Rome, Italy: The Italian Senate is considering legislation that would dramatically increase penalties on individuals who possess and use marijuana.
Under present law, individuals who possess marijuana for personal use face a summons and a warning, while defendants found guilty of cultivating and/or trafficking in cannabis face up to 20 years imprisonment. The proposed law would remove any legal distinctions between possessing and trafficking in marijuana if the amount of cannabis possessed exceeds “250 milligrams,” Reuters News Service reports.
Italy’s move toward recriminalization stands in sharp contrast to other European Union nations, such as Belgium, Great Britain, and Portugal, which have enacted legislation in recent years lessening pot penalties.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of The NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-5500. A detailed summary of European cannabis laws is available on NORML’s website at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5446