Italy is about to begin a national debate about legalizing marijuana, and one senior official is promising that, should the country forge ahead in regulating and taxing pot, it could be a blow to the Islamic State and the mafia at the same time.
Legislation will be introduced in the Italian parliament next week to remove criminal prohibitions on marijuana, let Italians grow up to five plants at home, and buy cannabis from a state-run monopoly.
If that bill passes, the smuggling route from the northern tip of Africa could be disrupted, according to Franco Roberti, the country's top prosecutor in charge of fighting both the mafia and terrorism.
"Decriminalization or even legalization would definitely be a weapon against traffickers, among whom there could be terrorists who make money off of it," Roberti told Reuters in April.
Roberti says this is because the mafia and "suspected terrorists" share smuggling routes in North Africa, and collaborate to move product into Italy and then throughout Europe.
Sirte, a city in Libya along that route, has been under IS' control since February 2015, though anti-IS rebels are now attempting to regain control of the group's last stronghold in the country.
In some cases, namely drug trafficking and gun running, the two factions end up working together, leading to increased profits for both.
IS uses its cash to purchase arms, pay soldiers' salary, and fund propaganda to lure potential recruits to join the cause, so Roberti believes the group's ability to retain territory in Libya can be partly attributed to the funds acquired through collaboration with organized crime in Italy.
Estimates on the size of the Italian black market for marijuana are hard to pin down, but estimated guesses from both law enforcement and private groups put the figure into the tens of billions of dollars per year. For a country struggling with a debt load that is 33 percent larger than its GDP, that tax revenue could be hugely significant.
https://news.vice.com/article/italy...ld-help-fight-the-islamic-state-and-the-mafia
Legislation will be introduced in the Italian parliament next week to remove criminal prohibitions on marijuana, let Italians grow up to five plants at home, and buy cannabis from a state-run monopoly.
If that bill passes, the smuggling route from the northern tip of Africa could be disrupted, according to Franco Roberti, the country's top prosecutor in charge of fighting both the mafia and terrorism.
"Decriminalization or even legalization would definitely be a weapon against traffickers, among whom there could be terrorists who make money off of it," Roberti told Reuters in April.
Roberti says this is because the mafia and "suspected terrorists" share smuggling routes in North Africa, and collaborate to move product into Italy and then throughout Europe.
Sirte, a city in Libya along that route, has been under IS' control since February 2015, though anti-IS rebels are now attempting to regain control of the group's last stronghold in the country.
In some cases, namely drug trafficking and gun running, the two factions end up working together, leading to increased profits for both.
IS uses its cash to purchase arms, pay soldiers' salary, and fund propaganda to lure potential recruits to join the cause, so Roberti believes the group's ability to retain territory in Libya can be partly attributed to the funds acquired through collaboration with organized crime in Italy.
Estimates on the size of the Italian black market for marijuana are hard to pin down, but estimated guesses from both law enforcement and private groups put the figure into the tens of billions of dollars per year. For a country struggling with a debt load that is 33 percent larger than its GDP, that tax revenue could be hugely significant.
https://news.vice.com/article/italy...ld-help-fight-the-islamic-state-and-the-mafia
