Whether driven by factors that are generational, medicinal or purely financial, there is growing evidence that changing attitudes on the use of cannabis is a global phenomenon. The latest example comes from Italy.
According to Paddy Agnew, writing for the Telegraph UK and Reuters, Italy’s supreme court has ruled that cultivating cannabis on a small scale for personal use is legal. The verdict effectively states that while the growing of cannabis plants remains illegal, if it is being grown for personal consumption then no law has been broken.
Since 2016, it has been legal in Italy to sell cannabis with a psychotropic active ingredient level below 0.6 percent in businesses often referred to as “legal weed shops.”
While Agnew writes that the ruling has been welcomed by many on the Left, the issue is far from settled. He says the conservative Livatino Study Centre on Sunday argued that the ruling represented an “alarming dissociation from reality,” citing research showing that cannabis is the most widely used drug among young Italians.
Maurizio Gasparri, a senator from the Forza Italia Party, said the first law the centre-Right coalition would approve, if it came to power, “will cancel the absurd verdict of the court.”
To learn more, visit Paddy Agnew’s article in the December 27 issue of Telegraph.com.UK.
Legal Spotlight
There is important news for those who were convicted of low-level cannabis possession in Illinois. A day before a new law went into effect making it legal for those 21 and older to possess and use marijuana in the state, Gov. J. B. Pritzker granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions.
Said Pritzker, “Tomorrow, when adult-use cannabis becomes legal, pay attention to the fact that we are beginning to accomplish four very important things. We are ending the 50-year-long war on cannabis. We are restoring rights to many tens of thousands of Illinoisans. We are bringing regulation and safety to a previously unsafe and illegal market. And we are creating a new industry that puts equity at its very core.”
According to Geoff Dempsey, writing for Patch.com, here’s how the expungements will work:
The Governor’s office says there are 116,000 convictions for possession of up to 30 grams with no violent offense, which will be expunged. Convictions for possession of between 30 grams and 500 grams are eligible to be vacated. Other nonviolent convictions, which took place alongside marijuana convictions, will not be expunged.
Arrests that did not result in a conviction but are still public record will be expunged automatically. This affects about 572,000 arrest records.
Local law enforcement agencies and the Illinois State Police will automatically expunge arrest records that did not result in a conviction for possession of up to 30 grams. This applies to arrests for possession, manufacture, delivery, and possession with intent to deliver. The arrests may not be associated with another arrest for a violent offense.
According to Olivia Messer, writing for the Daily Beast, thanks to the new law, state residents can now legally possess up to 30 grams of the flower, 500 milligrams of THC in edibles, or 5 grams of concentrate.
To learn more, you can read Geoff Dempsey’s article in the December 31, 2019 issue of Patch.com/Illinois. You can also visit Olivia Messer’s article in the January, 1, 2020 issue of the Daily Beast or the official statement from the Governor’s Office, released on December 31, 2019.
patch.com/illinois/across-il/gov-pritzker-pardon-11-000-marijuana-convictions
www2.illinois.gov/Pages/news-item.aspx?ReleaseID=20988
Testing For Cannabis Consumption
For many, the idea of someone consuming cannabis, even legally, and then driving is a real stumbling block when it comes to opinions on legalization, whether for adult or medicinal use.
As we have noted before, the problem for law enforcement is two fold: How does one test a subject reliably for THC consumption and how does one determine that a driver is impaired and a threat to himself and/or others while driving.
Alicia Wallace, reporting for CNN Business, does an excellent job of unraveling the complex issue. Wallace points out that critics note any testing technology used in the field must be able to detect recent cannabis use and also prove that cannabis in a person’s system impaired his or her driving. A cannabis breathalyzer that does both of those things has proven elusive, because, unlike alcohol, cannabis can stay in people’s bodies long after their “high” has worn off.
To learn more about the challenges when it comes to testing and the technology under development, read Wallace’s insightful and detailed article in the January 2, 2020, issue of CNN.com/business.
www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/business/cannabis-breathalyzers-are-coming-to-market/index.html
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.