page_title: Cannabis in Italy
section_title: Medical cannabis
hierarchical_section_title: Cannabis in Italy / Medical cannabis
caption_attribution_description: English: Nineteenth century medicine bottles in display in the Hash Marihuana &amp; Hemp Museum in AmsterdamNederlands: Negentiende-eeuwse medicijnflesjes te zien in het Hash Marihuana &amp; Hemp Museum in Amsterdam
context_page_description: Cannabis in Italy is legal for medical and industrial uses, although it is strictly regulated, while it is decriminalized for recreational uses. In particular, the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use is a misdemeanor and it is subjected to fines, as well as the suspension of personal documents. Nevertheless, the unlicensed cultivation of cannabis, even if in small amounts and for exclusive personal use, is illegal and punishable with imprisonment, as is the unauthorized sale of cannabis-related products. The licensed cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes requires the use of certified seeds, however there is no need for authorization in order to plant certified seeds with minimal levels of psychoactive compounds.
context_section_description: In January 2013, Italy legalized the medical use of cannabis with a doctor's prescription. However, at the time, the cost of cannabis-based medicine wasn't covered by the State and the drug had to be imported from abroad, primarily from the Netherlands, making it too expensive for the average patient to buy legally at pharmacies, with prices reaching up to 50 € (i.e. about 59 US$) per gram.
  For this reason, then Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti announced in September 2014 that the army would begin growing cannabis plants in a secure room at a chemical-pharmaceutical military facility in Florence. The state-approved cannabis is prescribed for several conditions, in particular for chronic pain relief to patients with cancer and multiple sclerosis, and the army production increased from 20 kg between 2014 and 2016 to more than 100 kg of cannabis in 2017, resulting in a 30% decrease in the cost of the final product. Moreover, in order to keep up with the demand from doctors and patients, the army is also planning to expand its cultivation to other areas of the military facility, where new greenhouses have already been set up in order to reach an estimated production of 300 kg per year.
  The prescription of cannabis for medical use is allowed when the patient is unresponsive to conventional or standard therapies, and the list of medical uses includes:
  relieving chronic pain, as well as pain associated with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries;
  treating nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and HIV treatments;
  stimulating appetite for patients suffering from cachexia, anorexia, cancer, and AIDS;
  inducing hypotension within glaucomas;
  reducing involuntary movements for patients affected by Tourette syndrome.
  The state-run production and distribution of medical cannabis is the result of a collaboration between the Ministries of Health and Defence, as well as other entities including MiPAAF, ISS, the Regions, and qualified experts. The aim is to ensure the availability of the raw material; guarantee the safe preparation and use of cannabis-based medicine; prevent the use of unauthorized, illegal, or counterfeit products; and make therapies affordable by reducing the cost of cannabis. The produced drug is Cannabis FM2 and its THC content (i.e. around 5-8%) is lower than the levels commonly found in similar drugs sold in the black market, or even in those legally imported from the Netherlands, while its CBD content (i.e. around 7.5-12%) is comparatively higher due to its more useful anti-inflammatory properties.
  The final price of the product being sold to pharmacies by the military facility, based on the estimated production costs and the VAT, is equal to 6.88 € (i.e. 7.39 US$) per gram. Furthermore, in June 2017, the Ministry of Health established a maximum price for medical cannabis between 8.50 € and 9.00 € per gram, in order to standardize the expenses sustained by patients. However, this price cap has resulted in a short supply of the product due to limited profit margins for pharmacies, while regional legislative differences also add to the overall complexity of the cannabis market. For example, the Regions have the ability to increase local prices in order to make it profitable for pharmacies to sell medical cannabis, and they can also decide for which health conditions the drug can or cannot be prescribed.
  The Ministry of Health also publishes consumption statistics for medical cannabis both at a national and a regional level, based on regional distribution requests and the authorized sale of the product. The annual legal consumption of medical cannabis has grown from 40 kg in 2013 to nearly 10 times that in 2017, and the demand is expected to further quadruple as the value of cannabis is more widely understood by doctors. The high demand caused pharmacies throughout Italy to run out of medical cannabis by September 2017, prompting many patients with prescriptions to turn to the black market, while in January 2018 the importation of cannabis was extended to Canada. The potential revenue from medic
caption: Nineteenth century medicine bottles in display at the Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Amsterdam.
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385", "Image DateTime": "2011:08:31 14:55:20", "Image WhitePoint": "[313/1000, 329/1000]", "Image PrimaryChromaticities": "[16/25, 33/100, 21/100, 71/100, 3/20, 3/50]", "Image YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2454", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "33122", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "33248", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5939", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "18", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:07:11 14:27:07", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:07:11 14:27:07", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "31/10", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "60", "EXIF SubSecTime": "66", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "66", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "66", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3872", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R03", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "33064", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 0, 2, 1]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "90", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Hard", "EXIF Sharpness": "Hard", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Gamma": "11/5", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4116"}