Blog

As of April 4 2025 the new Decree Law on Citizen Security came into full effect restricting the distribution of non-psychoactive CBD products effectively criminalising almost all CBD users in Italy. This move, spearheaded by the right wing Italian leader Giorgia Meloni is widely regarded as a controversial move throughout Italy & the rest of Europe for various reasons. 

Firstly, & perhaps most importantly, criminalising CBD means that many individuals that rely on it to treat motor-neurone diseases will have to get CBD through a prescription process and will have less choice in regards to their CBD treatments. It will also likely cause others who use it to treat less severe ailments to be cut off from access to it all together.

Secondly, it is forecast that this policy change will have a negative impact on Italy’s domestic economic structure. Most notably is the fact that the CBD industry in Italy had created over 30,000 jobs, all of which are either now gone or at risk. Some business have managed to take their trade elsewhere but many others have had to close down, a majority of these will have been small independent companies that will have required a lot of groundwork to get off the ground.

This also has implications in Italys foreign trade policy as it contradicts the European legal framework which allows for the cultivation and free movement of industrial hemp within the EU common market.

This creates legal uncertainty throughout Europe with regards to CBD products being imported and exported throughout Europe. The CBD market in Italy is valued at more than 500 million euros a year, this is a massive loss of GDP for a country to lose. 

So with all these negative repercussions in mind, we are left trying to understand the Italian governments rationale behind this decision. Specific reasons, deals & agreements will no doubt happen behind closed doors. The Italian government is in no way immune to lobbying, & as is the case with most European governments, big pharmaceutical companies will have strong sway in regards to new legislation regarding health products on the market. So although it may not be immediately obvious, it is very reasonable to suggest the decision to illegalise CBD comes down to market control. Forms of CBD (such as Epidiolex) are still possible to obtain legally in Italy, provided you buy it straight from big pharmaceutical companies using an approved prescription. This eliminates competition from independent & small companies that operate as health shops & online retailers. By eliminating the competition, the big companies can set their own price for their CBD products and increase capital per sale also. Another thing to consider is how widely available and affordable CBD products can negatively impact the sales for painkillers, sleep aids & anti-anxiety medication. With CBD illegal, many people who would use CBD will use the more readily available products, the sales of which directly benefit the big pharmaceutical companies. 

Although the move to restrict CBD products has been framed by the Italian government as a politically traditionalist approach to public safeguarding, by observing that big pharmaceutical companies stand to gain financially from this move it is very reasonable to speculate that some nefarious lobbying is to blame for this legislation. We hope for the good and welfare of the Italian public that a future government will amend this restriction.