500,000 Signatures in Less Than a Week: Italy Wants Cannabis Decriminalization
ReferendumCannabis, a group lobbying for broad legalization of the substance in Italy, and the country’s several smaller parties have collected enough signatures for a popular referendum on cannabis. The initiative calls for the decriminalization of growing the plant for personal use. It would also remove penalties for some cannabis-related offenses and cancel the practice of revoking driver’s licenses of users.
The move comes on the heels of a similar proposal made recently by a Parliament committee. The proposed law would also decriminalize personal cultivation but impose even harsher sentences for illegal trafficking.
Broader Legalization Needed for Medical System to Work
Guido Silvestri from Volt Italia, one of the parties campaigning for reform, pointed to the fact that the current medical cannabis system in the country failed to take off. Although the doctors have had a right to prescribe cannabis since 2006, the stigma is strong, and many physicians won’t even hear of recommending the substance to their patients. For them, cannabis is a drug of abuse.
And those patients who were lucky enough to get a prescription face constant shortages. At the moment, the country mostly relies on Canada and the Netherlands for imports of medical cannabis.
As a result, as many as 6 million Italians turn to the black market annually. In doing so, they face criminal prosecution or administrative sanctions. They also expose themselves to the product of unknown origin and potentially compromised quality. Cannabis flowers infested with mold or adulterated by harmful chemicals are the last thing a patient needs.
Digital Collection of Signatures Facilitates Reforms
The recent decriminalization campaign launched by ReferendumCannabis shows the tremendous potential of direct democracy. The group started to collect signatures only 20 days before the deadline. Mobilizing half a million supporters in such a short time seemed like an impossible task.
However, the option of collecting signatures digitally that was introduced to Italy’s political landscape only a few weeks ago changed everything. In the first two days alone, activists gathered half the signatures needed and soon had all the 500,000 necessary to initiate the referendum. These new political instruments close the glaring gap between what the population wants and how the few parties in the Parliament enact their wishes.
