How Italian cannabis growers defend the legality of their activities in the courts
The Regional Administrative Court of the Lazio region has suspended the implementation of a government regulation that included oral CBD preparations in the table of narcotic drugs.Misunderstanding of the nature of the hemp plant or the interest of government officials in lobbying the interests of specific companies that are “pushing” for the exclusive right to use the therapeutic properties of the hemp plant have more than once led to the creation of regulations that actually destroyed entire sectors of modern hemp production in certain European countries. An example of how Italian hemp growers defend the right to legally work with the hemp plant is not only extremely clear, but also extremely instructive.
The Regional Administrative Court of the Lazio region has suspended the implementation of a government regulation that included oral CBD preparations in the table of narcotic drugs.
This was made possible thanks to an appeal filed by Italian
hemp entrepreneurs and the fact that since the Decree came into force, the
country's hemp market has seen indiscriminate withdrawals even of products that
had nothing to do with the Decree, such as cosmetic products.
Commentary
from specialists of the Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”
Italian hemp
growers demonstrate to the relevant government agencies, including the courts,
that the inflorescences of low-narcotic hemp are part of the plant, work with
which is provided for by the framework law on industrial hemp. This kind of
“initiative arose after a previous decision of the Regional Administrative
Court, which on February 14, by decision 02613/2023, confirmed the legality of
the use of the apical parts of the plant, that is, the flowers of hemp, on the
basis of the above-mentioned Law 242.
The European
Court has already expressed its opinion on cannabidiol, emphasizing that “it
cannot be considered a drug. An EU Member State cannot prohibit the sale of CBD
legally produced in another Member State if it is extracted from the Cannabis
plant sativa as a whole, and not just from its fiber or root."
