An important piece of news arrived on October 5th when the TAR published decree no. 6652/2023 with which it urgently suspended the Decree of the Ministry of Health of 07/08/2023 pending the Council Chamber scheduled for October 24th.
The suspension of the TAR came about thanks to the activity conducted by trade associations such as ICI - Imprenditori Canapa Italia and CSI - Canapa Sativa Italia .
We bring you the extract of the ICI press release :
“ The ICI – Imprenditori Canapa Italia Association wishes to inform the public and all stakeholders that, on 03/10/2023, an appeal was filed with the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) with the assistance of the law firm Prestige Legal & Advisory.
The appeal filed requested the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio to annul the Ministerial Decree of 7 August 2023 issued by the Ministry of Health, which ordered (as of 21.09.23) the inclusion of “compositions for oral administration of cannabidiol obtained from Cannabis extracts” in the table of medicines, referred to in section B, of the Presidential Decree of 9 October 1990, n. 309 (“Consolidated text of the laws on the regulation of narcotics and psychotropic substances, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of the related states of drug addiction”).
Specifically, the aforementioned appeal denounced the illegitimacy of the Ministerial Decree of 7.8.23 since, among other things, the inclusion of oral compounds based on CBD in the table of medicines established therein was arranged i) without the prior adoption of the opinion of the Superior Health Council, required by current legislation and, already in 2020, deemed necessary by the Ministry of Health, which had suspended the inclusion of the aforementioned compositions in the table pending further technical and scientific investigations; ii) without the competent authorities having clarified whether the effects of cannabidiol vary with the percentage of use.
The appeal also contests, in general, the decision to include cannabidiol among narcotic or psychotropic substances; a decision that conflicts: i) with Community jurisprudence (ECJ 19.11.2020, C663/18), which has excluded that CBD can constitute a narcotic under European law and ii) with the positions taken by the World Health Organization.
The appeal also included, incidentally, a presidential precautionary request aimed at obtaining the immediate suspension of the aforementioned Ministerial Decree of 7.8.23: following the entry into force of this provision, inspections and investigations were in fact recorded to the detriment of economic operators, as a result of which the violation of art. 73 of Presidential Decree 304/1990 (concerning narcotic or psychotropic substances) was contested and the seizure of the goods (CBD-based compounds for oral use) present in the stores was also ordered. In order to avoid serious and irreparable damage to the entire sector, with decree no. 6652/2023 published on 5.10.2023, the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, Rome accepted the request for suspension of the Ministerial Decree of 7.8.2023 formulated by ICI – – Imprenditori Canapa Italia on the basis of the following motivation: “…Considering that, having taken into account what was deduced on the point in the appeal as well as the attached documentation proving the seizure and closure of the businesses, it is believed that the conditions exist for granting the requested monocratic precautionary measure pursuant to art. 56 cpa pending the collegial hearing….”.
As a result of the aforementioned decree, the effectiveness of the Ministerial Decree of 7.8.2023 is therefore suspended until the council chamber of 24.10.2023.”
Sources:
ICI: Official press release https://www.imprenditoricanapaitalia.it/news/prodotti-con-cbd-il-tar-sospende-il-decreto/
CSI: The Suspension Decree of the TAR https://www.canapasativaitalia.org/tar-sospende-decreto-minsal-cbd/