In February the Italian Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the law on drugs that had been in force since 2006, when it was introduced by the government of Silvio Berlusconi. The decision brought into question whether or not those already sentenced under the old law should have their punishments commuted, as the law now in force is less repressive than the invalidated one. Yesterday the Italian Court of Cassation decided that prior sentences should be commuted under the guidelines of the new law, which means thousands of detainees are expected to leave prison in the near future.