Municipalities in the Netherlands have signed up to a mooted four-year trial in legally growing cannabis for the first time. The new coalition agreement said that the policy would be tested in six to 10 areas, and more have now joined up. It is intended to see whether controlled weed growing leads to a decline in criminality around cannabis cultivation, and whether the crop could be monitored to have fewer harmful substances. A commission report in June advised that it would be beneficial to sign up more areas. The Netherlands currently has 573 coffeeshops in 103 districts but although they can sell the substance, it is illegal for them to buy or grow it. (See also: Controlled Cannabis Supply Chain Experiment Act - Explanatory memorandum)

Münster will einen Modellversuch zu kontrolliertem Cannabis-Konsum bei gesunden Erwachsenen durchführen. Das Gesundheitsamt stellte einen entsprechenden Antrag beim Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM). In dem Modellversuch sollen 100 Probanden wöchentlich kostenlos bis zu zwei Gramm Cannabis bekommen. Die Probanden will die Stadt mittels einer Zufallsstichprobe aus dem Einwohnermelderegister auswählen. Das geht aus der Projektbeschreibung hervor. Im ersten Schritt werden 2000 Personen angeschrieben, die ihren Wohnsitz in Münster haben und zwischen 21 und 63 Jahre alt sind. Aus der Gruppe der Personen, die an der Studie teilnehmen wollen, werden 200 zufällig ausgewählt. (Mehr dazu: Bundesinstitut stoppt Cannabis-Modellprojekt)

Decades after pioneering prescription heroin and safe injection sites, Switzerland is now experimenting with decriminalising recreational cannabis. It’s being done in a very Swiss way, according to addiction experts: taking things slow and steady to see how the population responds. Currently, cannabis is legal for medical use in the country, but only in extreme cases, such as pain relief for cancer patients. In 2021, around 70 percent of the population supported liberalising cannabis laws, up from 58 percent three years earlier, according to the Swiss health ministry. The federal government has now authorised trials to take place over the coming decade to experiment with decriminalising recreational cannabis, taking small steps like it did for four years before introducing prescribed heroin in the 1990s.

Die punktuelle Legalisierung von Marihuana in Hamburg rückt näher. Auf ihrem Kreisparteitag werden die Altonaer Genossen voraussichtlich einen Antrag der SPD Altona-Nord/Sternschanze annehmen, der das Verfahren beschleunigen soll. Der Vorsitzende des betreffenden SPD-Distrikts, Gregor Werner, plädiert offen für einen entsprechenden Modellversuch in der Sternschanze. (Mehr dazu: Die Antworten zur Cannabis-Abgabe in Hamburg | Modellversuch in Bremen | 30 Gramm Gras für jeden)

SPD und Grüne wollen eine Freigabe von Cannabis. Geht es nach den Sozialdemokraten, soll es dafür nicht nur in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Modellversuche geben. Auch in anderen Bezirken könne man sich einen legalen Verkauf vorstellen. Statt Menschen zu kriminalisieren, müsse der Jugendschutz durch bessere Aufklärung gestärkt und auch die Sicherheit der Konsumenten verbessert werden. Daher plädiert SPD Sprecher Thomas Isenberg für kontrollierte Produktion und Abgabe an Erwachsene. 

Geht es nach der Bezirksvertretung Innenstadt, gibt es in Köln in Zukunft an einigen lizensierten Abgabestellen Cannabis legal und kontrolliert zu kaufen. Oberbürgermeister Jürgen Roters will das Vorhaben zeitnah prüfen. Die Bezirksvertretung Innenstadt hatte mit den Stimmen von Grünen und Piraten beschlossen, die Stadtverwaltung aufzufordern, eine Ausnahmegenehmigung beim Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel zu erwirken.

Um die Drogengeschäfte auf der Straße einzudämmen, setzt sich der Stadtteilbeirat, ein beratendes Gremium aus Anwohnern, fürs legale Kiffen ein. In einem Coffeeshop sollen über 18-Jährige wie in den Niederlanden weiche Drogen kaufen können, berichtet der NDR. Ein ähnliches Modellprojekt wird gerade in Berlin-Kreuzberg geprüft. Für eine Legalisierung müsste jedoch das Betäubungsmittelgesetz auf Bundesebene geändert werden. (Kölner Grüne fordern Cannabis-Verkaufstellen)

In the evening after work, before closing time, a quick visit to the dispensary to buy one or two joints legally will soon become routine for around 400 cannabis lovers in Basel. For the first time in Switzerland, a broad-based study is being carried out in the canton of Basel-Stadt in order to investigate cannabis consumption behavior. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) approved the first of several pilot studies with which various cities want to analyze the consequences of a legal sale of cannabis. Cities have been working toward these trials for years. The Basel project will initially last two and a half years, after which a balance sheet will be drawn up.

