Marijuana in Italy: current regulations 2026 (FAQ)

The Italian threshold is different from all others in this comparison, as it is not the weight of the herb, but the mass of the active substance. The same gram of material thus gives a different result depending on the potency.

The second peculiarity concerns sanctions. For possession for personal use, there is neither imprisonment nor a fine, only the suspension of documents, including the driving license and passport.

Legal status checked in September 2026 in the consolidated text on narcotic drugs and in the decrees of the Minister of Health. This is a description of the regulations, not legal advice.

Is possession of marijuana in Italy punishable?

Possession for personal use is not a crime in Italy, but an administrative offense according to the consolidated text on narcotic drugs. The case is handled by the prefecture, not a criminal court, and the procedure includes a mandatory conversation with social workers. This conversation is mandatory and not dependent on a request from the party.

Upon the first report and circumstances deemed minor, the prefect may settle for a warning instead of a sanction. This is an exceptional solution in this comparison, as it gives the authority the option to close the case without any consequences for the citizen.

The boundary between an offense and a crime is not the same number, and this must be stated clearly. The regulation requires that a substance be considered not intended solely for personal use when the amount exceeds the limit set by the Minister of Health’s decree.

However, the law uses the phrase that this occurs particularly when exceeding the limit, and not exclusively then. In addition to the quantity, it requires considering the manner of presentation, gross weight, division into portions, and other circumstances of the act.

This places Italy in the group of countries with decriminalization, but with an atypical shape. How this boundary looks elsewhere is shown by our map of marijuana legality.

How much marijuana is allowed in Italy?

The Italian threshold is not the weight of the herb, but the mass of the active substance, and is 500 milligrams of delta-9-THC and the same for delta-8-THC. This construction is unique in our comparison and explains why Italian numbers cannot be directly compared with weights from other countries.

The number itself arises from a simple calculation recorded in the decree. The average single dose of 25 milligrams was multiplied by a factor of twenty, thus obtaining the threshold value.

For hashish, marijuana, oil, resin, leaves, and flowers, the decree refers to the amount of active substance contained in them. The same gram of herb thus gives a different result depending on the potency of the material, making the weight itself useless.

The commonly repeated number of 1000 milligrams is outdated, and it is worth knowing why. It was raised by a decree in August 2006, changing the multiplier from twenty to forty, but the administrative court suspended this decree in March 2007 and annulled it with a ruling from the same month.

Exceeding the threshold does not, in itself, determine the case. The law speaks of exceeding particularly, and in addition to the quantity, it requires considering the circumstances of the act.

What are the consequences of exceeding the threshold in Italy?

Administrative sanctions in Italy consist of the suspension of documents, not a monetary penalty or imprisonment. This is a solution that does not exist anywhere else in this comparison, and for many people, it can be more severe than a fine. A document may be needed daily, while a fine can be paid.

The list of documents is specific. It includes the driving license along with certificates authorizing the operation of motorcycles and mopeds, a gun permit, a passport, and any equivalent document.

Foreigners from outside the EU are separately mentioned, whose tourist residence permit is also suspended. Those who do not have a given document receive a ban on obtaining it.

The duration of the suspension is differentiated by the law through tables, which works in favor of cannabis. Substances from tables including cannabis derivatives result in a suspension from one month to three months, while substances from other tables result in a suspension from two months to one year.

For the driving license, the ban on obtaining it can reach three years. This is the longest consequence provided for in this regulation and affects those who do not yet have a driving license.

It is worth noting that the sanction does not depend on wealth or prior criminal record. It affects everyone equally, although its severity depends on what the individual needs the document for in daily life.

Does Italy have a medical marijuana program?

The program has been in operation since 2006 and is based on a pharmacy prescription, not on an industrial ready-made drug. The doctor prescribes a magistral preparation, the pharmacist prepares it, and the patient takes it in the form of a decoction or inhaled through a vaporizer. Both routes of administration are explicitly mentioned in the regulation.

The herb is produced by a military chemical-pharmaceutical plant in Florence. Since 2016, it has been producing a strain with an active substance content of 5 to 8 percent and 7.5 to 12 percent cannabidiol, and since July 2018, also a second strain with a content of 13 to 20 percent and below 1 percent cannabidiol.

Separately, since April 2013, neurologists can prescribe a registered drug for painful spasms in multiple sclerosis. The prescription is one-time, without the right to repeat, so each issuance requires a new document.

