13/03/2026
Former officers, police officers, and members of the military who discovered they could treat their traumas and war wounds with medical cannabis or other substances considered narcotics, and who for this reason decided to take a stand and do their part against prohibition.
The one with Etienne and Neil was just one of the incredible meetings we had in Vienna at the UN Conference on Drugs , the main place of global discussion on drug policies in which we participated in these days because we have consultative status
For a few days, we listened to governments, researchers, and civil society organizations. We followed the plenary debates, the resolutions discussed among states, and the changing positions around the world.
And then we heard Italy talking too.
The speaker was Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano , who reiterated an embarrassing position that takes us back at least thirty years. "Italy remains firmly opposed to the use of narcotics for non-medical and non-scientific purposes. We do not believe that any legal system should recognize the right to use drugs," he said.
The problem is that, listening to the speeches of other countries, one immediately understands how isolated this position is becoming .
Many governments are starting to say one simple thing: drug policies must be based on science, public health, and human rights.
One of this year's most important resolutions, promoted by Finland and Norway , starts right here: problematic consumption, overdoses and substance-related infections are increasing worldwide, while the majority of people with pathological addictions who need treatment cannot access it.
For this reason, the text calls on states to invest more in evidence-based prevention, access to treatment services, research into effective treatments, and also in reducing incarceration.
In short: look at drug use first and foremost as a public health issue .
While this debate grows, Italy seems to remain stuck in a prohibitionist paradigm that's increasingly being challenged around the world. We've seen it at home, too, with regulations that have even affected industrial h**p, which has no psychoactive effects.
The feeling, leaving the conference hall, is clear: the global debate is changing, albeit slowly . And it's truly frustrating to see our country stuck in medieval positions.
