Switzerland lifts the ban on medicinal cannabis
The Swiss government announced on June 22 that it will lift the ban on medicinal cannabis under an amendment to the law Swiss Narcotics Act that Parliament will approve in March 2021 Agence France Pressthe government intends to “facilitate patient access to cannabis for medicinal purposes”.
“The decision to use a cannabis-based drug for therapeutic purposes is up to the doctor in consultation with the patient,” the government said of the change. From August 1st, patients no longer need to obtain a permit from the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG). However, the sale and use of adult cannabis will remain illegal.
In Switzerland, Medicinal cannabis is only allowed for patients with a doctor’s approval, or previously required approval of the BAG. However, medical cannabis is still only allowed if the drug contains less than 1% THC and is approved. Currently only Sativex is approved for prescription to patients.
The public law institution of the country, Swissmedicwhich is responsible for both “approving and supervising therapeutic products” including cocaine, methadone and morphine, could eventually be assigned to lead the cannabis industry going forward.
Already in 2019 the BAG around 3,000 approvals granted for cannabis patients suffering from a variety of medical conditions. However, the BAG described this process as a “tedious administrative procedure”. “Sick people must be able to access these medicines unbureaucratically,” it says.
In September 2021, the Swiss government approved a recreational cannabis trial called Zuri Can, which is expected to begin this summer. There was a restriction that only “experienced users” should apply to enter, and this will be verified by testing hair samples instead of urine or blood tests. The trial program will be conducted in Basel, Switzerland, and will analyze the results of 400 individuals who will be approved to purchase recreational cannabis at designated dispensaries.
Also in June 2022 a new one Study by the University of Geneva and EBP, a consulting firm, examined the benefits of fully legalizing cannabis. According to research results, around 56 tons of cannabis are consumed in Switzerland every year. Based on this data, the annual revenue from the sale of adult cannabis could be as high as 582 million Swiss Francs (CHF). Industry could generate 0.06% of the country’s economy, roughly equivalent to the contribution of Appenzell Innerrhoden, the country’s smallest canton by population and area. Legal cannabis could also create up to 4,400 full-time jobs, compared to the country’s Swiss Accident Insurance, which has about 4,200 employees.
Ultimately, as seen in other countries, there are many benefits to creating a regulatory framework for cannabis legalization. Study author and research associate at the Institute for Sociological Research at the University of Geneva Dr. Oliver Hoff states that it is time for Swiss cannabis laws to be updated. “The simulation shows that the current form of regulation produces [an] economically inefficient result”, Hoff said in a statement. “While artificially high profit margins enable illegal operators to make generous profits, consumers suffer from insufficient transparency about products and quality. The healthcare system and preventative measures are struggling to reach consumers with problematic consumption patterns, and the state lacks access to regulatory, fiscal and health-oriented initiatives.”
Adrian Gschwend, Head of Policy and Implementation at the BAG, also provided a statement on the timeline of this study. “The study comes at just the right time, as the National Assembly’s Commission on Social and Health Affairs recently launched a bill to legalize cannabis,” said Gschwend. “The results show that both the current illicit market and a liberal commercial market impose costs on the community while individuals reap large profits. We therefore need a well-regulated market that guarantees the protection of children and young people as well as health protection measures.”