Author: Dr Yoshinori SENUMA

Switzerland could legalize the use of cannabis for non-medical purposes for adults. The National Health Committee has adopted a preliminary draft for a new special law by 14 votes to 9, report RTS.*

Currently, the cultivation, manufacture, trade and use of cannabis for non-medical purposes are prohibited. Consumption is punishable by a fine.*

Since 2023, people who already use cannabis can acquire it in a controlled manner as part of time-limited pilot trials. However, the vast majority of consumers obtain their supplies from the illegal market.*

Special law*

An unsatisfactory situation, the commission said in a press release on Friday. The prohibitive approach is wrong. According to a majority, strictly regulated access to cannabis and a controlled market would better protect public health, strengthen youth protection and improve security. The population would be better protected against the harmful effects of cannabis, and young people would be dissuaded from consuming it.*

The commission proposes to regulate cannabis consumption in a new special law. Cannabis must continue to be considered a narcotic, because its consumption is harmful to health.*

Without encouraging consumption, the law must regulate the cultivation, manufacture and trade of cannabis. Cannabis products must be subject to an incentive tax in order to limit consumption and direct it towards less risky forms. This tax depends on the THC content and the type of consumption.*

No sales to minors*

The new law provides that the distribution and sale of cannabis to minors is prohibited. Adults residing in Switzerland are authorized to grow a maximum of three plants for self-supply purposes. They can buy, possess and consume cannabis. The rules for protection against passive smoking apply.*

Commercial production for profit is permitted, but strict conditions must be met. Advertising for cannabis products is prohibited, including for seeds or accessories. Packaging must be neutral.*

The points of sale, limited, must hold a concession. The sale must not pursue a profit motive. Any profits must be allocated to prevention, harm reduction and help in the event of addiction.* The entire supply chain must be monitored by an electronic tracking system. Persons who supply on the illegal market will be exposed to harsher sanctions than today.*

Wrong signal, says minority*

A minority of the committee is opposed to the proposed amendment on principle. In their opinion, lifting the ban on cannabis for non-medical purposes would send a very bad signal.*

If cannabis were regulated, the population, and especially young people, would think that it was an ordinary good, they believe. This would encourage consumption and make effective protection of young people impossible.*

A consultation should be opened after the summer.*

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While the legalization of cannabis is underway in several countries, it presents a mixed initial assessment in Germany. Due to the lack of legal production, the black market remains flourishing and crime has even increased against a backdrop of turf wars, report RTS.*

Since April 1, 2024, Germans can possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for their personal consumption. However, the black market remains their main source of supply, because the vast majority of “Cannabis Social Clubs”, the associations authorized to produce the plant, are still waiting for their permits.*

“The current situation is super frustrating,” says Nico Schack, founder of one of these clubs, in the 7:30 p.m. news. “We were happy about legalization, but its implementation is a disaster!”*

Three hundred permits are currently being processed in Germany, and only a handful of them have been issued. The cause is administrative delays, but above all a poorly thought-out law: consumption was legalized before production.*

International networks are taking advantage*

Nico Schack’s “Bunte Blüte” has still not been able to start production, with a target of 21 kg per month, while demand is higher than ever. So it is the black market that is benefiting.*

“Legally, I now have the right to walk around with 25 grams. Obviously, since they are individual bags, the cops suspect that I am selling cannabis. But judges, prosecutors and the police no longer want to deal with these files, because it creates paperwork”, says a Berlin seller.*

This situation therefore represents a godsend for organized crime. Especially since, according to the authorities, drug traffickers in the Netherlands are looking to expand their activities in Germany. In the Cologne region (west), rival gangs have been engaged in a turf war since this summer. A dozen bombs have even exploded in front of shops.*

No legal production before 2025*

“The range of dealers has expanded, the range of consumers too,” warns Alexander Poitz, member of the Federal Police Union (GdP). “This means that the black market in Germany is expanding and the margins have become much larger.”*

A windfall that traffickers will be able to take advantage of for several more months, because the first legal harvests will not be available before 2025 in Germany.*

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The US government officially launched a process on Thursday to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous substance. This turning point was expected, because the recreational and medical use of cannabis is already legal in 24 American states., report RTS.*

The US Department of Justice has proposed removing cannabis from Category 1 of substances considered at the federal level to be highly addictive and without legal use for medical purposes. Category 1 is the highest in the nomenclature and includes heroin, LSD and ecstasy.*

The government is now proposing to list cannabis in category 3, which concerns substances presenting a moderate to low risk of dependence. These include, above all, certain codeine medications.*

The proposal will be subject to decision by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).*

“This decision is monumental”

The official action by the American government in this matter is not a surprise, as initial information to this effect leaked at the end of April.*

