2 November 1997

ITALIANS EVEN TOLERATE HASH BY MAIL

by Andrew Gumbel and Tarquin Cooper

POSSESSION of cannabis for personal consumption was effectively decriminalised, following a referendum in 1993. Although this did not actually change the law - cannabis remains illegal - the authorities tend to turn a blind eye to its use. There is no penal sentence for personal use. Since 1993 the consumption of cannabis has risen while the use of hard drugs has fallen. Cultivation and supply are considered serious offences, however. The line between personal use and intent to supply ultimately rests with the judge. There are no proposals to change the law, and the Government is beginning to take a tougher stance on the subject. All the major parties are against, any official relaxing of the laws. This is in contrast to the Lista party, whose leader, Marco Pannella, regularly risks arrest by distributing joints in public. Last week he sent a gram to our correspondent in Rome. At first sight, the box looked like the green and white, confections of a well-known German pharmaceutical company. The give-away, though, was the bold black lettering spelling the word HASHISH. Inside was some hash resin inside a sealed plastic bag. The blurb dutifully pointed out that this was a forbidden substance under article 73 of regulation 30 issued in October 1990. Under Italian law, Pannella was stepping out of bounds by sending hash by mail to foreign journalists, but I was safe since possession and even use of small quantities is tolerated.

Italian MP hands out hashish again

Monday October 13, 1997

MARCO Pannella, the Italian politician convicted last month of giving away hashish, was at it again yesterday - distributing free bags of the drug to a crowd in Piazza Navona in the centre of Rome. Mr Pannella, who has campaigned for the legalisation of soft drugs, presided over the handing out of some 450 bags, each containing half a gram, about a fifthieth of an ounce, of hashish. Asked where he got the drug, he replied: "We got it from the market. We took it away from the Mafia." Two supporters - an Italian aide, Rita Bernadini, and a Belgian MEP, Olivier Dupuis - turned themselves in to police to publicise the campaign, promoters said. Mr Pannella himself was arrested at a later rally after he offered a police officer a bag and told him to "have a good smoke", the Italian news agency Ansa said. - AP, Rome.

HASCHISCH A ROME

Le Figaro, lundi 13 octobre 1997

Un mouvement politique italien a distribué du haschisch hier dans le centre historique de Rome au cours d'une manifestation en faveur de la légalisation de la vente et de l'usage des drogues douces. Une dirigeante du Club Pannella, organisateur de la manifestation, Rite Bernardini, et le secrétaire du Parti radical (droite) de Marco Pannella, le Belge Olivier Dupuis, ont été arrétés par la police, alors qu'ils distribuaient un demi-gramme de cannabis aux cinq cents personnes venues défiler. Marco Pannella a été condamné à quatre mois de prison le 19 septembre der-nier pour distribution publique de haschisch et de marijuana. Par ailleurs, 80 % des Britanniques souhaitent une modification de la législation sur la consommation de cannabis. Selon un sondage publié hier par l'Independent on Sunday, 45 % estiment que le haschisch, à des fins médicales, doit etre légalisé et 35 % qu'il devrait etre autorisé pour la consommation personnelle dite récréative. Seules 17 % des personnes interrogées se disent favorables au statu quo actuel qui interdit totalement la consommation de la drogue.

Daily Telegraph

DRUG CAMPAIGNER HELD

October 27, 1997

Marco Pannella, left, a member of Italy's Radical Party, was arrested with six fellow campaigners at the weekend for handing out hashish to passers-by in Rome. Mr Pannella was ordered to be detained at home, and police seized 240 packets of hashish. Emma Bonino, the European Commissioner, who is Radical Party member, expressed her "great solidarity" for Mr Pannella.

Bruce Johnston, Rome