Italy took its first major step toward legalizing marijuana last week, putting it at the forefront of a European movement to address drug-policy failures across the continent.
The Intergrupo Parlamentare Cannabis Legale, a committee comprising lawmakers from multiple political parties, have come to an agreement on a text that would legalize marijuana consumption, growth, production and sale.
Members of several parties, including the Five Star Movement, the Greens, and even Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party backed the proposal, which would allow Italians to grow marijuana either at home or as part of a cannabis club, in which marijuana could be grown and shared among up to 50 members, but not sold to the public.
The committee’s manifesto reads: “We think that in Europe and in Italy it makes sense to work to follow the example of countries that first switched to a system of full legal regulation of the production, sale and consumption of cannabis, adapting its features to our social and legal context.”
The text now moves to Parliament.
Source:
http://www.politico.eu/article/italy-legalizing-pot-us/
Photo Credit: Alessandro Capotondi