The recreational and medical use of cannabis is legal in 24 American states. Added to this are several states in which its consumption is only authorized for medical purposes. But still being classified among the most addictive substances, this hemp derivative remains likely to result in federal prosecution for possessors or sellers.*

“This decision is monumental,” reacted Thursday the organization defending the rights of African-Americans NAACP on the social network X (formerly Twitter). “Far too many Black Americans have been victims of a system designed to be their downfall. We support the decriminalization of cannabis.”*

No legalization*

A reclassification does not necessarily mean legalization, but it would likely reduce the number of arrests at the federal level.*

“No one should be in prison just for using or possessing marijuana, period,” US President Joe Biden said in a video released Thursday.*

The change in category would also allow companies cultivating and marketing cannabis to be able to deduct their operating expenses from their tax base, which is prohibited today.*

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Lausanne draws an initial “very encouraging” assessment of its controlled cannabis sales premises. This place called Cann-L is generating some enthusiasm after four months of opening. Questioned Tuesday in the 12:30 p.m., municipal Emilie Moeschler is delighted with the first results of this experiment, report RTS.*

Cann-L now welcomes 800 consumers, who must be registered to purchase organic resins and herbs grown in a secret location in the region. Some 330 other people are waiting to be included and around thirty interested people make appointments each week.*

Being able to acquire cannabis in this location comes with participation in a study based on questionnaires.*

A question of public health*

“The first results are very encouraging”, declares Emilie Moeschler at the RTS microphone. “A lot of people came to register. The feedback from people registered in this regulated sales pilot project tells us how much they appreciate being able to buy controlled, quality products outside the illegal market, as well as the possibility of “be supported and advised on risk reduction”, explains the Lausanne municipal authority in charge of Social Cohesion.*

“This is the aim of this trial, oriented towards public health and non-profit. We should reach between 1200 and 1500 participants at the end of the year”, underlines the elected socialist.*

Consumers can also get contacts if they need help. Around twenty people spontaneously contacted the referring doctor at the CHUV. To date, only one person has excluded themselves from the project. This is a woman who gave up cannabis use when she learned she was pregnant.*

Cann-L is aimed at adults living in Lausanne and already consumers of cannabis. Among the 800 participants, 78% are men and nearly 70% have been consuming this plant for more than 10 years, describes the City of Lausanne. A little more than half take it daily or almost daily. The youngest person is 18, the oldest 80. The average age is 37.*

Products with a high THC level*

The self-financing objective should soon be reached, the Lausanne authorities also announce. A little more than half of sales concern products with a high THC level, between 15 and 20%. “The participants in this trial say they are moving towards products with THC levels a little lower than when they obtained cannabis on the black market,” notes Emilie Moeschler.*
The quantities of legal cannabis sold have continued to increase since the opening at the end of the year. In March, eight kilos of cannabis were sold, the equivalent of approximately 10% of the monthly illegal market. Data to assess the impact of regulated sales on the black market is still lacking, indicates Emilie Moeschler. More precise assessments are expected by the end of the year.*

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After Malta in 2021 and Luxembourg last year, Germany on Monday became the largest EU country to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, with a reform that raises as many expectations as fears, reports RTS.*

At midnight, the time of the first “legal” joints, several hundred people celebrated the change in law in plumes of smoke in front of the emblematic Brandenburg Gate, in the heart of Berlin. Possession of 25 grams of dried cannabis is now authorized in public places, as well as cultivation at home, up to 50 g and three plants per adult.*

A different approach from that of the Netherlands, where the consumption of hashish is not legal but tolerated, in particular through “coffeeshops”. Paradoxically, you will have to wait another three months in Germany to legally buy drugs via a “Cannabis Social Club”.*

Maximum of 25 grams per day*

Hence the warning in the meantime from Georg Wurth, representative of the German hemp federation: despite legalization “the consumer must not tell the policeman where he bought his cannabis” in the event of a control in the Street.*

“Because from April 1 we can in principle only obtain drugs illegally,” he said in an interview with AFP. The situation will really change on July 1 with the clubs. These non-profit associations will be able to sell to their members a maximum of 25 grams per day and no more than 50 grams per month.*

Shared cannabis gardens*

These clubs, a sort of shared cannabis garden, will be able to cultivate the drug on land outside, in a greenhouse, in an uninhabited building. Controlled at least once a year by the authorities, each association will be able to accommodate, in return for a contribution, a maximum of 500 people who have been residing in Germany for at least 6 months.*

According to the government, the new legislation, ardently desired by environmentalists and liberals in the coalition of Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz, should make it possible to fight more effectively against trafficking. Believing that the policy of prohibition has failed, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach regularly argues that countries like Canada, which have implemented legalization, have been able to reduce the black market.*

