An Italian court on Thursday rejected a recent government decree doubling the amount of cannabis a person can carry without being arrested for dealing.
The regional administrative appeals court TAR ruled in favour of a consumer rights' group and a drug rehabilitation centre which had contested the new norms lifting the legal amount of cannabis for personal use from 500 milligrams to 1 gram.
The TAR, which is often called on in legal tangles involving private citizens or companies and the state, said the November decree was "not supported by any technical evidence justifying the doubling of the parameter".
Health Minister Livia Turco, who drew up the decree with the help of the justice ministry, said the TAR sentence appeared "unfounded".
She said she would appeal to the Council of State, Italy's top administrative court, to get it overturned.
But consumer group Codacons, which was behind the TAR suit, expressed satisfaction.
"It is without doubt the right decision given that the number of cannabis smokers doubled between 2001 and 2005," it said.
The group stressed that 1 gram of cannabis was the equivalent of 40 joints and that this amount encouraged "a sort of involuntary dealing".
It also argued that cannabis was a "gateway" drug for youngsters in particular.
2006 DRUG LAW TOO TOUGH, CRITICS SAY.
The November 13 decree was regarded as the first step in a more radical revision of the country's tough drug law passed by the previous, centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi.
The February 2006 law enshrined a "zero tolerance" approach to all types of drug, making possession of hard and soft ones a potentially criminal offence with jail terms ranging from six to 20 years for suppliers.
Apart from the 500mg for cannabis, the thresholds set for personal drug possession were: 750mg for cocaine (or some 5 doses), 250mg for heroin (some 10 shots), 750mg for ecstasy (five tablets), 500mg for amphetamines and 150mg for LSD.
People caught with more than these quantities automatically face criminal proceedings for dealing unless they can prove that personal use only is intended.
Supporters of the law said it marked the end of tolerance towards cannabis users and affirmed the principle that all drugs are bad. They denied protests that 'recreational' drug users would be penalised.
But critics, particularly on the centre left, said the possession thresholds were far too low and could result in thousands of soft drug users being sent to prison.
They noted that very few European countries define specific quantities as thresholds for criminal proceedings and argued that even in the states that do, the amounts are consistently higher.
In seeking to relax the law with her November decree, Minister Turco said that "we cannot risk thousands of youths being imprisoned or subject to criminal proceedings for having smoked a joint. Unfortunately, that is what has been happening up until now".
The centre-right opposition accused Turco of encouraging drug use.
"This is the thin end of the wedge. The government wants to legalise all drugs," the rightist National Alliance said.
According to recent statistics, 33% of Italian teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 have smoked pot at least once, while 10-12% have tried cocaine, 11% ecstasy and 7-10% crack.
Among adult Italians, almost 10% are reported to use pot on a regular basis.
There are an estimated 300,000-320,000 heroin addicts in Italy, more than 20,000 of whom are in jail.
A cult TV show caused uproar recently by exposing allegedly widespread drug use in parliament itself.
The show Le Iene (The Hyenas) secretly tested 50 MPs last October for drugs, revealing that one in three had apparently taken them in the preceding 36 hours.
A total of 12 tested positive for cannabis and four for cocaine, Le Iene said.
COCAINE ALARM.
Interior Minister Giulio Amato sounded the alarm last month over a rise in cocaine use in particular, saying that "the demand for the drug is frightening... it's gigantic".
Cocaine consumption is believed to be higher in only two other European countries - Britain and Spain.
Experts stressed that the drug was no longer restricted to a wealthy elite.
With average prices ranging from 50-100 euros per gram but falling as low as 30 on the streets of some cities, they said students, secretaries, truck drivers and construction workers were among the new, habitual users.
