Drug Policy in Italy

In Italy, drug legislation is still based on the Act n.309 of 1990, which fulfilled the prohibitionist shift of the coalition government (Christian Democrats and Socialists) led by Mr. Bettino Craxi. The socialist leader himself promoted the change in legislation. Back from an official visit in the States, he announced the time had come to embrace the American zero tolerance approach. Under the previous legislation (Act n.685/1975), personal possession and use of small quantities of illicit drugs was not punishable. With the approval of the 309/1990 Act, personal consumption became a criminal offence, punished by escalating administrative and penal sanctions. In 1993, a referendum was held. With the support of 55% of the voters, personal use was decriminalized again, but administrative sanctions have remained.

Following the 1993 referendum, a tolerant approach has taken place by developing harm reduction policies: methadone, and more recently buprenorphine, maintenance treatments are available in the “SERT”(public drug treatment facilities) almost all over Italy, as well as needle exchange programs, while drop in projects are implemented on a local basis. Nevertheless, pill testing programs are considered illegal, and safe injecting rooms are non-existent. The case for heroin maintenance trials has been repeatedly debated, both in the Second and the Third Government’s Conference on Drug Addiction (1997 and 2000), but no positive conclusion has ever been drawn.
During the nineties, the drug treatment system has been strengthened. Presently, there are 557 SERT and 1230 therapeutic communities. In 2004, 171.700 patients (75% of them heroin users) were reported to be in treatment in the SERT: among them, 17.000 were sent to the therapeutic communities.

The prohibitionist shift and the Right Wing Government’s Bill
In April 2003, while taking part in the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Drugs (CND) in Vienna, the Italian vice-premier, Mr. Gianfranco Fini, member of “Alleanza Nazionale” (the post fascist party), announced a new shift to the “tough on drugs” approach. In November 2003, a draft bill was first discussed in the Cabinet of Ministers. The Cabinet approved it in March 2004, notwithstanding the strong opposition of all the Regional Authorities. The bill is now expected to be discussed by the two chambers of Parliament (Camera dei deputati and Senato). If voted by the Parliament, the government’s bill, highly sponsored by Mr. Fini himself, would erase the results of the 1993 referendum and would reinstate personal use as a criminal offence.
As a result, possession of amounts of drugs above definite thresholds would be automatically considered as drug dealing and punished with jail sentences . Examples of the thresholds: 250 milligrammes of THC, 200 milligrammes of heroin etc. On the other hand, possession of lower amounts would be punished with harsher administrative sanctions than provided in the present law.
The core of the government’s bill is the suppression of any difference between “hard drugs” and “soft drugs”, upgrading cannabis to schedule I, among the most dangerous drugs like heroin and cocaine. As a result, penalties for cannabis offences would become much higher. Alternative treatments to incarceration would still be permitted, but in therapeutic communities only. Treatments in therapeutic communities would be ordered by judges even for cannabis users, in addition to the administrative sanctions. Furthermore, there would be a step down in harm reduction programs, with many constraints for methadone maintenance treatments.
Since the first announcement of the political shift, opposition has been organized. In Autumn 2003, a coalition of NGOs was created, following the appeal (“Dal penale al sociale”) promoted by Fuoriluogo, the most visited Italian site on drug policies: the appeal has been signed by 3800 people so far, mostly members of professionals: drug treatment facilities staff, social workers, peer workers. Among the organizations taking part in the coalition, there is the CGIL (the leading Labour Union) the most important associations for a drug policy reform (Forum droghe, MDMA, the organization of youth social centres, Gruppo Abele), providers of private drug treatment facilities (Coordinamento Nazionale Comunità Accoglienza). Among the initiatives promoted by the Coalition, the draft of a bill in opposition to the government’s one (signed by 80 MPs) and a national demonstration which took place in Rome on February 21st, with 15.000 participants..
In November 2004, the Senate Health Commission began to discuss the governmental bill. In order to put pressure on Parliament so as to avoid the approval of the bill, a new, even larger, coalition of NGOs was formed (by the name Non incarcerate il nostro crescere), which promoted a meeting against the “tough on drugs” policies in Bologna, in February 2005: it was attended by about 1000 professionals and drug users. So far, the Senate Health Commission has not approved the bill, which is not likely to be approved even in the following months, as the legislature is coming to an end (the general elections are due in April 2006).

(last update: September 2005)