Sudden stop to the so-called cannabis light. The one that, obtained from hemp and with an irrelevant content of Thc (the psychotropic substance), was already experiencing a real boom in Italy, with hundreds of stores opening throughout the country in recent months. A 100% made in Italy boom given that Italy is the second largest producer of hemp in the world. The Superior Health Council suggested interrupting the sale, officially as a precaution and for the protection of unaware consumers. (Css): the effects of THC, even at low concentrations, can apparently be insidious for some categories of people at risk such as the elderly, nursing mothers or people with particular pathologies that are still little studied. The free sale, according to the health institute, would not allow these people to make moderate use of it or to avoid it, pending more in-depth studies.
Now the ball passes to the Ministry of Health, which in February - with the previous government - had asked for an opinion from the consultative body, which now recommends "that they be activated, in the interest of individual and public health and in application of the precautionary principle , measures designed to prevent the free sale of the aforementioned products". In particular, the advisory body believes that: "The bioavailability of Thc even at low concentrations (they are 0,2%-0,6%, the percentages permitted by law, ed.) is not negligible, based on the literature data ; for the pharmacokinetic and chemical-physical characteristics, Thc and other active ingredients inhaled or taken with the cannabis sativa inflorescences they can penetrate and accumulate in some tissues, including brain and fat, far beyond measurable plasma concentrations; this consumption takes place beyond any possibility of monitoring and controlling the quantity actually taken and therefore the psychotropic effects that this can produce, both in the short and long term".
The CSS underlines that the effects of these substances on some subjects too little is known yet because "in particular, it does not appear that the risk of consuming these products has been assessed in relation to specific conditions, such as, for example, age, presence of concomitant pathologies, pregnancy/breastfeeding, interactions with drugs, effects on attention, etc. from avoid that the intake unknowingly perceived as 'safe' and 'free of side effects' results in harm to oneself or others (fetus, newborn, impaired driving)". On the matter, the ministry had also asked the State Attorney's office for an opinion, which however has yet to express itself.
In the meantime, however, Coldiretti's reaction has already arrived: "In Italy, in the space of five years, the land cultivated with cannabis sativa has increased tenfold, from 400 hectares in 2013 to the almost 4000 estimated for 2018 in the countryside", says the association in commenting on the opinion formulated by the Superior Health Council on light cannabis, which has contributed to the diffusion of cultivation in Italy, also used for innovative experiences, with productions ranging from ricotta to insulating eco-bricks, from anti-inflammatory oil to bioplastics, up to pasta, biscuits and cosmetics. “Now – underlines Coldiretti – clarity needs to be clarified to protect citizens and the hundreds of farms that started growing hemp in 2018, from Puglia to Piedmont, from Veneto to Basilicata, but also in Lombardy, Friuli VG Sicily and Sardinia with the multiplication of innovative experiences”.
