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Legal Situation
Legal Situation in Switzerland
In Switzerland, Cannabis with a THC content of up to 1% is legal since 2016, whereas in the EU the THC content limit is set to 0.2%. The main cannabinoid content in these low THC Cannabis varieties is cannabidiol, or CBD for short.
CBD has corresponding medical effects without showing the psychoactive effects of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short.
Cannabis strains with higher THC content contain also a higher percentage of CBD and they overall yield more harvest (up to 40%). The Swiss limit has therefore made Switzerland into a very competitive player for Cannabis production in Europe. Producers are using Cannabis strains with up to 1% THC content to grow CBD flower, and then wash out the excess THC to get below 0.2% for the export into European markets.
Recent developments and legislative rulings in Switzerland have paved the way to further liberalize the recreational consumption of THC products (Cannabis containing > 1% THC). From 2022 onward also the production and trade of THC will be further liberalized, with the rulings specifically targeting the medical market.
Limits in different jurisdictions
|
THC content |
CBD |
|
|
Switzerland |
< 1% |
unrestricted |
|
Germany |
< 0.2% |
unrestricted |
|
Austria |
< 0.3% |
legal gray area |
|
EU in general |
< 0.2% |
it's complicated |
|
USA (federal law) |
< 0.3% |
legal gray area |
|
Canada |
legal with restrictions since 2018 |
unrestricted |
Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/european-cbd-landscape-in-2020/
Legal Situation Globally
The global situation in the area of recreational use of cannabis is as follows:
In the field of medical cannabis, the situation is as follows:
Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechtslage_von_Cannabis
Recent Legislative Developments (2021)
A number of jurisdictions and entities have recently taken steps to further decriminalize the recreational use of cannabis and also to pave the way for the use of cannabis in the medical field. The most notable ones are:
Switzerland: Green light for cannabis trials: the federal government is already having hemp varieties tested
Germany: Medical cannabis re-classified as basic recipe material
https://m.apotheke-adhoc.de/nachrichten/detail/politik/olg-cannabis-ist-kein-arzneimittel/
EU / EuGH verdict: CBD not a narcotic, but foodstuff / novel food
UN reclassifies Cannabis as non narcotics
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/world/europe/cannabis-united-nations-drug-policy.html
USA: US House of Representatives passes bill to decriminalize Cannabis at federal level
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55191808
USA: More and more states in the US are legalizing cannabis
https://www.myweedo.de/gruene-seiten/politik/legalisierungsjahr-2021-usa-cannabis-boom
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© Swiss Cannabis Association |