Switzerland: Commission gives green light to controlled cannabis distribution

The second-to-last step before the launch of a pilot program cannabis distribution?

The National Council’s Health Committee followed the National Council’s recommendation and voted 17 to 8 in favor of a pilot program to distribute cannabis to willing users. Since the Swiss Federal Parliament consists of two chambers, approval from the Council of States is now required before this can be considered a step forward on the issue.

What does this experiment involve?

The Swiss Initiative from 2016 and intends to propose an experimental framework for distributing cannabis to adult consumers. After numerous political twists and turns, the various committees and councils voting in turn for, then against If the proposal is approved, the pilot project will finally get off the ground.

Participation in the pilot project will be limited to adults aged 18 or older who are already users. The project will be limited to certain cities (Basel, Bern, Geneva, and Zurich), will include no more than 5,000 participants, who will receive medical monitoring to assess their health, and THC levels will be capped at 20%, with a supply limit of 10 grams of pure THC per month, equivalent to 50 grams of cannabis containing 20% of THC. The project may last for 5 years, extendable by 2 years.

THC cannabis will be grown in Switzerland and must be organic.

The Swiss government is said to have already written the implementing ordinance, which sets out the strict framework for the project, with no indication at this time of when it will be considered by the Council of States.

What's the problem?

Swiss narcotics law permits the distribution of controlled substances, such as heroin, to people with substance use disorders as part of a social reintegration program.

The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) nevertheless ruled that that this controlled distribution was impossible for cannabis. He therefore called for a change in the law to allow for these experiments, which are intended to gather data on the consumption of legal cannabis and its impact on the black market.

This refusal by the FOPH is what sparked these four years of twists and turns. The proposal must now go from committee to committee to meet the requirements set forth for the pilot program, without addressing the need to amend the Narcotics Act or the implications of cannabis legalization.