Activists in Italy say they\u2019ve gathered enough signatures to qualify a ballot measure that would decriminalize personal cultivation and use of not only marijuana but also psilocybin mushrooms and certain other psychoactive plants for personal use.<\/p>\n
The campaign behind the proposal announced over the weekend that it has collected the necessary 500,000 signatures to begin qualifying the measure in just seven days, thanks in part to a new law that allows petitions to be signed digitally rather than only in person. If the referendum clears its remaining procedural hurdles, the public is expected to vote on the nationwide reform in spring 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we are, here\u2019s the number that makes it all true! More than 500,000 online signatures in one week for the #ReferendumCannabis,\u201d the campaign posted on social media accounts on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Supporters called the overwhelming response \u201can extraordinary but not surprising result.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAdvocates behind the push are calling on Italian voters to keep adding their names to the petition before the end-of-month deadline, with the goal of building a 15-percent buffer in case some signatures are invalidated.<\/p>\n
If approved by voters, the proposal would eliminate prison sentences around most conduct relating to cannabis.<\/p>\n
The ballot referendum would also delete Italy\u2019s prohibition on cultivating psychoactive substances, although production and manufacture would still be forbidden. The campaign says on its website the change would not legalize all drugs, because most require further processing after cultivation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also worth remembering that with the exception of cannabis flowering plants (and mushrooms), all other narcotic substances necessarily require subsequent steps for the substance to be consumed,\u201d says a translated version of the campaign\u2019s website<\/a>, \u201cactivities which continue to be punished.\u201d The website does not appear to acknowledge other psychoactive substances that can be consumed after cultivation and harvest, such as peyote buttons or coca leaves.<\/p>\n The referendum would also remove a penalty that currently prevents people from legally driving or using a moped for up to three years if they\u2019re found to have used drugs. Operating a motor vehicle while actually under the influence would remain illegal.<\/p>\n The proposal has been variously described in media reports as legalization or decriminalization of cannabis. Under Italy\u2019s popular referendum process, advocates can only delete the nation\u2019s existing laws, meaning supporters are unable to replace prohibition with regulations or oversight of sales and commercial production.<\/p>\n Once supporters submit their signatures by the September 30 deadline, the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court will both review the petitions. If they sign off on the measure, a vote would happen in spring of next year, on a date set by the country\u2019s president.<\/p>\n The campaign behind the referendum comprises a number of pro-legalization groups, including the Luca Coscioni Associations, Meglio Legale, Forum Droghe, Societ\u00e0 della Ragione, Antigone as well as Italy\u2019s +Europa, Possible and Radical parties, according to Italian wire service\u00a0Agenzia Giornialistica Italia<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an extraordinary day, not only for the promoters but also for the citizens,\u201d said Italian Radicals member Sen. Emma Bonino, the news agency reported. \u201cThe incredible participation of young people in the extraordinary mobilization on the Cannabis Referendum shows that when they are given a voice, they are ready to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Stefano Ceccanti, the deputy of the Democratic Party, which has not taken an official stance on the proposal, said the 500,000-signature threshold \u201cwould probably have been reached even without the digital signature\u201d process offering a more convenient way to muster support.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Italy\u2019s House Justice Committee advanced a separate reform<\/a> that would decriminalize small-scale home cultivation of marijuana for personal use.<\/p>\n As more jurisdictions across the globe move to relax restrictions on marijuana and related commerce, meanwhile, the drug division of the United Nations this summer urged a global ban on cannabis advertising<\/a>\u00a0\u201cto ensure that public health interests prevail over business interests.\u201d Some advocates have interpreted that as a sign the prohibitionist body is coming to terms with the fact that widespread legalization is inevitable.<\/p>\n World Anti-Doping Agency Reviews Marijuana Ban For Athletes Following Pushback On Richardson Suspension<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Image element courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The post Italian Referendum To Decriminalize Marijuana, Psilocybin And Other Drug Plants Gets Half A Million Signatures<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Activists in Italy say they\u2019ve gathered enough signatures to qualify a ballot measure that would decriminalize personal cultivation and use of not only marijuana but also psilocybin mushrooms and certain other psychoactive plants for personal use. The campaign behind the proposal announced over the weekend that it has collected theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50030"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50031,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50030\/revisions\/50031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Italian Referendum To Decriminalize Marijuana, Psilocybin And Other Drug Plants Gets Half A Million Signatures<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"