Last August, the city of Zürich launched a pilot program that enables its citizens to legally purchase cannabis. We interviewed Dominique Schori from the Drug Information Center about the developments so far.
Drugreporter: Can you tell us what the legal situation was before this project was introduced in Zürich, what the law says about cannabis and how this law was enforced against cannabis users?
Dominique Schori: The legal basis for the use of cannabis for recreational purposes is the Swiss Federal Narcotics Act. The consumption of cannabis with a THC content of at least 1% is generally prohibited in Switzerland. Since 2013, the consumption of cannabis by adults can be penalised with a fine of CHF 100. However, possession of up to 10 grams of cannabis for personal use is not punishable. Juvenile criminal law applies to minors. 2021 in around 3,600 cases a fine was imposed for cannabis consumption in public spaces. It is estimated that around 225,000 people in Switzerland regularly consume cannabis (approx. 4% of the population).
This current project is based on an amendment in the Swiss Narcotics Act that was adopted by the Federal Parliament in 2020. Who was behind this legal change, and how could they persuade political parties to support this initiative?
The planned pilot projects require an exceptional authorisation from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). The FOPH rejected an initial application from the University of Bern in November 2017 on the grounds that cannabis may not be sold for ‘recreational purposes’. In 2019, the Federal Council submitted a dispatch to the national parliament on the revision of the Narcotics Act (‘experimental article’), which is intended to enable applied research projects (cannabis pilot trials). Parliament approved the revision with some amendments in the 2020 autumn session.
In Switzerland, legislative changes are made via direct democratic decisions (initiatives, referendums). The attitude of the Swiss population has changed regarding the regulation of cannabis. According to a representative survey conducted in August 2017, a majority of the Swiss population is of the opinion that cannabis should be legally sold and consumed under certain conditions. According to the respondents, the two most important conditions for lifting the current ban are that consumption remains prohibited for under 18s and in connection with driving. It is also important to the Swiss that the consumption of cannabis is subject to the same regulations as smoking cigarettes and that cannabis may only be sold in pharmacies or specialised shops with trained staff.
It is therefore likely that cannabis will be legally regulated in Switzerland in the foreseeable future. The pilot trials serve to test in practice which regulatory models have which advantages and disadvantages.
So, this project is not de jure legalisation but a three-year experiment. Can you explain what the aim of the study is, who can participate in it and how and where can participants can purchase legal cannabis?
The study investigates the effects of the purchase of selected cannabis products from controlled cultivation under regulated conditions on the consumption and health of the participants. In addition, different models for the regulated supply of cannabis will be compared with each other. A unique characteristic of the Zürich study is that different types of supply points are examined regarding their effect on the consumption behaviour and health of consumers. The study cannabis can be purchased in pharmacies, social clubs and the Drug Information Centre (DIZ). Participation is open to people who are over 18 and capable of judgement, who can prove that they already use cannabis, are residents in the city of Zürich, agree to the conditions of the scientific study and give their written consent to participate.
Cannabis social clubs (CSCs) originated in Spain. Did the Catalan clubs inspire you when designing your system in Zürich?
The principle of organising a non-profit association with the purpose of consuming cannabis together, as is the case in the Spanish CSCs, is comparable to Zürich. In contrast to the Spanish social clubs, however, no cannabis is cultivated in the social clubs in Zürich. For reasons of scientific comparability, the products must be the same in all sales outlets. They are therefore produced centrally by two producers who hold state cultivation licences. Another key difference is the size of the clubs. While there are social clubs with over 8,000 members in Barcelona, for example, the number of members in Zürich is limited to 150 people for the pilot trial. We want to ensure that social proximity is created and that members can support each other if problems arise in connection with cannabis use.
How many people are currently participating in the project, and what do we know about them in terms of demographics and other characteristics?
In the city of Zürich, the number of participants is limited to 2,300. At present, around 2,000 people are authorised to obtain study cannabis. Results on the composition of the sample are not yet publicly available.
How do you ensure that there is a legal supply of cannabis, and who can grow and sell legal cannabis?
Producers must apply for a cultivation licence from the FOPH. There is a track-and-trace system that ensures the complete traceability of the trial cannabis. Only the 21 sales points involved in the study (10 pharmacies, 10 social clubs and the DIZ) are authorised to sell.
Is there any regulation on the quality, form and THC content of the cannabis products sold?
The legal limit for all products is 20% THC. The cannabis must be organically grown. Compliance with these requirements is regularly checked internally and externally.
Similar projects exist in other Swiss cities. How many are running, and are they different from the ZuriCan model?
The various trials differ mainly in terms of the type of sales outlets (e.g. a single specialised sales outlet in Lausanne, exclusively pharmacies in Basel) or in terms of the focus of the research (e.g. in Bern, the focus is on the motivation to switch from smoking to vaping).
I suppose there will be a big evaluation of the project in 2026. What are the success criteria? And if the project is successful, is there any plan to implement a permanent regulation?
The pilot trial is designed to be open-ended. It is intended to test the extent to which the various sales settings have positive or negative effects in practice. A meta-evaluation will be carried out by the FOPH at the end of the pilot trials. This will form the basis for further regulatory debate.
How do you view the future of cannabis regulation in Europe?
The debate on the regulation of cannabis is currently taking up a lot of space in the drug policy debate in many countries. The current example from Germany shows that changes in individual countries can sometimes happen very quickly. In any case, these developments are very interesting.