Indications from the decree of 2015 include chronic pain, including in multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries, nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and HIV medications. Further, it mentions appetite stimulation in wasting and in cancer patients, lowering pressure in glaucoma, and limiting involuntary movements in Tourette’s syndrome.

All these indications only work when standard treatment has failed. The decree also states that the evidence is of moderate or low quality and that the medical use of cannabis cannot be considered therapy in the proper sense, but rather as symptomatic supportive treatment. Reimbursement is not national: it depends on the decisions of regions and autonomous provinces, so patients pay differently in each region.

Is HHC legal in Italy?

Italy has listed this substance in the table of heavy substances, not in the table where cannabis is listed. This was done by the Minister of Health’s decree from July 2023, titled directly as the introduction to the first table of HHC substances, its acetate, and HHC-P. The name of the substance appears in the title of this act.

The consequence is measurable and is visible in the administrative sanctions described above. For heavy substances, the suspension of documents lasts from two months to one year, while for cannabis derivatives, it lasts from one to three months.

In other words, the Italian legislator has treated this substance more harshly than marijuana itself. This is the opposite of what a buyer would expect based on its commercial status as a cannabis product.

The resolution is unequivocal and does not require interpretation. The substance has been listed by name along with two derivatives, so the argument of lack of regulation has no basis here.

How this same substance is treated by other legal systems is described in our post about whether HHC is legal and safe.

It is worth comparing this with the Swiss solution, based on a general clause. The Italian list operates by naming, so each subsequent derivative requires a separate decree.

Can you bring cannabis medicine into Italy?

The sanction provided for in Italian regulations includes the suspension of the travel document, which directly affects the ability to travel. This is a consequence that is rarely written about, and for a person working abroad, it can be the most serious of the entire list. The consequence also affects those who were not planning to travel anywhere.

The suspension of the passport operates independently of whether the case concerned travel. It is enough to have the administrative offense described above for the document to be subject to this sanction.

For foreigners from outside the EU, the regulation goes further and also includes the tourist residence permit. This distinguishes the situation of a visitor from that of a resident, although the act itself is the same.

A person who does not possess a given document receives a ban on obtaining it. The consequence is therefore also felt when there was nothing to suspend at the time of the case.

We compare the transport rules more broadly in our guide on transporting medical marijuana, where we compare ten legal systems.

It is worth comparing this with countries where the sanction is a fine or arrest. The Italian model strikes at rights, not at property or freedom, and that is why it is often underestimated in comparative studies.

For a resident of Poland, the practical consequence is one. The suspension of the driving license imposed by the Italian prefecture concerns the document that they use daily in their country.

Is cannabis light still legal in Italy?

No. The trade in cannabis flowers has been banned since April 12, 2025, when the decree with the force of law no. 48 of April 11, 2025, came into force. Parliament transformed it into law no. 80 of June 9, 2025, published in the official journal no. 131 of the same day.

The ban is introduced by Article 18 of this decree, which adds a new provision to law no. 242 of 2016. It covers cannabis flowers cultivated under that law, also in the form of semi-finished products, dried or crushed, and products that contain or consist of such flowers. The ban also extends to extracts and resins obtained from them, as well as oils. The prohibited activities are explicitly listed in the regulation: import, sale, processing, distribution, trade, transport, shipment, delivery. Only processing of flowers for the production of agricultural seeds is allowed.

The scope is therefore broader than the name cannabis light suggests: it also includes oils and extracts obtained from flowers, not just the herb itself in a jar.

The application of this regulation is contentious. Italian courts have returned seized goods in most monitored cases, and three judges have referred questions to the Constitutional Court, questioning the absolute presumption of danger as lacking scientific basis. The first hearing was announced for October 2026. Until the Court rules, the ban is in effect, and disputes are already ongoing after the goods have been seized. A completely different path was chosen in the same matter by Switzerland.

How did Italian courts evaluate cannabis light before the ban?

Much more cautiously than the market remembers. Law no. 242 of December 2, 2016, allowed the cultivation of certified cannabis strains from the EU catalog, in which the THC content does not exceed 0.2 percent. If testing showed a value between 0.2 and 0.6 percent, the farmer complying with the requirements bore no responsibility. Above 0.6 percent, the court could order the seizure or destruction of the crop, still without burdening the farmer.

