Italy’s Highest Federal Court Shoots Down Popular Cannabis Initiative

Cannabis advocates in Italy amassed enough signatures to put a petition for legalizing cannabis up for a popular vote by the European nation’s citizens later this year.

The petition, if approved, would have legalized cannabis growing for personal use while also lessening penalties for cannabis-related crimes: illegal marijuana sellers would no longer be thrown in prison right away for low-level dealing.

But the country’s highest court on Wednesday threw hopes for ending prohibition anytime soon out the window. In explaining the Constitutional Court’s decision behind rejecting the proposal, court president Giuliano Amato said in a news conference that its language included more than just marijuana. Other included drugs, such as psychedelic mushrooms, was beyond what the court was willing to permit this year.

“This is enough to make us violate multiple international obligations,” Amato said.

The cannabis proposal was one of two referendums that Italy’s highest court shot down on Wednesday. Amato’s court also rejected a right-to-die initiative that would have legalized certain forms of euthanasia.

The cannabis proposal had amassed nearly 1 million signatures, according to various reports.

Activists in Italy and elsewhere quickly denounced Wednesday’s Constitutional Court ruling. Benedetto Della Vedova, secretary of the country’s center-left More Europe Party, told EuroNews that the court “deprived Italy of a public debate and an electoral process for reforms on freedom and responsibility.”

Della Vedova echoed the claims of many cannabis activists around the world in saying the plant is a healthier alternative to already-legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco. Ratifying cannabis would also make it possible to reduce overcrowding in Italian prisons, and give the country’s adult population easier access to natural and alternative medicine.

Opponents of the initiative contended that marijuana is a gateway drug and would result in an expanded black market that unintentionally attracted cartels from across the world.

Under the current law, home growing in Italy can land violators two to six years in prison, even though low-level possession of cannabis was federally decriminalized back in 2016.

Wednesday’s ruling is a setback for Europe’s legal cannabis movement, which had gained widespread momentum in recent months. Malta in December became the first European country to legalize cannabis possession and home growing, and Germany followed suit just weeks later. The Netherlands also began allowing dispensaries to sell the plant recreationally, but still bans home cultivation.