Anyone who sells a joint will be punished in the same way as someone who sells large quantities of drugs. The amendment of the Brothers of Italy, wanted by Senator Marco Lisei, attempted to eliminate the "minor" mitigating factor for all cases in which there is a transfer of money. Therefore putting a consumer who does a favor and a drug trafficker on the same level.
The text asked to modify article 73 of the Consolidated Law on Narcotics. Article that predicts today reduced sentences for those who produce, pass, sell or transfer narcotics on a "small scale".
In fact, while drug dealing has a variable penalty from 6 to 20 years in prison, for mild cases it ranges from 6 months to 4 years. Same thing for the fine, which drops from 26 thousand-260 thousand euros to 1,032-10,329 euros.
Fortunately, however, after an initial favorable opinion, the government took a step back, presenting a new amendment which maintains the case is minor, but not increases but the minimum sentence foreseen. In fact, from the 6 months mentioned above we will move to a minimum of 18.
Removing the small entity means (further) criminalizing simple consumers
Brothers of Italy wanted to condemn all cases where there was one exchange of money, declaring that "facts aimed at profit cannot be considered minor".
For his part, the Secretary of +Europa Riccardo Magi he had defined the proposal as "legal madness", underlining that: "Already today in seven out of ten cases one ends up in prison, even with the application of the slightest amount. The measure will therefore "even more favor the entry into prison of many consumers who may have purchased the substance together with others. It will not limit the consumption of substances or reduce their circulation, nor will it undermine the interests of the large organizations that control their trafficking."
Finally, ithe leader of the Democratic Party in the Justice Committee Alfredo Bazoli, had commented: "This puts Pablo Escobar and the student who resells a joint to his partner on the same level. It violates the principle of proportionality, and is clearly unconstitutional. Furthermore, we end up filling Italian prisons with somewhat careless students."
