Italy Takes a Massive Step Forward towards Legalising Cannabis: A Proposal Arrives in Parliament with Two-Party Support

This week a group of 60 members of the Italian parliament have united forces in order to legalize cannabis in the country thanks to a bi-party proposal presented by the senator and under-secretary for Aliens Affairs Services, Benedetto Della Vedova. The proposal has been particularly supported by members of the Democratic Party (centre-left), but also by other members of parliament from varying backgrounds.

It is precisely this diversity of support that shows “it is now possible to arrive at political and cultural debate from within institutions”, and not only from the Street (through public support), stated Della Vedova, who added that, although the request has not yet been turned into a legal bill, it will be soon.

He outlined this in a meeting with other deputies and senators who are pro-marijuana, members of Left Ecology Freedom, some members of the Five Star Movement and the Radical Party.

In attendance, Della Vedova explained that this project aims to offer a “pragmatic and ideological solution” to “prohibitionist and repressive” Italian politics in relation to cannabis, a policy that has only led to failure, and which is aimed at regulating the consumption of marijuana in order to end organized crime. The senator also chose to recall the benefits of cannabis regulation in Colorado, where “millions of dollars of tax money have been made due to legalization”.

Della Vedova’s pro-marijuana stance is not new. The politician is a former member of the Radical Party, which has been campaigning since 1970 to liberalise laws linked to marijuana.

The decision by this group of politicians is necessary, as although marijuana is decriminalized in Italy, it continues to be illegal for both medicinal and recreational purposes.

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Information taken from Ansa.it and ibtimes.com.