Kristen Withrow

Drugs and Society

Comparative Policies Paper
Italian vs. United States Drug Legislation
When looking at the big picture, Italian history on drug policies has roots of less
criminalization and more rehabilitation. While there have been laws established and they do
operate under a similar structure of categories, technically Italian law has no applied limit on
usage and traffic. Rather, it is left up to judicial authorities to carefully craft punishable behaviors
by penal sanctions. What is prohibited under the administrative sanction include the drug
possession, acquisition, and their importation for personal usage which will be detailed in the
following paragraphs.
In Italy, they have a series of lists, ranging in numbers from 1 through 6 of drug
categories that vary in penal sanctions. In the United States our Substance Scheduling is much
different because the lower the number, the more punishable under federal law; however, Italy
operates under a less rigid series of systems (Administration, n.d.). List I including opiates and
cocaine derivatives as well as list III including highly addictive barbiturates are more severely
punishable than those listed in list II which include cannabis or even list IV comprised of
medical substances (n.a., Drug Treatment Overview for Italy, 2014). They do not feel a drug like
marijuana for instance is as dangerous as things we do like LSD, heroin, ecstasy, etc. And
although they have it on their classified list, trends show marijuana usage is less punishable
under local law.

It comes as no surprise that the United States has a youth population growing with
increased marijuana usage (n.a., Drug Facts: Nationwide Trends, 2014). According to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug usage has the highest rates among those in their late teens
and twenties. Both Italy and the US share a similar demographic trend yet Italian rates are
growing at a slower rate than that of our own. Interestingly, rumors seem to be circulating that
the Italian army grows its own marijuana in order to lower pricing. (Sabin, 2014) Reason
backing this decision would be to halt medicinal dealers from funding the illegal street deals that
go on. Medicinal marijuana was legalized in Italy a year ago and as of currently, pharmaceutical
pricing has many users paying high prices since costs are not covered by the state. The country
plans to offer low-cost cannabis yet come to a bit of a hurdle reducing stigma among the
predominantly Catholic culture (Sabin, 2014).
In late 2011, the US and IT signed an agreement to share research that will allow a
collaborative effort in discoveries of prevention, treatment, abuse, and addiction of drugs (Italy
and US reach drug abuse research record, 2011). The methods are said to include screening to
recognize initial onset, momentary intervention, and a progressive approach to new treatment,
especially for adolescents and young adults (Italy and US reach drug abuse research record,
2011). With this measure set in place, the objective is to reduce substance abuse worldwide (Italy
and US reach drug abuse research record, 2011).
One thing Italians certainly do not have a stigma over is alcohol consumption. They too
have made it commonplace to obtain tobacco and alcoholic products without legal repercussions,
assuming one meets the age minimum (n.a., Drug Treatment Overview for Italy, 2014). Wine is
common place and flows nearly as freely as the continuous water fountains lining the sidewalks.
Alcohol is built into the Italian culture just as tobacco with their high consumption of cigarettes.

There is a supposed legal purchasing age of 16 years or greater for both alcohol as well as
cigarettes; however, after studying abroad there I can attest that it is a policy few if any
individuals practice. As far as consumption goes, individuals of all ages can engage as there is no
set limit. It seems to boil down to parental control. Interestingly, while they do not have open
container laws, they do have a purchasing cut off at 10 pm. Interestingly enough, teens in Italy
who engage in drinking do not face the stigma they would perhaps over here in America.
As for the United States, we still carry heavy stigma in our drug policy based upon the
war on drugs slogan. A policy that has been established since 1971 under President Nixon and
evolves at a modest rate, generously phrased. By now it comes as no surprise, Americas
stringent drug policies have not accomplished their intentioned goals, but perhaps even caused
more strain on the nation. The numbers are striking. Despite our rigorous enforcement on illegal
drug consumption, possession, and dealing, we have the highest levels of abuse. Not only that.
But all the other nations with more lax drug policies have lower numbers of abuse amidst the
drug culture. Acknowledging the demographics of users, we cannot attribute it to varying
population age brackets because Italy shares a concentration among the adolescent and young
adult inhabitants (n.a., Drug Facts: Nationwide Trends, 2014). We have the highest
criminalization approach to users with less than beneficial results. If we wish to limit the influx
of inmates, future legislation must have similar structure built from other nations around the
world in focusing attention on rehabilitation.

Bibliography
Administration, U. D. (n.d.). United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Retrieved from United States Drug Enforcement Administration:
http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml
Italy and US reach drug abuse research record. (2011, October). Retrieved from
Fogarty International Center:

http://www.fic.nih.gov/News/GlobalHealthMatters/Sept-Oct-2011/Pages/italynida-agreement.aspx
n.a. (2014, January). Drug Facts: Nationwide Trends. Retrieved from National
Institute on Drug Abuse:
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends
n.a. (2014, May 19). Drug Treatment Overview for Italy. Retrieved from European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
Sabin, L. (2014, October 14). Marijuana to be grown by Italian army in order to
bring the price down. The Independent. Retrieved from
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/marijuana-to-be-grown-byitalian-army--in-order-to-bring-the-price-down-9794089.html