Category: Politics

PI Siegenthaler for a new regulation of cannabis policy

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Some time ago, National Councilor Heinz Siegenthaler (center) submitted a parliamentary initiative (PI) calling for far-reaching new regulation of the cultivation, production, trade and consumption of cannabis containing THC. With this demand, the initiative, which was co-signed by about 40 parliamentarians, is based on a recommendation of the Federal Commission on Narcotic Drugs. In April, the initiative was approved by the National Council’s Commission for Social Security and Health (SGK-N) by 13 votes to 11. This bodes well for a major step toward a legal and coherently regulated cannabis market that would open up new opportunities for the rapidly growing cannabis industry.

A “new regulation” of cannabis policy in Switzerland, what does that mean in concrete terms? PI Siegenthaler has targeted the following goals:
– The 4-pillar model of Swiss drug policy (prevention, therapy, harm reduction and repression) is taken into account
– Production and trade are controlled by state bodies, especially with regard to youth and consumer protection.
– The medical market should be clearly separated from the non-medical market
– A repeal of prohibition should lead to a drying up of the black market
– The advertising and taxation of cannabis products is regulated
– Private cultivation for personal use is regulated

PI Siegenthaler acknowledges the fact that our current prohibition policy has obviously failed. Despite prohibition, there are around 300,000 people in Switzerland who regularly consume cannabis. They simply do this through the black market, which leads to major social and health problems. For example, products sold on the black market are often laced with artificial and toxic substances, which can cause serious damage to health. Furthermore, in addition to the lack of quality controls, consumer protection and information are practically non-existent. On the other hand, there is the possibility of generating tax revenue in legal and regulated distribution, as exists for tobacco and alcohol products, which can be used to promote addiction prevention and the protection of minors.

We are glad that this parliamentary initiative will initiate an exciting dialogue. From our point of view, the current situation with its legal and moral inconsistency is completely out of date. A new regulation offers the possibility to better exploit the numerous, diverse uses of the hemp plant. With the PI Siegenthaler, the current scientific status could also be taken note of at the same time, which clearly shows that the consumption of cannabis is no more harmful than alcohol and tobacco products.

Next, PI Siegenthaler goes to the Council of States Health Committee and then to the National Council, which takes up the bill before the Council of States. Of course, we will keep you updated in this discussion as well.

Postulate Minder for more legal certainty

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Following a meeting with IG Hemp, Council of States member Thomas Minder (no party affiliation, SVP parliamentary group) submitted a postulate in March calling for a report from the Federal Council outlining how various aspects of the hemp plant can be economically exploited. On the basis of these findings, it will be explained how they can be used in the context of modern regulation. Experiences from other states are also to be included. In May, the Federal Council rejected this thoroughly welcome thought-provoking idea.

The Federal Council recommends that the Minder postulate be rejected because the legislation is already in flux, for example in the area of pilot projects for the legal sale of cannabis and in the area of cannabis medicines. Thus, the aspect of contemporary regulation had already been dealt with sufficiently and the evaluation of the experiences of other states had also already taken place within this framework. Furthermore, the economic opportunities offered by the 1% rule are already relatively large, as long as no narcotics are involved. With the reference to the 1% rule, the Federal Council hides behind a series of special laws, which from the point of view of a CBD company are anything but satisfactory, as the needs of the customers can only be poorly covered. For example, CBD oils must be sold as chemicals, including all associated warning labels. However, this is done knowing that these oils are usually ingested.

So from our perspective, the current special legislation is completely inadequate. Therefore, we hope that the Council of States will accept the postulate of Councilor Minder, thus further stimulating the social discourse on the topic. Especially the economic perspective of a regulated cannabis market mentioned by Mr. Minder offers a lot of potential, as experiences from the USA and Canada show.

Update : On June 17, the Minder postulate was adopted by a clear majority (30:6) in the Council of States, despite the rejectionist stance of the Federal Council. We are curious to see what happens next and will keep you informed.

Left:
– Blogpost of IG Hemp
– Postulate Minder on “Legal certainty in the production, trade and use of hemp/cannabis products”.

Change in the law with regard to cannabis medicines

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After the Council of States unanimously approved a bill to amend the Narcotics Act (BetmG) with regard to cannabis medicines at the beginning of March, the bill passed through the National Council relatively uncontested. This amendment is intended to finally facilitate access to cannabis medicines.

Until now, physicians had to obtain a special permit from the FOPH in order to prescribe medical cannabis products to their patients. This intermediate bureaucratic step was disproportionately burdensome for both the medical practices and the FOPH, which had to process nearly 3000 “exception” requests in 2019 alone. Since many physicians understandably shy away from this effort, the current regulation has had a delaying or even preventing effect on access to useful cannabis medicines.

