Drug trafficking in Italy is governed by Presidential Decree No. 309 of 1990 (DPR 309/90), with Article 73 setting prison terms of six to twenty years for heavy drugs like heroin and cocaine and two to six years for light drugs like cannabis, alongside heavy fines, a separate reduced bracket for minor offenses, and a distinct, harsher offense for organized trafficking groups. Italy’s drug trafficking laws also carry aggravating circumstances that can push sentences well above the base ranges, asset confiscation powers that reach beyond the drugs themselves, and serious immigration consequences for foreign nationals.
How Substances Are Classified
Penalties under DPR 309/90 are not uniform. They depend on which of five tables a substance falls under. Tables I and III cover what Italian law treats as heavy drugs: heroin, cocaine, synthetic opioids, amphetamines, and similar substances. Tables II and IV cover light drugs, primarily cannabis and its derivatives. A fifth table lists medicines with recognized therapeutic uses that still require controlled dispensing.
This heavy-versus-light split is the single most important variable in a trafficking case, because it determines which penalty bracket applies. The Ministry of Health updates the tables by decree whenever new psychoactive substances appear on the market, so a substance that was unregulated last year can become criminal overnight.1United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Drug Laws Individual Listing for Italy
Trafficking Penalties Under Article 73
Article 73 covers the full chain of trafficking conduct: unauthorized cultivation, production, extraction, refining, transport, sale, and distribution. The core penalty ranges are:
- Heavy drugs (Tables I and III): six to twenty years in prison and fines of €26,000 to €260,000.2European Union Drugs Agency. Drug Trafficking Penalties Across the European Union
- Light drugs (Tables II and IV): two to six years in prison and fines of €5,164 to €77,468.
Where a defendant lands inside these ranges depends on the scale of the operation, their role in it, the quantity and purity of the substance, and the geographic reach of the distribution. A courier moving a small shipment across a provincial border sits at a very different point on the scale than the organizer of a multi-country supply chain.
Minor Offenses: Article 73, Paragraph 5
Article 73, paragraph 5 creates a reduced bracket for offenses that qualify as minor in nature. The same reduced bracket applies whether the substance is heavy or light. Judges decide whether a case qualifies by looking at the quantity and quality of the drug, the methods of sale, and the overall context. A person caught selling a few doses in a casual, unorganized way is more likely to fall here than someone found with scales, packaging, and a customer list.
The 2023 Decreto Caivano tightened this bracket. The maximum prison sentence rose from four to five years, and the decree split the minimum by frequency of conduct: six months for a first, occasional offense and eighteen months for repeated low-level dealing. Both share the five-year ceiling.
For defendants convicted under paragraph 5 who are drug-dependent or habitual users, a judge may substitute imprisonment with community service that can include treatment. This substitution is available no more than twice for the same person.3European Union Drugs Agency. Penalties for Drug Law Offences at a Glance
Aggravating Circumstances
Article 80 identifies conditions that push sentencing above the base ranges. When one applies, the penalty increases by one-third to one-half. The most common triggers:
- Selling to a buyer under 18.
- Trafficking in or near schools or places where young people gather.
- Carrying or displaying weapons during the offense.
- Three or more participants in the specific act.
- Cutting drugs with toxic substances that create additional health hazards.
The Huge Quantity Enhancement
A separate enhancement applies when authorities seize what the law calls an enormous quantity. For heavy drugs, this can push the minimum sentence to twenty years. Italian courts measure the threshold not by raw weight but by active ingredient. For cannabis, the Supreme Court set a reference threshold of two kilograms of active principle in Sezioni Unite ruling 14722/2020. Crossing that line does not trigger the enhancement automatically; the judge must still evaluate the dangerousness of the conduct and its potential impact on public health. Falling below it generally takes the aggravator off the table.
Organized Trafficking Under Article 74
Article 74 treats organized trafficking as a separate offense from the individual acts in Article 73. When three or more people form a stable group aimed at committing multiple drug offenses, the existence of the group is itself a crime, regardless of whether any specific sale was completed.
- Leaders, promoters, and organizers: minimum twenty years.
- Regular members: minimum ten years.
Penalties rise further if the association has more than ten members or includes armed participants. Prosecutors must prove a stable, ongoing agreement to commit a continuing series of drug offenses, which is what distinguishes an Article 74 case from a conspiracy charge built around a single transaction. The provision targets the organizational infrastructure of trafficking rings, not only the people who handle the drugs.
Asset Seizure and Confiscation
Italian drug law reaches well past prison and fines. Authorities can seize vehicles, boats, and aircraft connected to drug offenses and reassign them to police forces for anti-trafficking operations. Proceeds from the sale of seized assets go to the Ministry of Health for addiction treatment and rehabilitation, and confiscated cash is redirected to fund enforcement.
Beyond these drug-specific tools, Italian law allows “extended confiscation” in serious cases. When someone convicted of a drug trafficking offense holds assets disproportionate to their declared income and cannot explain the source, courts can confiscate the excess. The Decreto Caivano extended this power to minor offenses under Article 73, paragraph 5. In sentenza n. 166/2025, the Constitutional Court held that judges must not apply confiscation automatically and must evaluate each case individually.4Sistema Penale. Reati di Lieve Entita in Materia di Stupefacenti (73 c. 5) e Confisca Allargata a Seguito del Decreto Caivano
Where Personal Possession Fits
Trafficking charges under Article 73 are distinct from personal possession, which Italian law treats as an administrative matter under Article 75, with sanctions such as suspension of a driver’s license, firearms license, passport, or residence permit, but no criminal record or prison time.3European Union Drugs Agency. Penalties for Drug Law Offences at a Glance The dividing line between the two turns on whether drugs were intended for personal use or for sale. The Ministry of Health sets quantitative thresholds for each substance; falling below shifts the presumption toward personal use, while exceeding it points toward trafficking. Quantity alone is not decisive, though. Police and prosecutors also consider the presence of scales, packaging, large amounts of cash, multiple phones, and whether the drugs were divided into individual doses ready for sale.
Consequences for Foreign Nationals
A trafficking conviction creates serious immigration consequences for non-Italian residents. Under Article 4 of the Consolidated Immigration Law (Decreto Legislativo 286/98), drug trafficking is an “impediment offense” that can block the issuance or renewal of a residence permit, even before a conviction becomes final. Entry into Italy can be denied outright to anyone convicted of narcotics trafficking.
These consequences are not automatic. Authorities must assess individual circumstances, including family ties in Italy and efforts at rehabilitation. Permits issued for family reasons cannot be denied solely on the basis of an offense, and permits for medical treatment can be maintained in cases of serious illness. After Constitutional Court decision 88/2023, a conviction for a minor offense under Article 73, paragraph 5 no longer counts as an impediment offense for residence permit purposes.
Expulsion is prohibited in several situations: where the person faces persecution or torture in their country of origin, has close family members who are Italian citizens, is pregnant or has recently given birth, or has serious health conditions untreatable in their home country. Even when expulsion is legally available, the process requires individual assessment by a supervisory magistrate rather than automatic removal.