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Friday 3 May 2019

Cannabis and Italy

In Italy, strangely it is the army and not the mafia, that is said to currently control the cannabis plant. The army has growing facilities where cannabis is grown and supplied to meet the needs of the Italian medical cannabis community. Now this may seem a bit strange but at least someone has been looking out for cannabis we could say. I have come across reports of young men in Italy leaving behind lucrative corporate jobs to try and enter the cannabis industry, even though it is still currently illegal. This indicates that even though officially the Italian army seems to have a monopoly over cannabis, the ground reality may be different. When we remember the ultra nationalist nature of the army and Italy's past involvement with world wars, as well as the notorious Italian mafia, it seems that there could be a strong linkage between these two as well as the pharmaceutical industry. All three stand to benefit tremendously from keeping cannabis prohibited.

The Italian climate and geography,  home to the vineyards that produce Italian wine, is also conducive for the cannabis plant and possibly some of best sun grown varieties of cannabis could grow here, much like California. Italians definitely do not lack cannabis knowledge as is apparent from the legend of how an Italian traveler to the Himalayas in India apparently taught the local people there to extract cannabis resin or hashish by rubbing cannabis leaves thus resulting in the birth of the legendary Himalayan Malana Cream. This story is likely to be more myth than fact.

Italy is very similar to its other European neighbors Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, etc presenting an external picture of cannabis prohibition in keeping with UN laws while internally having a thriving illegal recreational cannabis market with large numbers of adults regularly using cannabis. It is quite likely that this hypocritical stance is being taken to protect and support the pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol industries and other big businesses opposed to cannabis, besides the black market for drugs. Legal cannabis for the medical use industry is said to be imported from Canada and possibly the Netherlands. MJBizDaily reports that - 'In the near term, Europe’s three largest medical cannabis markets – Italy, Netherlands and Germany – will see patient counts more than double to a combined 225,000 this year. Over the next decade, “The European Cannabis Report” predicts the total market for medical cannabis could surpass 58 billion euros.'
 
Like other European countries, the prohibition of cannabis has resulted in thriving markets for heroin and methamphetamine. Italy's organized crime benefits as much as the pharmaceutical industry with the prohibition of cannabis. UNODC  reports in its World Drug Report 2020 on heroin trafficking using maritime routes to Italy as follows - 'Similarly, trafficking to Italy was characterized by maritime shipments in 2018 (61 per cent of the total quantity seized by customs authorities), with the bulk of seizures in 2018 having departed from the Islamic Republic of Iran in containers, followed by shipments by air (37 per cent), often departing from the Middle East (Qatar) or Africa (South Africa)'.  Heroin was also trafficked to Italy, besides the maritime routes, along the southern route mostly via Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Oman. Methamphetamine from East and South East Asia finds its way into Italy from Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.

Italy's population, with a large percentage of elderly people, has been reported to use and abuse pharmaceutical drugs to large extents. The recent fatalities attributed to Covid are, in fact, a result of the excessive indulgence in pharma drugs across the population. INCB reports that between 1997 and 2006 Italy was the leading manufacturer of benzodiazepines especially diazepam. A report says that low THC cannabis called C-Light, was unintentionally legalized in 2017 as a result of changes to hemp production laws. This had the expected effect of bringing down illegal trade and consumption of cannabis as well as an all round reduction in the use of prescription drugs such as 'anxiolytics (–11.4%), antipsychotics (–4.8%), opioids (–1.2%) and antidepressants (–1.2%)'. As also expected, this was the last thing that Italy's organized crime and pharmaceutical industry wanted. My understanding is that the loophole in the laws that enabled this to happen has now been sealed but it provided a peek into the benefits that countries legalizing cannabis and advocates have been make a noise about. 

It is time that Italy legalized cannabis for recreational use especially since it has been struggling economically in the recent past. Cannabis can boost the economy, including industry, agriculture, tourism, wellness, food and beverages, public health and sustainability. Italy must look at its local indigenous varieties of cannabis if there are any left, look to revive and promote them like Italian wine brands and fashion, and build around the cannabis plant for a sustainable economic future especially for its small farmers, poor, sick, elderly and youth.

Italy must also recognize that there is a similar need to bring about balance in the rest of the world especially the poorer countries which face the greatest hardships due to the ban on cannabis. It must support cannabis legalization in the UN and not continue following the hypocritical approach that most European countries seem to be following, preaching one thing and practicing another.

In December 2020,  the UN voted to remove cannabis from its most restricted Schedule IV category of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It does however still remain in Schedule I, which is the least restrictive. This one move by the UN itself should be sufficient to bring about the recreational legalization of cannabis in every nation and an overhaul of national drug laws. 
 
It must be noted that in most places where cannabis legalization has happened it took the efforts of the people who mobilized themselves through grassroots level movements to bring about this change. Left to lawmakers legalization would have been impossible, as the main interests of lawmakers concern the protection of the big industries opposed to cannabis such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, medical, alcohol and tobacco. For something that truly benefits the people, the people themselves have had to make the change.  

Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.     


'People of the ruling classes say that with such complete conviction that patriotism is a lofty sentiment, that common folk who have not experienced it acknowledge themselves to blame for not feeling it, and try to persuade themselves that they do feel it, or at least pretend to do so.

That sentiment, in its most precise definition, is nothing but putting one's own kingdom or people before every other kingdom or people - a feeling fully expressed by the patriotic German song: Deutschland, Deutschland, uber alles, in which it is only necessary to substitute Russland, Frankreich, Italian, or any other kingdom in place of Deutschland, to obtain the clearest formula for the lofty feeling of patriotism. No doubt that feeling is very useful and desirable for governments and to the unity of the State, but one cannot help but see that it is not at all a lofty sentiment, but on the contrary a very stupid and immoral one: stupid because if each kingdom is to consider better than any other, it is evident that they will all be wrong; and immoral because it inevitably impels every man who feels it to seek advantages for his own State and people to the detriment of other States and peoples - an impulse directly contradictory to the fundamental moral law recognized by all, not to do to others what we do not wish done to us.'

 - Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays


'The INCB reported that in 2006, total global licit production of benzodiazepines amounted to at least 180 metric tonnes, 56 tonnes of which was diazepam. Italy (32 %), India (19 %), China (11 %) and Germany (10 %) were the leading manufacturers between 1997 and 2006.'
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/drug-profiles/benzodiazepines_en


'In 2017, low-THC cannabis was legalized in Italy as a by-product of a law that regulated the production and commercialization of hemp. Thus, the use of light cannabis (C-light) was unintentionally liberalized. This apparently affected both the supply of illegal cannabis and the use of regular prescription drugs. With the legalization there was a reduction in confiscations of illegal cannabis, suggesting that criminal organizations suffered from the unintentional legalization. The legalization of C-light also reduced the use of prescription medicines such as anxiolytics (–11.4%), antipsychotics (–4.8%), opioids (–1.2%) and antidepressants (–1.2%)7. So, self-medication through C-light apparently replaced in part the use of prescription medicines treating symptoms for which cannabidiol is considered to be effective. Interestingly, this substitution increased the costs for users, as regular prescription medicine is either fully reimbursed or subject to a small co-pay'
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wps.20743


'In Western and Central Europe, the prevalence of past-year cannabis use has fluctuated over the past decade from 6 to 7 per cent among the population aged 15–64. However, some countries in the subregion, in particular countries with large populations such as Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom (England and Wales), have reported an increase in cannabis use in recent drug use surveys.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_2.pdf


'In contrast to Western and Central Europe as a whole, which continues to be supplied mainly by heroin trafficked along the Balkan route by land, trafficking to Belgium in 2018 to a large extent (98 per cent) took the form of maritime shipments departing from the Islamic Republic of Iran or Turkey. Similarly, trafficking to Italy was characterized by maritime shipments in 2018 (61 per cent of the total quantity seized by customs authorities), with the bulk of seizures in 2018 having departed from the Islamic Republic of Iran in containers, followed by shipments by air (37 per cent), often departing from the Middle East (Qatar) or Africa (South Africa), while heroin shipments destined for France typically transited the Netherlands and Belgium in 2018' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf


'The main countries identified in which heroin was trafficked along the southern route to Western and Central Europe over the period 2014– 2018 included India, the Gulf countries (notably Qatar and United Arab Emirates) and a number of Southern and East African countries (notably South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, the United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Madagascar). The European countries reporting most trafficking along the southern route over the period 2014–2018 were Belgium (mostly via Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Ethiopia and the United Republic of Tanzania) and Italy (mostly via Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Oman).' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf


'While methamphetamine trafficking flows from East and South-East Asia to countries outside the subregion remain modest, some smuggling to destinations around the world was reported, mainly smuggling from Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar in 2018 or, when the period is extended to the past five years, mainly from China and Thailand. Destinations outside the subregion included countries in South Asia, the Near and Middle East (Saudi Arabia as well as Israel), Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), North America (the United States as well as Canada), Western Europe (notably Switzerland as well as Italy, Germany, France, Spain and Iceland), Eastern Europe (notably the Russian Federation) and Africa (notably South Africa) over the period 2014–2018' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf


Afghanistan and Mexico source the heroin and morphine. Mexico, Thailand, Myanmar and China source the methamphetamine. The Middle East and Eastern Europe sources the amphetamine. The US consumes heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Europe consumes heroin, morphine, methamphetamine and amphetamine. Asia consumes heroin, morphine and methamphetamine. Australia consumes methamphetamine. The Middle East consumes heroin and amphetamine. West Asia consumes heroin and methamphetamine. All countries grow and consume cannabis. Opioids, methamphetamine and amphetamines kill the most in terms of drug deaths, cannabis kills none. Who are the leading opponents to cannabis legalization and leading enforcers of global anti-cannabis policy? The countries involved the most in heroin, morphine, amphetamines and methamphetamines. They put on a mask of concern about harms from drugs, produce, sell and consume the most dangerous synthetic drugs and vehemently oppose cannabis legalization worldwide while clandestinely feeding their habits and protecting their sources. They use arms and armies to protect and promote their synthetic drug habits, and drug money to fund and wage a war on cannabis everywhere, pushing man and planet ever closer to death on massive scales and away from the safe, healing cannabis herb...
Jul 10, 2020, 1:14 PM


