Italy’s escalating crackdown on hemp and CBD has hit Bologna-based Enecta, which saw its main e-commerce site disappear without warning earlier this year—an episode co-founder Jacopo Paolini said is another “wake-up call” for the sector.
Paolini said the takedown, which lasted two full months, was traced to a Ministry of Health Decree from the Directorate General for Animal Health, which alleged that a pet product sold on Enecta’s site contained THC.
“We’ve only ever sold one product for animals (Premium Hemp Oil for Pets), and it doesn’t contain any THC. Lab tests confirm this,” Paolini told HempToday.
The decree did not name the product, contradicted verified lab data, and was never formally delivered to the company, according to Paolini. The block, which eventually cut traffic by more than half, wiped out key search rankings and caused losses of €150,000–€200,000, the company estimated in a blog post. The block, ordered April 29, was officially lifted on June 30, 2025.
“In Italy, a website can be taken offline without prior notice, and that has the same effect as a commercial seizure,” Paolini said.
Hostile climate
While the ministry’s action was not directly related to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s sweeping “Security Decree,” Paolini said Italy’s increasingly restrictive regulatory climate contributed to public confusion and reputational damage. The Meloni decree classified industrial hemp flowers and non-psychoactive cannabinoids such as CBD, CBG, and CBN as narcotics regardless of THC content—directly contradicting European Union law, which allows the free movement of hemp products containing less than 0.3% THC.
The EU position, set out in European Court of Justice rulings and the European Commission’s Cosing database, is that CBD is not a narcotic, is non-psychoactive and non-addictive, and may not be prohibited in member states without scientific evidence of health risks. These principles permit its use in cosmetics and food supplements. Critics say Meloni’s measures blatantly disregard these rules.
Industry backlash
The Italian government’s broader crackdown has alarmed regional agriculture councils, legal scholars, and EU officials, who warn it undermines a €2 billion sector supporting up to 30,000 jobs. Industry groups have launched court challenges, constitutional appeals, and EU complaints, calling the measures “ideological” and “unconstitutional”.
Paolini said Enecta is now working “twice as hard” to restore customer connections, rebuild search visibility, and recover lost sales. “We’re still here, despite everything. And we want this story to be a wake-up call. Because in Italy, even businesses that operate in full compliance with the law can see their economic freedom threatened overnight, without warning and without a factual basis,” he said.
Founded in the Netherlands in 2012 and now headquartered in Bologna, Enecta is a producer and seller of high-concentration cannabinoid products for the medical, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. The company partners with research leaders such as the Giesen Research Group in Holland and Berlin-based Becanex, a well-regarded extractor serving the food and cosmetics sectors. In addition to its genetics division, Enecta develops cannabinoid products that it markets internationally.