Cannabis is a plant which must be distinguished into two chemotypes: one that is non-psychotropic, the characteristic of the hemp originally used for industry and food purposes; and another that is a narcotic, cannabis with high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) used for the production of psychoactive inflorescences.#Although Italian law allows for consuming cannabis with high THC for therapeutic purposes subject to a medical prescription, to date the demand is satisfied almost completely illegally, due to the lack of a legal network of producers and distributors.#As demonstrated by the case of Colorado, the American state in which the production and marketing of cannabis for both medical and adult/recreational use has been liberalized, this is a sector with enormous economic potential, that for Italy, can be estimated at around ten billion euros, currently managed entirely by the black market.