In a significant step forward for cannabis legalization in Europe, a parliamentary commission in Switzerland has proposed a law that would allow regulated adult-use sales.
Sales, however, would be controlled by a government monopoly and there would be limited private business opportunities in the new recreational cannabis market if it were to come to fruition, according to Paris-based global news outlet Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A health commission in Switzerland’s lower chamber of Parliament passed the proposal on Feb. 14 by a 14-9 vote with two abstentions.
Switzerland approved a regulated medical cannabis program in 2022, but adult-use sales have not been allowed.
However, in 2023, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health signed off on a restricted adult-use pilot study to provide more information about regulated access to cannabis as well as a scientific basis for possible approaches to future regulation of the drug.
Switzerland, which has an estimated population of 9 million, is not a member of the European Union and therefore is not constrained by EU regulations that allow medical cannabis sales but prohibit adult-use commercialization.
Establishing even a limited market as envisioned by the Swiss proposal will take time, since politicians still need to draft a law that must be approved in both chambers of Parliament, the AFP reported.
Swiss voters also will likely have to vote on the law under Switzerland’s direct democratic system.
“The law must regulate the cultivation, manufacture and trade of cannabis, without encouraging its consumption,” the commission said, according to the AFP.
The proposal would permit anyone older than 18 living in Switzerland to “grow, purchase, possess and consume cannabis” as well as allow individuals to home grow up to three plants for personal consumption.
Packaging would be “neutral,” could not contain brand names and would have to contain warning labels, the AFP reported.
According to the commission’s proposal, recreational cannabis sales would be handled by a state monopoly that has no profit motive but, rather, directs all proceeds to prevention, harm reduction and addiction assistance.
The commission also took aim at Switzerland’s robust illicit market, asserting that penalties for selling and/or buying cannabis illegally should be harsher than existing punishment, the AFP reported.
