The CBD.fr team has transcribed the MARIJUANA DAILY BUSINESS article into French for your convenience… you will find the original article written by Alfredo Pascual. The Italian Ministry of Health has refused to take action under a decree that would have added certain CBD-based preparations to the list of controlled substances in its narcotics law, according to a recent notice published in the country’s Official Gazette.
On October 1st, the decree was approved to pave the way for the authorization of the sale of the CBD drug Epidiolex by GW Pharmaceuticals. To this end, the Ministry of Health planned to include ingestible, plant-based CBD preparations in the list of controlled drugs.
However, the new decree – signed by the Minister of Health on October 28th – reversed this plan “pending the opinions of… the National Institute of Health and the Superior Health Council” because the issue “requires further investigation of a technical and scientific nature.” The Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) is the main technical and scientific body of the Ministry of Health. The Superior Health Council is a high-level advisory body. Both government organizations have already issued a favorable opinion on including ingestible compositions prepared with plant-derived CBD in Section B of the Narcotics Act’s list of drugs. This occurred in May and August, respectively, according to the new decree. Drugs in Section B require a special prescription that cannot be used multiple times, unlike less regulated medications. The decision not to act under the decree seems to indicate that the Minister of Health wants the two scientific bodies to further investigate this issue and provide additional opinions.
The previous decree faced significant resistance from industry representatives, some members of parliament, and patient associations.
In December, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is scheduled to meet in Vienna, where it is expected to vote on the World Health Organization’s recommendations regarding cannabis programming.
One of the recommendations, if adopted, would specify that certain CBD preparations are not subject to the international control prescribed by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
However, it is unlikely that the WHO recommendation on CBD will be accepted by the CND.