With the revision, this access is now to be greatly facilitated. Cannabis medicines may now be prescribed without an exemption permit, finally ensuring freedom of therapy. Medical cannabis products are now under the control of Swissmedic, as is normally the case for medical products.

For non-medical cannabis, nothing has changed with the passage of this bill. Besides the symbolic value of each urgently needed step towards more coherent legislation, the regulation nevertheless offers new opportunities for a company producing and distributing hemp products: the commercial export of medical cannabis products is now to be permitted, and in parallel the seed and planting material law is to be adapted to enable the cultivation of medical hemp on a larger scale in the first place.

As a company from the cannabis industry (and member of IG-Hanf), we are pleased that the legal and political situation is now also developing positively in Switzerland, as the EU has moved forward in recent months with sometimes unusually large steps.

Left:
– Blogpost IG Hemp
– Federal Office of Public Health

EU allows full-spectrum CBD for cosmetics

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In the European Union, natural full-spectrum CBD has also been approved as a cosmetic ingredient since the beginning of March 2021. Whereas previously only synthetic CBD was explicitly permitted, the formulation was extended to include herbal products as part of a revision of “CosIng”. The CosIng is a database of the EU, which contains cosmetic regulations for various legal and illegal substances, and defines their respective function. This change is clearly another step towards greater acceptance of the benefits and uses of natural CBD products.

Even though this CosIng database is not legally binding, it influences the individual EU states in their specific legislation. Such uniform regulations of the cannabis market are urgently needed, as the current differences between the various circulations in different states make free trade in CBD products almost impossible.

Overall, the concrete impact of this adjustment is probably not very strong. However, the recent revision of the guidelines is significant in that it follows the recent ruling by the European Court of Justice that CBD is not a narcotic. Hopefully, this is only a first step towards a coherently regulated market.

Left:
– Newsletter Pure Production
– Blog Post IG Hemp

Federal Council approves cannabis pilot projects

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On March 31, 2021, it became clear that pilot cannabis dispensaries could be approved by the FOPH starting in mid-May. Following the National Council and the Council of States, the Federal Council also approved this amendment to the Narcotics Act, which is intended to provide new insights into health and consumption patterns in the context of legal offerings.

The thrust of this amendment is clearly going in the right direction. It is about time that Switzerland also gains experience with a legal sale of cannabis – but we should not forget to benefit from experience from abroad, for example Canada. We do not have to start all the attempts from the beginning again.

Participants in the pilot tests must be of legal age and must be proven to already be using cannabis. The amount purchased is paid by the consumer, whereby the price is higher with higher THC content and at least initially should still be significantly higher than the black market price. Resale of legally purchased goods is thus deliberately made unattractive. Furthermore, the monthly purchase amount is limited and a transfer of the legally acquired cannabis products is not allowed.

The cultivation of the products for the pilot projects is to be carried out according to the criteria of organic agriculture, thus ensuring the impeccable quality of the products. Even though the idea behind this concern is very much in line with ours, they will have to go over the books again on this point in the Federal Parliament. An indoor production facility does not even have the possibility to grow organic products according to today’s organic standards, as the use of artificial light is mandatory.

Furthermore, the personal data of the participants should also be well protected. In principle, no data are passed on to third parties and even anonymized data are only used for the evaluation of the projects by the participating research bodies and the FOPH. This is very important, as a possible stigmatization of the participants (for example, through the in the meantime proposed and later rejected obligation to report to schools and employers) would unnecessarily jeopardize the benefit and success of the trials. In our opinion, the above mentioned conditions of participation are sufficient to prevent possible negative effects of the project (damage to health or strengthening of the black market).

We are looking forward to further decisions from the federal government, which can bring forward working alternatives to the current prohibition policy, and will of course keep you informed.

Left:
– FAQ on pilot projects (Federal Office of Public Health FOPH)
– Watson article dated 31.03.2021
– Contribution of IG Hemp

Legal cultivation and simplified dispensing of cannabis medicinal products

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In the final vote of the spring session 2021, the National Council and the Council of States approved business 20.060 of an amendment to the Narcotics Act. This provides that the cultivation and medical prescription of medicinal hemp may be prescribed in the future without an exemption permit from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). Now the referendum period is running. As a further step, the Federal Council must now amend the ordinance and determine when it will enter into force.

This step will not happen overnight, but the way to it is prepared and foreseeable. Now, discussions about health insurance coverage of cannabis medicines will follow in the coming years – because until they are covered, few people are likely to be able to afford the remedies.

