Cannabis light, the Lazio Regional Administrative Court suspends the crackdown but a stop to the supply chain looms

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Deputies has given the OK to the art.18 of the security bill which criminalizes hemp inflorescences.

The TAR of Lazio he suspended the decree of the Ministry of Health which inserted the oral compositions containing cannabidiol (Cbd), i.e. cannabis extracts, in the table of narcotic substances.Administrative judges they welcomed The appeal of Entrepreneurs Canapa Italia (ICI) which represents the hemp supply chain in our country, setting a hearing on the merits next December 16th.The measure, strongly supported by the center-right and proposed for the first time in 2019, prohibited the sale of the so-called light cannabis in shops, herbalist's shops and tobacconists - where it is present, for example, in the form of oil in drops – because it is considered an incentive to use narcotic substances.It allowed its administration only in pharmacies with a non-repeatable medical prescription.

Cannabis light and therapeutic cannabis.What's the difference?

When it comes to cannabis it is important to specify the difference between the two main typthe widespread in our country: light cannabis and therapeutic cannabis.Both contain CBD but have different amounts of an active ingredient called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as THC.Medical cannabis is available in pharmacies and can only be purchased with a medical prescription. In Italy this substance is mainly used for treatment of chronic pain and has a THC value up to 22 percent. When we talk about light cannabis, we are referring to the substance obtained from female inflorescences of the cannabis plant, selected for their low content of THC and for wealth of CBD.The tremine “light” indicates the minimal presence of THC in this substance.The concentration of THC in the light cannabis must not exceed the quantity of 0.2 percent, with a tolerance that goes below the 0.6 percent.The low concentration of THC allows for avoid that the substance has psychoactive effects and the excitement gives way to relaxation, favored by the vast presence of CBD, which counteracts the other active ingredient of cannabis.

The hemp sector is rejoicing (for now).

"The college of judges recognized the validity of our arguments, noting the serious economic and social danger that the application of the decree would have entailed", commented the entrepreneurs who appealed.“This decision represents an important victory for the industrial hemp sector, which risked suffering serious economic damage“.The Social Promotion Association Coscioni, however, which deals with issues such as policies regarding access to medical cannabinoids, accuses the government of waste resources “for a decision that was not only unscientific but not in line with conventions UN, which do not classify CBD among narcotic substances".

È the third time that the Tar suspends the ban on cannabinoid-based products for oral use.The last time was inOctober 2023 but already in May the government had resumed the measure with an amendment to the security bill which prohibited the cultivation and sale of inflorescences of cannabis with low THC content.On July 31st this year the change came into force and has arrived the stop to light cannabis equated to that with the highest THC content. Immediate was the reaction of companies and workers in the sectorfearful of the economic repercussions and social by measurement.According to various estimates in Italy they are in fact approximately 800 farms that grow light cannabis, as well as 1.500 companies that specialize in transformation for a total of approximately 10 thousand workers.

The issue of hemp in the government's security decree 

Cheer yes but not too much.In fact, on the morning of 13 September the Chamber of Deputies gave the OK to Article 18 of the Security Bill, which provides for the illegal processing of hemp inflorescences. The ban is not law because it lacks Senate approval and there could also be intervention from the European courts.However it seems unlikely at the moment a subversion of the state of affairs in the Senate.So if there were to be approved the ban will be law and the TAR ruling would be exceeded again.The largest association representing and assisting Italian agriculture, Coldiretti ha declared:“The approval of the law on light cannabis represents for us the confirmation that they don't want to listen the requests of an entire sector what time literally risks disappearing.Coldiretti recalls that in fact the inflorescence of hemp represents a fundamental part of the added value of the plant, e prohibit their collection and drying risks collapsing an entire sector where so many are employed young farmers“.One thing is certain, regardless of how it ends, the only ones who will certainly lose out from this situation of legislative uncertainty will be the workers in the sector.