In a week – it was September 11 when it started – the signature collection for the referendum on legal cannabis has exceeded the 500 thousand subscriptions necessary to hold the consultation. Thanks to the possibility of subscribing to the proposed digitally (thanks to Spid), tens of thousands of people, throughout Italy, have signed up to support the initiative promoted, among others, byLuca Coscioni Association, Better Legal and come on Italian radicals. All in the transversal silence that has passed through the large parties that sit in Parliament. Until the 24th of September, the day on which Marco Cappato e Riccardo Magi (+ Europe), together with the promoters (headed by the president Marco Perduca), have denounced the risk of failure: the municipalities have declared that they are unable to send to the referendum committee electoral certificates (linked to signatures) in time. But what exactly does the referendum foresee?
Legal cannabis referendum: everything you need to know – The referendum question, already published in the Official Gazette, essentially consists of three points. Here they are: 1) abolishes the crime of growing cannabis (by removing the word “cultivate” from the list of what is forbidden to do); 2) cancel prison sentences related to cultivation (currently, two to six years) 3) eliminates the suspension and withdrawal of the driving license for those who grow cannabis (but not for those who drive under the use of this substance). In the question, which will begin with the classic question “Do you want to abrogate”, these three aspects will be incorporated into a single question. Therefore it will not be possible to vote separately (unless the Constitutional Court rejects one or more than one, at which point the question will be re-formulated).
What happens if yes in the referendum wins – Thanks to points 1) and 2), which we have described above, the crime of illicit cultivation is eliminated, and with it the related prison sentences. This means that those who grow cannabis will not go to jail. Here is a point as fundamental as it is evident: he can do it only for himself, because the cultivation of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking remains punishable. Thanks to point 3), however, on the administrative side, the ancillary sanction of the suspension of the license for those who hold cannabis is canceled. Here too, it is important to underline: for your own consumption and not for sale and / or transfer to other people. The case, as anticipated, of driving under the effect of this substance is excluded. To summarize, therefore, no crime will be committed if, at home, you have a small cultivation of cannabis. On the contrary, it will continue to be punished who has a large cultivation that does not justify personal use.
In which cases cannabis cultivation remains a crime – As anticipated, the referendum does not touch the rule of the Consolidated Law on Narcotic Drugs which the prohibition of the illicit manufacture or production of narcotic drugs not intended for personal use without authorization (the one that can be issued, for example, in the case of medical cannabis, which in fact is already legal). Of course, the criminal association aimed at illicit trafficking will remain a crime cannabis, because the related criminal law is not affected by the referendum. To recap, therefore, based on the referendum, cultivation will no longer be a crime only when its purpose is the consumption of the grower himself.