After Geneva, Lausanne will also sell cannabis legally

Lausanne's pilot project for the regulated sale of recreational cannabis enters its concrete phase, with the opening of a downtown outlet by the end of the year. Nearly 200 participants have already signed up for the Cann-L project.

After a series of steps initiated in 2015, Lausanne's regulated cannabis pilot program is drawing to a close, with the opening of the final piece of the puzzle: the point of sale. The chosen location is rue du Maupas 7, an address strategically chosen for its easy accessibility. The outlet is currently being prepared and should be fully staffed by the end of the year.

The products offered in the outlet will come from a Geneva-based company and will include weed and resin. These products will have to comply with federal legislation, which stipulates the use of weed.imitates THC content to a maximum of 20% and are intended for personal consumption in private spaces only.

Of the 2,500 people who have expressed an interest in the project, some 1,800 are eligible to take part. As of September 21, 200 people have been contacted and have scheduled mandatory initial interviews. In addition, 1,600 e-mails have been sent for further registrations. However, the process could experience delays and «bottlenecks» due to the time required for interviews and the limited stock of cannabis currently available.

Frank Zobel, deputy director of Addiction Suisse, the organization overseeing the scientific aspect of the project, insisted on the gradual integration of interested parties, the aim being to reach a panel of 1,200 participants. For the future, the plan is to diversify the sources of merchandise, with two or three production sites to supplement the current one.

Fighting the black market and harm reduction

The Lausanne-based project aims not only to track the evolution of the black market, but also to assess the impact of non-profit cannabis sales on consumer behavior. To this end, participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire every six months. In addition, a 45-minute preliminary interview will review the project framework and confirm participants' eligibility, including age, residence in Lausanne and cannabis consumption. Participants will receive a personal card, which will serve as both proof of possession and proof of purchase of cannabis in the event of a police check.

Several unknowns remain as to the impact of the trial, such as the quantity to be sold and the number of participants. The association behind the project aims to keep prices competitive, at around 9 to 13 francs a gram, which should correspond to black market prices, with a «premium» for quality.

In Switzerland, around 4% of adults use cannabis, and in Lausanne, around 6,500 people use cannabis, including 1,500 on a daily basis, generating sales of around nine million euros. The aim of the project is to reduce the illegal market and the nuisance it causes.

The Cann-L project in Lausanne has a budget of 1.7 million francs and is scheduled to last four and a half years. It has approved by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) last March. Other Swiss cities, including Basel and Zurich, have already introduced controlled sales of cannabis in pharmacies, and the canton of Geneva announced the opening of its cannabinothèque in Vernier in December.

The next step is to Berne, Biel and Lucerne to roll out their experimentation with legal cannabis in order to have the 5 tests currently registered in real life.