'Italy signaled its intention to loosen the military’s grip on the cultivation of medical marijuana, significantly ramp up production and make MMJ “available in all pharmacies” across the country.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/italy-expand-medical-cannabis-all-pharmacies/


'Over the past year, federally licensed medical cannabis producers like Peace Naturals, Tilray, and Tweed in Canada have exported to Germany, Croatia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Chile. In the Netherlands, the longtime cannabis company Bedrocan has shipped product to Canada, Australia, and European Union nations. Meanwhile, the Dutch government’s Office of Medicinal Cannabis sends shipments of medical marijuana to Italy, Germany, and Finland.'
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/legal-international-cannabis-trade-already-exists-mapped


'Countries that legally shipped CBD to Canada last year included China, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to Health Canada.

Why is there a shortage of such a popular product?

Market watchers say regulated cannabis companies aren’t making enough CBD products, either because they misread market demand for the extract or because they’re choosing to grow and sell higher-margin marijuana with THC.

“Most people in the industry are aware of the popularity of CBD products,” said Matt Maurer of Toronto-based Torkin Manes cannabis law group, “but I suspect that most licensees misread the market and thought that the interest was primarily in CBD-rich edibles, topicals and concentrates, all of which are products which are not yet legal.”'
https://mjbizdaily.com/cbd-imports-canada-fail-fill-supply-gap/


'Two Canadian-based companies are turning to acquisitions and supply agreements to address a “systematic” shortfall of medical marijuana in Italy that’s estimated to be in the thousands of kilograms.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/italy-addresses-systematic-medical-marijuana-shortage-canadian-imports/


'Year-over-year sales doubled in Europe from 2017 to 2018, underpinned by strong demand in Germany and Italy, though the number of MMJ prescriptions decreased in the Netherlands in that time.

Other countries in the European Union took steps in the right direction, either advancing legislation or introducing (or improving) regulations.

Tracking the regulatory progress of these markets is important because it takes years to develop a functional medical cannabis industry – and some markets get snagged over poor, or slow-moving, regulations.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/new-report-realistic-snapshot-europe-cannabis-market-opportunities/


In the near term, Europe’s three largest medical cannabis markets – Italy, Netherlands and Germany – will see patient counts more than double to a combined 225,000 this year. Over the next decade, “The European Cannabis Report” predicts the total market for medical cannabis could surpass 58 billion euros.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/davos-report-europe-worlds-largest-medical-cannabis-market-5-years/
 

'In fields near Castiglione d'Otranto, in Apulia, Bastianelli met young farmers who said they preferred to live off their land by growing cannabis rather than seeking higher-paying jobs in cities. Bastianelli met with farmers and with patients using marijuana to cure their illness. He met with local associations advocating less regulations and followed police officers as they hunted traffickers. Every stakeholder seemed to have distinct goals.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/06/italy-cannabis-marijuana/
 
 
'As it is, people are constantly hypnotized from childhood in one and the same direction by all possible means: school books, Church services, sermons, speeches, books, newspapers, poems, and monuments. Some thousands of people are brought together, forcibly or by bribery, and when they have been joined by the loafers who are always glad to see any spectacle, they begin to shout what is shouted before them to the accompaniment of cannon and bands and glitter and brilliance of all kinds, and we are told that this is the expression of the feelings of the whole nation. But in the first place these thousands or tens of thousands, who shout at such celebrations, form but a tiny ten-thousandth part of the whole population. And in the second place, of these tens of thousands of shouting and hand waving people, the greater part, if not assembled by force as is done among us in Russia, have been artfully lured there by some bait or other. Thirdly, among all those thousands there are scarcely a few dozen who know what it is all about: they would shout and wave their hats in just the same way if the very opposite of what is happening were taking place. And fourthly, the police are present who promptly silence and remove all who shout anything the government does not wish or demand - as was strenuously done during the Franco-Russian celebrations.

In France they acclaimed with similar enthusiasm Napoleon the First's war with Russia, Alexander I, against whom that war was fought, then Napoleon again, then again the allies, the Bourbons, the Orleans, the Republic, Napoleon III, and Boulanger; while in Russia they acclaim with equal enthusiasm today Peter, tomorrow Catherine, afterwards Paul, Alexander, Constantine, Nicholas, The Duke of Leuchtenberg, our brother-Slavs, the King of Prussia, the French sailors, and anyone whom the authorities wish welcomed. And the same thing takes place in England, America, Germany and Italy.'
 - Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays


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