Left:
– Narcotics Law. Amendment (cannabis medicinal products) (parlament.ch)
– Medical hemp (hanflegal.ch)

Finally: Cannabis is a cure without ifs and buts

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No more exemption permits needed for prescribing cannabis by physicians. The National Council has facilitated the medical use of hemp products with an amendment to the law.

The large chamber of the federal parliament approved today, Tuesday, the proposal of its health commission to allow the medical prescription of cannabis without an exceptional license. In the future, patients will be able to benefit from the medicinal effects of hemp products without unnecessary administrative hurdles.

The Council rejected three minority motions. One from the SVP faction who wanted to prohibit doctors from prescribing cannabis for smoking. A second motion from the same corner wanted to require patients to carry their prescription. The third motion came from the ranks of the Greens. The latter wanted to enshrine the cultivation of cannabis at home as an option.

IG Hemp and the MEDCAN association had pointed out in advance that the SVP motion to ban smoking should be rejected, as smoking cannabis produces the best results for certain diseases. The Council has refrained from interfering with physicians’ freedom to prescribe. On the other hand, IG Hemp would have welcomed the possibility of self-cultivation. This, to provide chronically ill individuals with limited financial resources a way to legally alleviate their symptoms. For the time being, patients will have to pay for cannabis medicines themselves.

IG Hemp expressly welcomes the amendment to the law and sees it as an important step towards a more sensible approach to the hemp plant and its many benefits.

Left:
https://ighanf.ch/news-und-stories/

Historic decision of the UN and the European Court of Justice

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UN complies with WHO recommendation to reassess cannabis classification

Two positive decisions on cannabis bode well for international cannabis policy.

European Court of Justice: CBD is not a narcotic drug

After we reported last time that the EU Commission is considering making all hemp extracts – including natural CBD products – subject to narcotics law, a decision by the European Court of Justice now lets us breathe a sigh of relief. The ECJ informed that a member state of the European Union may not prohibit the marketing of cannabidiol (CBD) lawfully produced in another member state if it is extracted from the whole cannabis sativa plant and not only from its fibers and seeds. The court thus follows the WHO recommendation that CBD should not be classified as a drug for the purposes of international narcotics conventions.

However, the really big bang that could make history came from the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. UN Commission agrees to re-evaluate cannabis! This can contribute significantly to simplifying the legal handling of cannabis worldwide. The Commission is thus complying with the WHO recommendation that cannabis no longer be classified as a dangerous drug. Under international treaties such as the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, cannabis has previously been listed on Schedule 4 – with the adoption of WHO Recommendation 5.1, cannabis will now be downgraded to Schedule 1.

Sources and further links:
European Court of Justice: Press release
Hanf Magazin: European Court of Justice: CBD is not a narcotic drug
Marjuana Business Daily: United Nations approves WHO recommendation to reschedule cannabis in historic vote
Hemp Magazine: UN Commission agrees to re-evaluation of cannabis

All eyes on Brussels

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Decision of the EU Commission could harm the hemp industry

While on the one hand a lot of educational work is happening around the topic of hemp and cannabinoids, new scientific findings on the benefits of hemp and hemp extracts are being obtained, the EU Commission is currently considering including hemp extracts in general in the narcotics law. Cannabiniol (CBD) as well as any other hemp extracts are to be classified – on a par with THC – as an addictive substance if it is extracted from natural hemp plants. Synthetic CBD, ironically, would still be allowed.

“The spokesperson for the EU Commission in Germany has confirmed to us that there are considerations to evaluate CBD as a narcotic in the sense of the 1961 United Nations Single Convention. This is currently called “Preliminary View”. After that, CBD would be a so-called “addictive substance” and could also no longer be used as a dietary supplement in the future.”

Dr. Stefan Meyer, President of the new industry association Cannabiswirtschaft BvCW e. V., according to krautinvest.

Such a decision would have disastrous effects on the hemp industry in Europe:

“Almost the entire CBD industry in Europe would face “extinction.” Hemp farmers, import/export, extractors, producers, distributors, retailers, and many more.”

Dr. Stefan Meyer, president of the new industry association Cannabiswirtschaft BvCW e. V., according to cannatrust.eu

There is still no definitive decision in Brussels. And it is equally uncertain how the federal authorities in Bern will react. Because in this country, the Federal Parliament has just approved a pilot of a new more liberal cannabis regulation of cities, which includes THC hemp – so a development that rather steers towards legalization.

The last words have not yet been spoken in Brussels – and certainly not in Bern.

Sources and further links:
IGHanf: The CBD distribution stop – The position of the EIHA
IGHanf: Death blow for the hemp sector?
krautinvest: Unease about hemp extracts: Classification as narcotic?
Cannatrust.eu: Threatening EU decision: Hemp as a narcotic?