Is it legal to smoke weed in Italy? Here’s what the law said in 2024

Modified on: 19/04/2024

IN ITALY, BUYING CBD CANNABIS IS LEGAL, BUT ITS USE HAS LIMITATIONS. HERE IS WHAT THE LAW IMPOSES IN 2024 REGARDING SMOKING AND WHAT IS LEGAL MARIJUANA IN ITALY, EUROPE AND SWITZERLAND.

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Is smoking weed (CBD and not) legal in Italy, Europe and Switzerland?

The legal CBD marijuana in Italy is the variety of Cannabis Sativa with THC concentrations lower than 0.2%, or the so-called CBD cannabis.

The trade and production of this variety have been legalized in Italy by the law of December 2 2016, n.242.

In particular, this rule completely legalizes the sale and purchase of CBD flower and its possession but does not recognize its use for recreational purposes … nor does it prohibit it.

The fact is that the use of marijuana and other narcotic substances is currently regulated by the Fini-Giovanardi law of February 21, 2006, n.49.

But in this case, cannabis is intended as a drug, while the CBD variety is not, as it does not have psychoactive effects. Therefore, there remains a regulatory vacuum which, for the moment, makes us comply with the provisions of the law just mentioned.

You should know that the law in question has excluded any criminal liability in the case of detention for the personal use of legal and psychoactive cannabis, for which recreational use is simply an administrative offence.

We, therefore, advise you, if you want to smoke or ingest marijuana, to do it exclusively at your home.

If you undergo a control by the Authorities, you could incur the following penalties:

• If you drive after smoking or ingesting cannabis (even about cannabis light, THC may be seen at the controls), you will be suspended from driving license, any professional qualification certificate for driving motorcycles and certificate of fitness for driving mopeds. If you are not driving but still undergo checks, you may be prohibited from obtaining the qualifications to drive in the following 3 years;

• You may receive a suspension of the firearms license or a ban on it;

• The Authorities could suspend your passport, and any other equivalent document or they could forbid their achievement;

• If you are not Italian, your residence permit will be suspended for tourism reasons, or they may prohibit you from obtaining it.

Even smoking inflorescences of CBD weed, therefore, if you undergo checks by a police officer, the carabinieri or the financial guard, is theoretically part of the administrative offence as the law n.242 does not make any reference in this regard.

Read also: THC and CBD: what are they? Here are all the differences

But what happens after the intervention of the authorities?

In Switzerland, as in Italy, you cannot smoke marijuana. Here’s what happens if the authorities register the report of the offence.

The accusation of the offence involves the convocation at the court, fixed for a specific day, at the competent Prefecture, after which one of the following options may occur:

• A formal warning not to use substances anymore;
• The application of the penalties provided for by the offence (i.e. those illustrated in the previous paragraph).

It is entirely up to the will of the law enforcement officer to choose which line to follow. Usually, if it is a complaint without other criminal precedents, it is preferred to opt for the first solution, but, as has been said, it is all at the discretion of the officer.

There is also no shortage of cases in which law enforcement agencies seized cannabis, in the case of psychotropic marijuana, and a simple warning to the owner.

Or cases in which the police forces decide to turn a blind eye, especially if the one consumed is CBD Buds (recognizable by the receipt and the packaging).

Read also: CBD cannabis: can we bring legal weed on the plane?

Smoking weed, illegal but …

It is now had been said, smoking marijuana in Switzerland as in Italy is still illegal. In the case of legal weed it is prohibited only to consume it, but not to cultivate, buy and sell it; in the case of psychotropic marijuana, however, everything that concerns it is still considered illegal.

Despite being an offense, however, many people prefer to take legal hemp by smoking it alone or in a mixture with tobacco.

Within the internal walls, there are no controls, so we rely on the proverb that reads: “what eyes that do not see, the heart does not hurt“.

Instead, CBD bud outdoors is easily identifiable: the aromas that make certain types of cannabis particularly valuable, with more or less varied and delicate nuances and notes, are unique and unmistakable.

Smoking it also helps these aromas to release and spread in the air, so it is not complicated to realize if someone is smoking a rod in a place or not.

Besides, the “joints” have a characteristic shape that is easily distinguishable from any cigarette.

For this reason, many prefer not to take risks and smoke cannabis only within the walls of their homes.

Pending the complete legalization of the use of CBD cannabis also for recreational purposes, as happened in Canada and some states of the USA, we recommend you to be careful.

Stick to the uses listed on our CBD cannabis packs or, if you prefer to smoke or ingest it (maybe in a delicious marijuana cake !). Do it inside your home.