Italy gives its army the job of growing medical cannabis

Italy gave an unusual institution the task of supplying its medical-cannabis system: the army. Production began in 2014 at a military pharmaceutical plant on the edge of Florence.

Why the army

The choice joined two requirements. Cannabis needed to be grown in a secure facility, and Italy’s armed forces already had pharmaceutical experience. The Florence plant produced chemical-warfare antidotes, malaria medicines and orphan drugs for conditions that commercial manufacturers did not serve.

The operation is overseen by the Defence Industries Agency, part of the Defence Ministry. It remained a state project even as officials considered private suppliers for additional mother plants.

A controlled crop

Plants grow hydroponically in tightly managed rooms. Technicians control lighting, irrigation, temperature and ventilation so that the resulting medicine has a standard composition and dose. By 2022 the facility had expanded from two growing rooms in 2016 to ten, with six flowering rooms harvesting several times a year.

The army registered two varieties as FM1 and FM2. The initials stand for Farmaceutico Militare, and the products contain different levels of THC. Officials presented standardisation and stable prices as reasons to keep the core operation under state control.

Production falls short

The project started in 2014, produced 50 kilograms in 2020 and reached 300 kilograms in 2022. Defense News reported annual Italian demand at about 1,500 kilograms. The gap was filled by imports from the Netherlands, Canada, Denmark and Germany.

Officials hoped to raise Florence’s output to 700 kilograms in 2023, almost half the estimated need. That was an ambition reported before the production year, not a confirmed result.

A narrow medical channel

Military production did not legalise possession, home growing or recreational supply. It created a controlled domestic source for prescribed cannabis inside Italy’s medical system. The country continued to rely on imported medicine because the state crop did not meet demand.

What moved in the index

The 2014 launch improved legal medical access, raising Italy’s access score from 2 to 3. All five recreational segments stayed unchanged: the army grew standardised medicine for patients, not cannabis for general sale.^[1]