In eight out of ten cities there is a grow shop, and there are over 400 shops cannabusiness, from Lombardy which has 67 shops to Rome where there are about 36 shops distributed throughout the province.
According to the magazine Magical Italy, the first and only national guide dedicated to the sector, a growth equal to 300% has been recorded since 2005, with a decisive overall change within the market which has gradually seen the "high" replaced by products for cultivation, textiles and food. It is therefore a rapidly growing economy, which can undoubtedly represent an opportunity with broad business and revenue prospects.
As happens in the USA and many other European countries, in Italy too people turn to the grow shop not only for the purchase of legal psychoactive substances linked to consumption, but also to purchase a whole variety of medical and medicinal, food and textile products, generating a tempting turnover for the entire industrial and entrepreneurial world that is following this trend.
Felice Arletti, chef from the province of Viterbo, owner of Il Calice e la Stella, has been following this path for some time, quickly becoming one of the leading experts at a national level in the use of hemp for food purposes.
How and why did your interest in hemp for food purposes arise?
Jokingly I always say that the love for Hemp is a love that I have cultivated since I was young, but in reality it really is. I live and work in Canepina, formerly Canapina, the only town in Italy that takes its name from this plant.
Suffice it to say that my grandfather grew hemp, my grandmother wove it and from them I received 12 rolls of hemp fabrics as a "wedding gift".
Today I grow it on the same family farm, I have been cooking it since 2012 with pride and passion, and I manage to produce a hemp menu from appetizer to dessert every 4 months.
It all started in 2012, when the World Health Organization certified hemp flour as one of the best found in nature, and the national Ministry of Health authorized its use as a food. Exactly 2 days later I called the Ministry and started to "get my hands dirty", publishing, in 2013, the first menu in Italy entirely dedicated to Hemp.
What products can be made with this raw material?
Hemp is considered the "vegetable pig", because, just like with pigs, nothing is thrown away. In fact, they can be made from bricks for green building to cosmetic products, from shampoos to hand creams, from fabrics to shoes, and above all food products such as oil, hulled seeds, hemp flour with which to make pasta, bread, desserts, second courses , drinks, sweets, in short, everything that includes the variety of edible foods.
(Editor's note: The hemp from which these material and food products are obtained has a very low THC content, the active ingredient in Cannabis responsible for the "high". Therefore, it has no psychotropic effect; its cultivation in Italy is legal and regulated. )
What are the culinary properties of hemp and how can it be used?
Hemp is a food resource rich in numerous organoleptic properties and nutritional values, for example the flour is gluten free, rich in Omega 3, Omega 6 and vitamins B1 and B2, as is hemp oil, one of the few vegetable oils where the balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 is perfectly balanced 3:1, rich in essential fatty acids with strong antioxidant, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. The hemp flour must be mixed together with other flours in percentages varying between 8 and 15%, while the oil must be used raw, its delicate taste slightly reminiscent of hazelnut.
Finally, when using hemp for food purposes, the hulled seeds are the elements with the highest nutritional value, containing approximately 25% of proteins in a unique combination in the plant world of all 9 essential amino acids. They can be used to express milk or as an ingredient to be used as a condiment from appetizers to desserts.
What is the public's approach towards this type of food?
A nice mix of distrust, fear and curiosity, as usually happens with all new things.
However, the provocative irony and the easy jokes with which I presented my dishes in the form of an "Amazing Menu" stimulated a healthy curiosity and the interest in understanding, knowing and trying grew considerably.
Today talking about hemp is easier, in Italy many steps forward have been made. It is talked about on TV, trade fairs are organised, it is available in large retailers, the Internet is full of articles, blogs, institutional sites, but the big step forward is due to the love that grows in each of us towards a healthy diet ; an awareness that leads people to be curious, to inform themselves in order to choose carefully what to eat.
What recognitions have you received as a pioneering chef in the use of hemp?
After 5 years, I went from labels such as Pablo Escobar of the kitchen, to Bob Marley of Cimini until I was invited to the Rai "Prova del Cuoco" to prepare dishes based on hemp. Furthermore, on Gambero Rosso there are two editorials that concern me, as the first Italian chef and restaurateur to have created an entire hemp menu. In 2016 I represented the Lazio Region at the Salone del Gusto in Turin with our excellence and presented my dishes at Eataly Turin. I have held cooking lessons to young students from local hotel schools and have been a guest at numerous conferences on the topic. But the best recognition was managing to organize the first provincial hemp fair in Canepina in May. An opportunity for study, discussion, in-depth analysis and culture at 360°.
What advice do you feel you can give to those who want to undertake this nascent business?
Do it only if you first love this plant, its history and its anthropological value, otherwise it is a crop like any other. In the kitchen, however, my advice is always the same: remember that a dish is judged not only by its goodness, but also by the stories it tells. Make healthy dishes full of stories from the raw material to your catering idea.
Article: https://www.sharingtourism.it/dove-va-il-mercato/canapa-a-scopo-alimentare/
English (UK) 
Italiano 