However, the law spoke of cultivation, not the sale of the herb. This was resolved by the combined chambers of the Court of Cassation (Sezioni Unite) in ruling no. 30475 of 2019, issued on May 30 and published on July 10. The court ruled that the public sale of leaves, flowers, oil, and resin from crops conducted under law 242/2016 does not fall within the scope of that law and constitutes a crime under Article 73 of DPR 309/1990, even with THC content below the values indicated in the cannabis law.

This is the opposite of the version circulating in Polish texts, according to which the enlarged composition restored legality to the market in 2020. The ruling of the enlarged panel was restrictive and was issued a year earlier. The market survived for several more years because the ruling left a loophole for products devoid of intoxicating effects, not because the sale was deemed permissible.

What are the consequences in Poland for importing cannabis from Italy?

The Polish law applies to you regardless of where you bought the goods, and common membership in the EU does not eliminate criminal liability. The Italian status of cannabis light ends at the border, as both legal systems measure content in different places. The Italian variety certificate does not transfer across the border with the goods.

The Polish definition is carried by Article 4 point 5 of the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction (t.j. Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1939, as amended on March 24, 2022, Dz.U. 2022 poz. 763). The provision sums delta-9-THC and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, and the threshold is 0.3 percent calculated on dry mass, measured in flowering and fruiting tops.

Liability for possession is divided by Article 62 into three tiers: up to 3 years in the basic type, from one to 10 years for a significant amount, and a fine, restriction of freedom, or one year for a lesser offense.

The transport itself has a separate provision. Article 55 starts with a fine and 5 years, goes down to one year for lesser weight, and for significant amounts or actions for financial gain reaches from 3 to 20 years.

The date of purchase does not change anything. Herb purchased in Italy before April 2025 is simply what you have with you in Polish control, as the object of the act is the item, not the transaction history.

Separately stands the question of the origin of the goods. The Italian law no. 242 of 2016 allowed the cultivation of strains from the EU catalog up to 0.2 percent THC, with a tolerance up to 0.6 percent for the farmer, but none of these thresholds is the Polish threshold, as the Polish provision measures content in the plant, not compliance with the variety catalog.

It is worth remembering one distinction. The Italian threshold of 0.2 percent with a tolerance up to 0.6 concerned the cultivation of the variety, not what is allowed to have on oneself; the Polish Article 62 sections 1 and 2 measure only possession, without looking at the variety.

Frequently asked questions

How much marijuana can you have in Italy?

The threshold is not the weight of the herb, but the mass of the active substance and is 500 milligrams. The same gram of material thus gives a different result depending on the potency, and exceeding the threshold does not determine the case in itself.

Is possession of marijuana in Italy a crime?

No. Possession for personal use is an administrative offense, and the case is handled by the prefecture, not a criminal court. The procedure includes a mandatory conversation with social workers.

What are the consequences in Italy for possession for personal use?

Suspension of documents: driving license along with certificates for motorcycles and mopeds, gun permits, passports, and equivalent documents, and for foreigners from outside the EU, also the tourist residence permit.

Why is the number 1000 mg outdated?

Because the decree that introduced it did not remain in force. In August 2006, the multiplier was raised from twenty to forty, which at an average dose of 25 milligrams gave exactly 1000 milligrams, but the administrative court suspended this decree in March 2007 and annulled it with a ruling from the same month. Therefore, the multiplier of twenty and the threshold of 500 milligrams apply.

How does the Italian medical marijuana program work?

It is based on a pharmacy prescription: the doctor prescribes a magistral preparation, the pharmacist prepares it, and the patient takes it in the form of a decoction or inhaled. The prescription is one-time, without the right to repeat.

Is the Italian medical program reimbursed?

Reimbursement is not national. The decree makes it dependent on the decisions of regions and autonomous provinces, so patients pay differently in each region.

Is HHC treated more leniently than marijuana in Italy?

On the contrary. The decree from July 2023 listed this substance in the table of heavy substances, so the suspension of documents lasts from two months to one year, and for cannabis derivatives from one to three months.

What exactly did the Italian decree of 2025 ban?

Import, sale, processing, distribution, trade, transport, shipment, and delivery of cannabis flowers cultivated under law 242/2016, also dried or crushed, and products from them. Only processing of flowers for the production of agricultural seeds is allowed.

Sources

This article is for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The legal status described in the article is valid as of the date of publication: regulations regarding cannabis may change. Before making a decision, consult a lawyer or current legal acts.

Author: Michał Waluk