Italian Hemp Industry in Battle for Survival After Amendment Criminalising All Hemp Is Approved by Two Committees
Italy’s government has approved a controversial amendment to its Security Bill, which, if passed by the Chamber and Senate, would effectively shut down the country’s hemp industry.
On July 31, the joint Constitutional Affairs and Justice committees of the Chamber voted to add the amendment to the Security Bill, currently being debated in the Chamber, making flowering cannabis of all types, regardless of THC content, illegal and considered a narcotic.
The country’s cannabis industry has warned that this amendment would not only destroy Italy’s thriving ‘cannabis light’ industry, but would also criminalise the handling of all industrial hemp throughout the supply chain, potentially jeapardising 11,000 jobs.
What happened?
In June, Business of Cannabis reported that Meloni’s government had proposed an amendment on the ‘measures concerning hemp inflorescences and products derived therefrom’.
