Italian Army growing buds
The Italian army growing buds in large-scale cannabis crops in an attempt to force the price of the drug down to around € 8 per gram, according to the colonel supervising production.
In September 2014, the Government of the country announced that the Army would help increase the production of medical marijuana, with the first secure facility to be opened in Florence in April of the following year.
It is hoped that the hermetically sealed chamber will produce up to 100 kg of buds each year, exclusively for use by cancer patients, multiple sclerosis sufferers and those with other medical problems that could be relieved by the substance.
Italy and Politics
Most powerful political parties in Italy have conflicting views on the legalization of cannabis. The Five Star Movement (who are largely ‘anti-establishment’) believes that it should be legalized, as does the Democratic Party (PD).
Undoubtedly, their views have been met with strong opposition. The far-right League Party is openly opposed to cannabis use and opposes any suggestion to legalize it. Likewise, the Roman Catholic Church is taking a strong stance against it.
With Italy’s political future in the balance, the legalization of cannabis is largely based on which party the next government vote will take.
That said, Italy passed legislation in 2007, but the country has made it nearly impossible to acquire it thanks to an enthralling bureaucracy. With private corporations swept away in the documentation and still stuck to pursuing its pledge to nationals, the Italian government chucked the job to the Italian Army growing buds in 2014—because drug processing was already part of its mission.
Italian Soldiers and cannabis production
Italian soldiers would produce a good cannabis strain, called FM2. FM2 is low in THC — about 8 percent or enough for a mild, chatty buzz for most cannabis-smoking Americans. In fact, it is not useful for cannabis patients with some of these symptoms. For these purpose vulnerable people should import their buds from elsewhere in Europe. It can be achieved, and legitimately, it just takes decades, and it’s outrageously expensive. Cannabis manufactured cost more than $80 a gram, compared to $7 a gram for the army.
In one of the interviews, it was mentioned that Colonel Antonio Medica is in full control of the Florence military base, which presently shelters around 135 cannabis plants under pristine environments.
“My mission is to producing the best quality cannabis on an industrial scale at a low price,” he told The Times. “We think we’re going to get this one down to € 8 [per gram],” he added.
By the same token, the colonel revealed that the army had been entrusted with the task because of the guarantee of strict security. And also, because it had been involved in pharmacological matters since the 1800s, provided medicines and treatment for wounded soldiers.
He said that the purity of the medication was a crucial factor in its development. In addition ,”The police offered us cannabis they had confiscated, but it wasn’t up to the level we wanted.
The 21st-century approach in the cannabis industry, the Italian way
As in the United Kingdom, possession, crop production and sale of cannabis in Italy is illegal, the latter of which is illegal and punishable.
However, the Italian Government may be in the process of legalizing the home-growing of small amounts of marijuana if the legislation under discussion next week is approved.
Under the law, Italian people should be allowed to grow up to five cannabis plants for personal use and keep up to 15 grams of marijuana at home and five grams of marijuana at home.
Law of Supply and Demand practiced
However demand is also a matter of concern, as supply is not being met in the army.
“The army alone is not enough,” said Andrea Triscuiglio, a 39-year-old man suffering from multiple sclerosis. “We have to make things easier for others to grow medical cannabis.” In 2012, Italian cannabis patients futilely have pushed for government support to grow their cannabis. The consumer spending of medical cannabis in Italy is as high as 1,000 pounds a year.
Although with a sharp increased production, the Italian Army growing buds is still a heavy surplus that leads cannabis users to pursue other, less-legal means — like supplying their product from unauthorized sources to their predecessors in the U.S. Army stamp out of here.
