Italy’s Only Cannabis Cultivator Can’t Keep Up with Demand

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he only legal cannabis cultivator in Italy is having trouble keeping up with demand of its low-THC product. The Military Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant is a heavily guarded military facility in Florence, Italy, and it’s the only Italian provider of medical cannabis prescribed throughout the country.

“We do everything in-house,” said the facility’s director, Col. Antonio Medica, to The Washington Post. “We grow the plants, harvest them, dry and grind the leaves, sanitize the final product with gamma rays, then ship it to pharmacies and hospitals.”

Unfortunately, even with tripling the facility’s output over the next two years, it cannot compete with the estimated tens of thousands of people who have been prescribed cannabis. Tripling the harvest would yield about 660 pounds annually, but the facility would actually need to produce an estimated 880-1000 pounds needed every year to make enough for all patients.

One man spoke anonymously to PBS’s NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Christopher Livesay this month about the state of the operation. “The military is doing a horrible job. Their pot is low quality, and full of seeds, it’s garbage. Plus they’re not producing enough for the people who need it. That opens up the door for the mafia.”

But from Medica’s perspective, the operation strives to eliminate black market competition with affordable prices. “One of our main objectives is to fight the black market. In fact, the final price of our cannabis is lower than the black market’s, precisely to prevent patients from buying it on the streets,” said Medica.

The Italian government has been growing one strain, called FM2, which is low in THC. This year, Italy will start distributing cannabis from a higher THC-containing strain, which will help solve the problem of cannabis not being effective with some patients who have different cannabinoid needs.

Cannabis that is grown in Italy costs much less than imported cannabis, which the government has relied upon to help meet the needs. Last year, Italy imported 440 pounds from The Netherlands, and will import and additional 220 pounds from Canada. Imported cannabis costs several times more than the domestic product, and can take weeks to get, making patients wait.