But many medical associations fear an increase in consumption, particularly among young people. Up to the age of 25, cannabis consumption carries increased risks for the brain which is still forming, according to experts, who point out in particular the danger of developing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.*

Prohibited under 18*

For Katja Seidel, specialist in addiction prevention at the Tannenhof Center in Berlin, the new law is “a catastrophe”. The German Minister of Health has promised increased means to educate young people about the dangers of cannabis, without announcing precise amounts.*

The authorities argue that cannabis remains prohibited for those under 18. Its consumption is also within a radius of 100 meters around schools, nurseries, playgrounds. The police are also up in arms against what they consider a “bureaucratic monster with a lot of piecemeal regulations”, according to the president of the branch union (DPolG), Rainer Wendt.*

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After the cities of Basel, Zurich and Lausanne, as well as the canton of Geneva, the canton of Zurich will launch the controlled sale of cannabis on May 2. With 7,500 participants expected, it is the largest pilot project of this type in Switzerland, reports RTS.*

The University of Zurich and the Zurich Polytechnic are responsible for the scientific evaluation of the pilot project in the canton of Zurich, which has been authorized by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). The study is expected to last five years and will cost around 1.4 million francs, Paul-Lukas Good, president of Swiss Cannabis Research, said on Monday.*

According to Andreas Beerli from the ETH Zurich’s Center for Economic Research, the scientific focus is on the social and economic consequences of cannabis consumption. It will thus be possible to study whether legal cannabis has a positive effect on health and educational attainment. It will also be a question of identifying whether ease of access to cannabis increases consumption.*

Pharmacies and points of sale*

Participants will be able to obtain cannabis in pharmacies and points of sale in 34 municipalities in the canton. Three kinds of cannabis will be available with THC contents of 15%, 9% and 6%, said Paul Lukas Good.*

Participants will be divided into three groups of 2,500 people each. Two groups will have access to regulated cannabis and the third will continue to obtain products on the black market. Andreas Beerli hopes that the comparison between these groups will make it possible to draw conclusions on the effect of regulated sales and to identify differences between town and country or in the age of consumers.*

The cities of Basel, Zurich and Lausanne and the canton of Geneva have already launched their trials. They were authorized by the OFSP. Similar projects are also planned in Bern and St. Gallen.

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Buying cannabis or growing it at home for pleasure will be legal from April 1 in Germany. The German Parliament definitively voted on Friday, after intense debates, one of the most liberal laws in Europe, reports RTS.*

This flagship law for the government of Social Democratic Chancellor (SPD) Olaf Scholz was adopted by 407 votes to 226, after having been the subject of numerous criticisms and a heated debate in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.*

The regulations provide for authorizing the purchase of cannabis in limited quantities of a maximum of 25 grams per day through non-profit associations. It will also be possible to grow up to three plants for your own use. However, the possession and consumption of this drug will remain strictly prohibited for young people under the age of 18.*

With this new law, Germany follows in the footsteps of Malta and Luxembourg, which legalized recreational cannabis in 2021 and 2023 respectively.*

Subject to debate*

The project was the subject of dissension within the tripartite government: resistance appeared among the social democrats, while the Greens and the liberals of the FDP, their partners in the government, were rather favorable.*

This reform has also given rise to numerous criticisms, particularly from medical associations and the judiciary. The current law provides for a fine and, in the most serious cases, up to prison sentences, for possession of cannabis.*

Population not entirely supportive*

The Germans seem rather divided on the question: according to a poll published Friday, 47% of those questioned are in favor of legalization and 42% are unfavorable.*

For the government, the reform must make it possible to fight more effectively against the black market, a point contested by the conservative opposition, the police unions and certain SPD deputies.*

Consumption remains prohibited near minors, schools, nurseries and sports facilities. The cultivation and distribution of cannabis will only be possible from July 1 via associations called “Cannabis Clubs”.*

These clubs will be able to sell a maximum of 25 grams per day and no more than 50 grams per month to their members, 500 people at most. Only adults can become members. Between 18 and 21 years old, they will only be able to obtain 30 grams per month of cannabis with a level of active ingredient THC limited to 10%.*

These clubs will also be responsible for distributing cannabis seeds and cuttings to their members for home cultivation, up to a maximum of seven seeds or five cuttings.*

Awareness campaign*

Recognizing that overconsumption of cannabis could be “dangerous” for young people, whose brains develop up to the age of 25, the Minister of Health announced that an awareness campaign would be put in place.*

Secondly, the sale should be legalized in specialized stores under a new law which will allow this process to first be tested in certain regions, not yet designated, for five years.*

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