Petition data
1144/2024
Summary Title: Petition No. 1144/2024, submitted by Mattia Cusani, Italian citizen, on behalf of the National Association Canapa Sativa Italia, on the alleged violation of EU legislation by Italy regarding the regulation of hemp
Petition number: 1144/2024
Topics : Agriculture
Country: All EU countries
Petition summary
The petitioner denounces the recent Italian legislation that limits the cultivation, processing and marketing of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) and its derivatives, in particular cannabidiol (CBD). This legislation would violate the fundamental principles of European Union law, in particular Articles 34 and 36 of the TFEU, and would risk compromising the European single market, damaging the competitiveness of the industrial hemp sector, employment and environmental objectives.
The main contested measures include Article 18 of the Security Bill (C.1660 now S.1236), which introduces restrictions on the cultivation and marketing of hemp, limiting it exclusively to industrial purposes, excluding the use of inflorescences for purposes other than those expressly authorised. In particular, the article prohibits the marketing, importation, transformation, possession, sale and consumption of hemp inflorescences, even in semi-finished or shredded form, and of any derivative product, including extracts, resins and oils, and for violations of these provisions criminal sanctions are foreseen, in line with the Consolidated Law on narcotics (Presidential Decree 9 October 1990, n. 309).
The signatory also denounces the ministerial decree of 27 June 2024, which classifies CBD as a narcotic substance, inserting it in the table of medicines subject to non-repeatable prescription and limiting its sale. According to the petitioner, these measures contravene the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, such as the judgment of 19 November 2020 (Case C-663/18), which established that CBD is not a narcotic and that restrictions must be based on scientific evidence, where it is also reiterated that CBD, if it does not have psychotropic or health-damaging effects, cannot be treated as an illegal substance.
The petitioner argues that the Italian regulations were not correctly notified to the European Commission, through the TRIS (Procedure for the Notification of Technical Regulations) system, infringing Directive (EU) 2015/1535 and preventing a preventive check of their compatibility with Union law. The petitioner states that, according to the case law of the CJEU, non-notified regulations cannot be applied at national level, creating legal uncertainty for businesses.
The petitioner considers that the restrictions imposed risk having serious repercussions on the Italian agricultural and industrial sector, which involves over 3,000 agricultural companies, numerous processing companies and thousands of workers in trade and distribution.
In the petitioner’s opinion, the regulations threaten the survival of these activities, which have already invested considerable resources in infrastructure,research and development for hemp cultivation in compliance with European regulations.
The petitioner calls on the European Parliament to urge the European Commission to verify the conformity of Italian regulations with EU law, to launch an infringement procedure against Italy and to promote a harmonized regulatory framework on hemp that supports the sustainable development of the sector.
