Italy is decriminalizing the cultivation of up to four cannabis plants for personal consumption. The law approved yesterday by the lower house's justice committee simultaneously raises penalties for trafficking and smuggling. It all follows a December 2019 decision by a Rome court, which ruled that growing cannabis for personal use cannot be a crime. Here's more information.
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In December 2019, a court in Rome ruled that citizens must not be criminalized for growing a small amount of cannabis for personal use, we wrote on T U T A J.
In its ruling, the court did not specify what constitutes a legally permissible small number of bushes. The ruling in question came from a case in which the defendant cultivated two plants and was initially sentenced by the lower court to one year's imprisonment and a €3,000 fine.
It was up to politicians, who, being in favor of liberalizing the law on the matter, got to work on the changes, to clarify the "small number of plants" and implement the changes. The greatest concern and reluctance to normalize the law was, of course, expressed by politicians on the Italian right. However, the change has happened.
The reform approved yesterday by the lower house of the Italian parliament, which was proposed by Italian MP Riccardo Magi, decriminalizes the cultivation of up to four cannabis plants in one's own home.
The new legislation also increases penalties for cannabis smuggling and trafficking, with the maximum sentence increasing from six to ten years in prison.
This makes Italy another European country where citizens are not at risk of imprisonment for growing a few cannabis plants for personal consumption.
