Cannabis Cuisine in Rapallo: A Story and Italian Law

Giuseppe and his trattoria are made up. We wrote this story about the Ligurian coast for fun, not as a report on real people or on anything AMS has seen in Italy. The part about Italian law further down is real, and we link to our sources. In real life, a restaurant serving cannabis dishes to its guests would be breaking Italian law.

A made-up story from Rapallo

The trattoria

Rapallo sits on the Ligurian coast between the sea and the hills, a short train ride from Genoa. In our story there is a small trattoria there run by Giuseppe, an old hippie with a mop of silver hair and more stories than he has tables. Get him talking over a glass of Barolo and he won't stop until the bottle is empty.

His menu is pure Liguria, with Focaccia di Recco, thin and full of soft cheese, and Cappon Magro, the big layered fish and vegetable salad that takes half a day to build. Giuseppe has one more love besides cooking, and it isn't one he puts on the menu board. He likes cannabis.

The greener side of the Alps

Giuseppe is no rebel. He likes a joint the way he likes his espresso: often, and without fuss. He sailed the Ligurian Sea for years and still says a calm day on the water and a slow smoke feel about the same.

When U.C. Sampdoria plays at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, he is in the stands. On quiet evenings he takes his boat out and watches the Mediterranean go dark with a roll-up in his hand.

The unusual chef

In the story, Giuseppe starts playing with cannabis in his cooking. He bakes a Torta verde, the Ligurian green vegetable pie, with a little cannabis butter in the crust, and makes his own Tiramisu alla Cannabis. His friends at the table are surprised at first, then ask for the recipe.

That is where the story and real life part ways. In Italy, handing cannabis food to other people, let alone selling it in a restaurant, is not a grey area. More on that below.

The old hippie's dream

Giuseppe dreams of the day cannabis is as ordinary in Italy as an espresso or a glass of Chianti, something people can share at the table without anyone raising an eyebrow.

At the end of the day the sun goes down over Rapallo, the smell of fresh focaccia drifts out of the kitchen, and Giuseppe sits outside his trattoria with an espresso. He likes to quote an Italian saying: "A tavola non si invecchia", at the table, nobody grows old.

What Italian law actually says

Italy is sometimes described as a country where cannabis is "legal for medical and industrial use". That leaves out a lot.

• Medical cannabis has been available on prescription since a ministerial decree in 2015. Doctors prescribe it, pharmacies prepare it, and the military pharmaceutical plant in Florence grows it (Prohibition Partners, September 2025). It is not something a chef can buy and cook with.
• Personal use is not a crime, but it is still punished with administrative sanctions under article 75 of Presidential Decree 309/1990, Italy's drug law (IDPC, January 2020).
• Growing is a crime in principle. A ruling of the Court of Cassation, reported in January 2020, said that a few plants grown at home with simple methods, only for personal use and with no link to the illegal market, fall outside criminal law. That is a narrow exception decided case by case, not a right to grow (IDPC, January 2020).
• Selling or giving away cannabis, which is what Giuseppe does in the story, stays a criminal offense.
• Hemp flowers ("cannabis light"): the security decree of April 2025 (HempToday, April 2025), converted into law by the Senate on 4 June 2025, bans the trade, processing and transport of hemp flowers and products made from them, such as extracts and oils. Industrial hemp grown from certified seed for fiber, food and cosmetics is still allowed (Il Sole 24 Ore, June 2025).

Italian cannabis law has changed several times and may change again. Check the current rules before relying on anything here. This is not legal advice. Our post on cannabis regulations in Italy and our guide to cannabis laws across Europe go into more detail.

If you cook with cannabis where it is legal

Giuseppe's Torta verde is fiction, but eating cannabis is real, and it behaves very differently from smoking it. The effect comes on slowly. Health Canada says the effects of edibles can be felt within 30 minutes to 2 hours, and the full effect can take up to 4 hours to arrive (Health Canada, Lower your risks, 2019).

The same page advises starting with products that contain 2.5 mg of THC or less and waiting to feel the effects before taking more. With homemade food you rarely know the exact strength of each slice, which is one more reason to go slowly.

• Eat a small piece and wait. Don't take a second one because "nothing is happening yet".
• Label the food clearly and keep it away from children, pets and guests who don't know what it is.
• Don't drive or go out on a boat after eating it.

We are growers and smokers, not doctors, and this is not medical advice. If you want to read more before you start, see how cannabis edibles affect you, our edibles dose chart and how to make cannabutter.

Only grow or cook with cannabis where the law where you live allows it. If it does, the strains below are a few from our range.