Cannabis and cannabinoids in Switzerland

Global business and regulatory news covering the cannabis industry

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6th November 2024: Switzerland: The Federal Department of Home Affairs is amending Annex 6 of the Narcotics List Ordinance to include synthetic cannabinoids. Industrial and scientific use is excluded. Substances in Annex 6 are treated as narcotics, which means that trade, production and use are illegal. The amendment is already in force.
9th September 2024: Switzerland: The city of Zurich has published a media release on the one-year anniversary of Züri Can, the pilot project for the distribution of recreational cannabis in the city. To date, the project has about 2,100 participants and 21 dispensaries and has made around 36,000 sales. After feedback from participants, four new flower products will be introduced for the second year of sales – which will make 13 cannabis products available in total.
4th July 2024: Switzerland: An initial evaluation of the legal distribution of recreational cannabis as a pilot project in Basel, known as the Grashaus Projects study, has shown that participants have increasingly used lower-risk products such as vapes and edibles compared to smoking, press reports. In addition, participants said they had consumed significantly less cannabis from illegal sources since the start of the study.
2nd May 2024: Switzerland: A popular initiative has been submitted to the Swiss Federal Chancellery to amend the constitution by adding a new article legalising the cultivation, possession and personal use of recreational cannabis. The amendment includes the commercialisation and sale with a licence and allows the home cultivation of 50 cannabis plants and storage of up to 3 kg. According to the press, 40 members of the National Council from all parliamentary groups were among the signatories of the initiative. The committee established for the initiative must collect 100,000 signatures by 30th October 2025, to be analysed by the Federal Council.
10th April 2024: Switzerland: The city of Lucerne has started to register participants in the pilot project for the sale of recreational cannabis. Participants will be able to obtain cannabis products such as flower, hashish, e-liquids and tinctures, which have been specially produced for the study, tested in laboratories and packaged in neutral packaging, from designated pharmacies for a maximum of 24 months. Sales of the products are expected to begin in summer 2024.
8th April 2024: Switzerland: This week, the recreational cannabis project starts in the city of Bern. Around 700 study participants will take part in the project and will be able to buy cannabis in selected pharmacies. The products available include flowers, resins, sprays and e-liquids. The study will examine the effects of a combined sales and counselling intervention on users’ behaviour and health, and the resulting scientific evidence will contribute to the debate on future cannabis policy in Switzerland.
26th March 2024: Switzerland: The canton of Basel-Stadt has published the first results of the pilot project for the sale of cannabis for non-medical purposes, which started in January 2023. A total of 378 people were involved in the project and 41 kg of cannabis was sold in pharmacies. In addition to the flower and hash products available, 67% of participants said they wanted other products such as edibles, THC oil and e-liquids. The head of the project said: "Overall, no incidents and no increase in cannabis use were found during the first year of the study". The study will last until July 2025 and a final report will be prepared for a future discussion on a national cannabis policy.
19th March 2024: Switzerland: The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has given its approval to the canton of Zurich to sell recreational cannabis as a pilot project, media reports. Allegedly, it would be the largest study to date carried out in the country, with 5,000 participants over five years. Sales will be allowed in specialist shops and pharmacies in seven municipalities from May 2024. The aim of the study is to examine the economic and social effects of cannabis legalisation. Other similar pilot projects have already been launched in the cities of Zurich, Basel and Lausanne, as well as in the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Geneva and Basel-Landschaft.
18th March 2024: Switzerland: The University of Zurich has published the first results of the Züri Can project, one of the pilot projects for the sale of cannabis for non-medical purposes, which started on 22nd August 2023. The results show that 21 outlets were available (10 pharmacies, 10 cannabis clubs and 1 drug information centre), 1,928 people participated in the project, and 16,500 sales of flower and hashish were made.
12th December 2023: Switzerland: Following the approval by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) in October 2023 to carry out pilot projects for the controlled distribution of recreational cannabis, the first of two cannabis dispensaries has opened in the municipality of Allschwil. It is said to be the first legal cannabis shop in Europe, and 3,950 people are participating in the project. The prices of cannabis flowers vary between CHF8 (€8) and CHF12 (€12), depending on THC content. Other pilot projects, such as those in Zurich and Basel-Stadt, have already been approved by the FOPH and products have been sold in pharmacies.
2nd November 2023: Switzerland: The Federal Council has issued a report, at the request of the National Council, to examine “how the various forms of the hemp plant (cannabis) could be made more economically usable and how a contemporary and comprehensive cannabis regulation could be enacted”. In summary, the Federal Council does not consider a comprehensive regulation of cannabis and hemp to be appropriate, since a specific law would encompass areas that are already regulated by other laws, such as cannabis for medical purposes. On the other hand, recreational cannabis should be regulated in a new special law, taking into account the experiences of the pilot tests currently being conducted.
25th October 2023: Switzerland: The German Sanity Group and the Swiss Institute for Addiction and Health Research (ISGF) have received final approval from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) to carry out a pilot project for the controlled distribution of recreational cannabis in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, more specifically in the towns of Allschwil and Liestal. Allegedly, this is the first time that the FOPH has granted permission to a foreign company with commercial interests to operate the cannabis dispensaries for the pilot projects. Other pilot projects, such as those in Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva, have already been approved by the FOPH.

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