In blow for cannabis advocates, Italy's high court blocks referendum
Currently, the cultivation of cannabis plants incurs a sentence ranging from two to six years in prison
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
A referendum on making growing cannabis legal in Italy has been blocked by the country's constitutional court. In a ruling judges said the law would have forced Italy to violate its international obligations to prevent drug trafficking. But critics said that the court had stifled the democratic process after a petition gained 630,000 signatures, well above the threshhold to trigger a referendum on the issue. Supporters of the referendum believed that the legalisation of cannabis, which they say is no more harmful than legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco, would have made it possible to remedy overcrowding in prisons while focusing police action on violent criminal organisations. (See also: Top Italian court blocks marijuana and psilocybin referendum from going before vote)
