Marijuana Moment reports
Italian officials certified on Wednesday that activists collected enough signatures to place a marijuana legalization referendum on the country’s ballot this spring—though there’s still one more procedural step before the measure will officially be on its way to voters.
About three months after advocates turned in about 630,000 signatures for the measure—which would also legalize personal cultivation of other psychoactive plants and fungi like psilocybin mushrooms—the Supreme Court of Cassation informed the campaign that it had validated them.
Now that the signatures are confirmed, the referendum will go to the separate Constitutional Court, which will determine the legality of the proposal’s provisions. That opinion will be issued on February 15, and if deemed legal, the government will set a date for the vote.
“While we wait for the final ok…we’re starting to organize a national mobilization to inform all citizens that cannabis is better legal,” the campaign said in a Facebook post about Wednesday’s court announcement on the signatures.
The Constitutional Court will now look into whether the measure would conflict with the Constitution, the country’s fiscal system or international treaties to which Italy is a party. Advocates are confident that they limited the scope of the proposed reform enough to meet the legal standard.
If the courts allow the referendum to move forward, voters are expected to be given the chance to decide on the policy change sometime between April 15 and June 15.
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