Investigative Cannabis Growing Trial to Take Off in Italy

The Italian region of Puglia, better known as the ‘heel’ of
the notable boot that is the country of Italy, has always been a step ahead of other
Italian regions when it comes to cannabis; It was one of the first regions to
allow for medical cannabis, the first to start the construction of an entire
apartment building made out of hemp this very year, the first region to permit
industrial hemp farms and establish its own hemp brick and slab production
company and the first and only region in the country to allow for a Cannabis
Social Club for patients.  

Most recently, in one of the biggest announcements related
to the herb in Italy, the General Council of Puglia has voted in favor of an
experimental trial in the growing of medicinal cannabis, the manufacturing of its
active components into pharmaceutical grade medicine, as well as its distribution
to the rest of the country. All this, to examine if it is fiscally beneficial
for the State and for those citizens who choose to use it in the treatment of various
conditions by making the business of medical cannabis a homegrown affair.

When it comes to the purchase of medical cannabis, it costs
Italy somewhere between 15 – 20 Euros a gram ($21 – 27 USD) to acquire it from
another country which is legally producing the highly sought after substance.  When you add in the fact that Italy’s healthcare
system is funded and provided by the state, and that recently droves of
patients afflicted with various diseases such as MS and epilepsy are becoming
ever-the-more interested in the benefits of the miraculous drug—even going as
far as suing the state in a number of lawsuits for being denied access—you
suddenly arrive in a place of conflicting interests where the demand and costs
don’t add up. Hence, the need for different options such as this investigative
trial.  

The new regulations are quite expansive. They allow for
partnerships to come together to further aid the region on its quest of making
the best, most affordable product. This means that university research
departments, industrial laboratories, financial investors, and other
professional entities can join together in this cannabis adventure to grow a
medical grade product that costs somewhere around  1.50 Euros a gram, as well as offer the
science and the means needed to make those cannabis buds into various forms of
medicine.

One of the best parts of the whole trial experiment is that a
company called Farmalabor will construct Italy’s second cannabis manufacturing
plant right in Puglia, and that it will manufacture THC and cannabinoid based
medicines.  Throw in a distribution network
through hospitals and pharmacies and what you have is an economically sound,
full-circle program that is likely to encourage the use of cannabis as medicine
on a level that hasn’t been seen since the early 1900’s, back when cannabis was
commonly used around the world.

In the words of Sergio Blasi, Regional Puglia Council Member
and proponent of the program, “This is the law of a great civilization and is a
call to urge the national government to move forward on an issue which affects
thousands of sick and could allow access to cures for even the most deprived
sections of society.”

At this moment, the efforts of many individuals and
associations are coming together to begin realizing this dream as soon as
possible.  Thus far, there have even been
land donations to the project, which is expected to take off as early as next
spring— right around planting season.