Italy's constitutional law shutters drug law-spurred prison crowding

On Wednesday, the constitutional court of Italy had struck down a drug law that was blamed to have increased the number of prisoners in Italian jails. The law, which was passed by the conservative government of Silvio Berlusconi, tripled the sentence terms of convicted felons for cultivating, selling or possessing marijuana.

The constitutional court said the drug law was unconstitutional, but failed to provide reasons that supported its decision to strike it down, Reuters said. According to some estimates, 10,000 prisoners could be released soon from jail as a result of the law strike-down.

Prison rights group Antigone was quoted by the news agency, who said that the law caused 40% of all inmates in prisons in Italy to serve their sentences for crimes related to cannabis. Official data also revealed that jails in Italy are the most crowded in the Euro Zone, which 62,000 detainees currently serving their sentences in cells that were built to house for a little less than 48,000.

Berlusconi's drug law had classified marijuana and hashih in the same field as with heroin and cocaine, which raised sentences from 2-6 years in prison for trafficking, sale and cultivation to 6-20 years in prison.

Reuters said that after the court ruling, the previous law to Berlusconi's will take place automatically, which stated that hard drugs like cocaine and heroin carry heavier sentences than that of marijuana and cannabis. It is to note that neither of the laws had made consummation of cannabis as a criminal offense but both outlawed the possession of what is regarded as a soft drug.

Human rights group Society of Reason Franco Corleone told Reuters, "The so-called drug war as conceived in North America has been lost and it's time to return to rational rules that distinguish between substances."

Italian Senator Carlo Giovanardi, who was one of the original proponents of the harsh drug law, said "(The ruling was a) devastating choice from a scientific viewpoint and in the message it sends to young people that some drugs are less dangerous than others".

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Silvio Berlusconi, Italian government, Italian constitutional government

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