Italy Labels CBD as Narcotic, Defies EU
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The Italian government has placed CBD on the country’s list of narcotic drugs in defiance of a regional administrative court ruling and in contravention of European Union law.
The Ministry of Health said the designation is in line with Italian Presidential Decree 309/1990, the cornerstone of drug legislation in Italy. However, that contradicts a ruling by a regional court last year, which was based on a legally binding ruling applicable across the European Union.
The attack on CBD is only the latest move by the Italian government. The Ministry of Health first classified CBD as a narcotic and banned the compound from the market in October 2020 – only to rescind the order shortly thereafter, according to media reports.
Later, in a separate attempt in early 2022, the State-Regions Conference – a platform for dialogue and cooperation between the central and regional governments – updated language in a 2018 decree to classify hemp as strictly a medicinal plant.
In that case, four cannabis associations filed suit, and one year later, the decree was annulled by the Regional Administrative Tribunal of Lazio, which ruled it violated European law.
