's Senate blocks the legalisation of 'cannabis light'

Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

Italy's parliament had given legalisation the green light while approving an amendment to the 2020 budget at the end of last week.

But in passing the budget early on Tuesday morning, the president of the Senate, Maria Elisabetta Casellati, declared the amendment “inadmissible” on technical grounds.

Parliament's decision to legalise weaker cannabis products, containing less than 0.5 percent of the psychoactive compound THC, last week was widely seen as a victory for farmers and sellers across Italy who accused the former government minister Matteo Salvini of leading a “witch hunt” against Italy's cannabis growers.

The former interior minister had vowed to close down all shops selling so-called cannabis light.

Casellati, who is a member of the centre-right Forza Italia party, an ally of Matteo Salvini's League, said the decision was not politically motivated.

“If you think this measure is so important for the majority, then propose a bill,” Casellati told members of the Five Star Movement (M5S), which rules in a coalition with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

The decision cannot be appealed.

Last May, Italy's highest court affirmed that the sale of cannabis was illegal, but gave judges discretion to consider the “narcotic effect” of the cannabis at issue when issuing decisions.

Cannabis production in Italy grew from 400 hectares in 2013 to 4,000 hectares last year, according to agricultural association Coldiretti

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The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” — adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The “Report” programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.