Italian Capital Prepares for Historic Gathering
Italian hemp producers mobilize as government wages war on wellness hemp.
The Italian capital of Rome is preparing for a historic day on May 31, when it will set the stage for a large demonstration backed by the No DDL Sicurezza Network, an event that is essential to the struggle for freedom and civil rights right now in Italy. The rally will be joined by the Million Marijuana March (MMM). The mobilization of hemp and cannabis farmers and producers follows after the Italian government introduced restrictive measures on hemp last month.
Multiple associations will take part in a historic march scheduled for May 31, in Rome, Italy. Among them will be marihuana activists, who are motivated to protest because of the recent passing of a bill that may boulder the country’s flourishing hemp sector.
The event will gather up a variety of groups, including Italy’s largest cultural organization - ARCI, the labor union - CGIL, Amnesty International, as well as all major associations in the industrial hemp sector. The united front underscores the gravity of the moment and the urgency of mass mobilization.
The May 31 mobilization will be the culmination point of a series of events that have taken place all around Italy in the recent weeks, with the same purpose to protest questionable regulation and imposed restrictions on several sectors - among them hemp.
Uncertain Future for Italy’s Vital Hemp Sector
The reasons for this massive mobilization are rooted in deep concerns about what will happen to the country’s hemp sector. The issue is not only economic, but also social. Announced crackdown on hemp could lead to closure of thousands of legal businesses; it may result in job losses and a subsequent rise of the black market.
Italy’s government passed the new Decree Law on Citizen Security on April 4, 2025, promoted by the leading Fratelli d’Italia conservative right-wing party and Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. The measure imposes rigid restrictions that will severely impact Italy’s industrial hemp sector and CBD products - one of the biggest in Europe.
A controversial article within the Decree Law on Citizen Security prohibits the import, manufacture, distribution, commercialization and delivery of Cannabis sativa L. flower, which entails CBD flower, resin and oil.
The legal measure effectively threatens to suffocate an entire economic ecosystem made up of innovative hemp farmers, creative manufacturers, specialized retailers, and above all, workers who make a living from being part of the hemp sector.
Cannabis operators say the decisions of the government are “wretched” and that they appear deaf to the globally expanding hemp market. Also, ignorant of the added value that hemp brings in terms of agricultural innovation, environmental sustainability and the development of new products - from textiles to eco-buildings, foods and cosmetics. A wealth of expertise and investments have been put into danger of being dispersed with the current situation.
At the end of last year, Italian hemp growers and hemp associations called on the European Parliament to keep out any proposed measures that may threaten or prohibit the cultivation and trade of CBD in Italy.
Italy has been one of the main hemp producers in Europe. The sector employs around 15,000 people and has a turnover of around 500,000 million euros (US$568,000) every year. Meloni’s government actions indicate that Italy is now far away from the full-scale cannabis legalization envisioned just a few years back.
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Stephen Andrews
