In spring 2025, Italy introduced one of the most far-reaching bans on legal hemp products in Europe. Through a security decree, flowers from industrial hemp, and products made from them, were classified as narcotics regardless of their THC content. What had been a growing, regulated industry turned into a legal minefield almost overnight.
For us at Raw Hemp, this is more than a political news story. It is a direct blow to the craft and work that thousands of people in Europe have built up over many years.
Update 2026: The ban still applies, but it is now being challenged in court. Two Italian courts have referred the question to Italy’s Constitutional Court, and a question has also been referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. Since the start of 2026, seizures have largely stopped, and in several cases seized flowers have been returned after lab analysis. No final ruling has been made yet.
At a glance
- The ban was introduced through Decree-Law 48/2025 in April 2025 and became law in June the same year.
- It covers flowers from industrial hemp and products made from them.
- CBD oils that are not made from flowers are still sold in Italy.
- The Court of Justice of the EU has previously ruled that CBD from legal hemp is not a narcotic.
- The ban is now being reviewed by both Italy’s Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the EU.
What does the law mean and why is it so controversial?
Through a security decree, Article 18 of Decree-Law 48/2025, the Italian government chose to ban the trade in and processing of flowers from industrial hemp. This means that products previously sold legally throughout the country are now treated as narcotics, regardless of their THC content.
The decision has been heavily criticised, both for lacking a scientific basis and for possibly conflicting with EU law. In the Kanavape case in 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that CBD lawfully extracted from hemp is not a narcotic, and that a member state may not ban a CBD product lawfully made in another member state without strong justification. The free movement of goods is a cornerstone of the EU single market. You can read more about the rules in other countries in our article Is CBD oil legal in Europe?
What is at stake?
Before the ban, Italy’s hemp industry had an estimated turnover of nearly 2 billion euros a year, and up to 30,000 jobs and more than 3,000 businesses are affected, from small family farms to processors, lab staff and distributors.
For many of these businesses, hemp was not just a business. It was a way of life, a heritage and a way of working the land sustainably. And these are exactly the people we at Raw Hemp work with.
Our growers: craftspeople with heart
Almost all our growers are Italian. We have worked with them for several years and seen their work up close. Their farms are not large-scale factories but small operations where every plant gets attention. Some grow under the sun in Sardinia, others in modern greenhouses with full control over soil, humidity and nutrients.
When the law came into force, many faced a choice: give up or find a way forward. They chose to carry on. Outdoor growers now send whole plants to Czechia, where they are trimmed and finished under legal conditions, and several indoor growers have moved their entire production. You can read about developments in Czechia in our article about Cannafest and Czechia’s path toward legalisation.
For us, this is personal
CBD is not an intoxicant. It is a natural part of hemp, a plant people have used for thousands of years, both culturally and industrially. Banning it without a scientific basis is a step backwards that ignores research, tradition and the individual’s right to choose.
We believe in the whole cannabis plant. Dividing it into good and bad parts does not hold up, whether legally, ethically or botanically. For us it is simple: hemp has a future, and we want to help build it with respect, responsibility and full transparency.
How does this affect you as a customer?
You will hardly notice any difference. We continue to offer the same quality as before, from growers we know personally. Every batch is delivered legally, tested by an independent laboratory and handled with the same care as always. You will find the current range among our CBD flowers.
Behind every delivery today there is more work, adaptation and cooperation, from growers who keep going despite new obstacles. Their commitment is a big part of why we can keep offering what we do.
Sources
- Court of Justice of the EU (2020). Case C-663/18, B S and C A (Kanavape).
- Hemp Today (2025). Italy doubles down on hemp crackdown as court backs oral CBD and flower bans.
- Il Fatto Quotidiano (2026). Cannabis light, decreto sicurezza: 14 dissequestri e rinvio alla Consulta.
- Il Sole 24 Ore, NT+ Diritto. È sulla cannabis il primo rinvio alla Consulta del decreto sicurezza.