Ministers Claude Meisch, Paulette Lenert and Sam Tanson presented a new bill, which would lead to the installation of 14 state sales points around the country as part of the recreational cannabis pilot project. Consumers would be able to purchase up to 5 grams a day, or 30 grams a month, with two government production licences to be awarded. However, the pilot project has not yet been established in a legal text, and is expected to be presented to the EU Commission soon. It is not yet known when it is due to start, although it is thought it will not take place until the next parliamentary period. The bill on growing up to four cannabis plants at home, however, has been improved and is likely to be pushed through as part of a first phase. (See also in German: Cannabis ganz legal an 14 Verkaufspunkten im Land - irgendwann)

La paralización del programa piloto para la dispensación de cannabis para adultos en la ciudad de Basilea podría tener una salida rápida en la importación de cogollos desde Canadá. Así lo han propuesto desde el Departamento de Salud de la ciudad, en donde la cosecha de cannabis supuestamente orgánico ya estaba lista para su venta a los usuarios registrados en el programa, pero fue paralizado después de que se detectaran pesticidas. Estaba previsto que el pasado 15 de septiembre se iniciaran las ventas de cannabis para uso en Basilea, pero el lanzamiento del proyecto fue paralizado tras hallar restos de pesticidas en el cannabis, que supuestamente había sido producido de forma orgánica.

Switzerland's capital is examining a pilot project to allow the sale of cocaine for recreational use - a radical approach to the war on drugs that is not thought to have been tried elsewhere. The municipal council in Bern has supported the idea, which still needs to overcome opposition from the city government and will also require a change in national law. "The war on drugs has failed, and we have to look at new ideas," said Eva Chen, a member of the Bern council from the Alternative Left Party who co-sponsored the proposal. "Control and legalisation can do better than mere repression." (See also: Swiss capital exploring legal cocaine sales)

Switzerland's capital city, Bern, has signalled its intent to conduct a scientific pilot trial of controlled cocaine sales. With 43 votes to 18, the city parliament approved a motion from the Alternative Left to extend trials with cannabis to the future legal sale of cocaine. Despite recognising that cocaine is a harmful drug, Bern politicians believe that supervised sales could lead to better control of the narcotic, reported SRF. Bern's vote is intended to send a signal to the government and to other cities to consider the idea. This cocaine sale proposal was narrowly rejected by the Bern parliament in 2019, but a second version featuring more restrictions gathered enough additional support from the leftwing Social Democratic Party to force the motion through

Swiss drug policy is shifting. Some pharmacies and social clubs in major cities are making cannabis available for recreational purposes under scientific pilot projects. There is even talk of extending such trials to cocaine. The scientific pilot SCRIPT will make cannabis available for sale in pharmacies in the Swiss capital Bern, along with the cities of Lucerne and Biel. The goal is to evaluate what impact a regulated, not-for-profit sale of cannabis coupled with advisory services may have on cannabis consumption. It is one of several pilot trials planned across Switzerland. In June, Bern’s city parliament overwhelmingly approved a motion from the Alternative Left party calling on the city to conduct a scientific pilot trial of controlled cocaine sales.  

In an interview with the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, Berset said that his department welcomes trying out "new models and directions" such as controlled cannabis trials, as long as the necessary special permits are sought. When asked whether such trials would open a back door for legalisation of the substance, Berset answered with a clear "no". "The Swiss people voted down a legalisation initiative in 2008, but they also accepted the new drug law, which allows for special permits for medical treatments or research projects." (See also: Kann die Cannabisabgabe funktionieren?)

The Swiss Council of States has adopted a bill allowing studies and pilot projects with cannabis. The Council is calling for an experimental article in the Narcotics Act that allows for scientific research projects such as coffeeshop model trials or pilot programs. Five cities have requested such studies. The bill will now be presented to the National Council. Until now, these applications have been rejected because there was no legal basis for such exceptions in the Swiss Narcotics Act. Between 200,000 and 300,000 people in Switzerland regularly consume cannabis. In most cantons, the possession of up to 10 grams is not punishedand public consumption is atoned for with a fine of 100 Swiss francs. (See also: Could medical cannabis be the next cash cow for Swiss farmers?)

Switzerland’s National Council has approved a plan to start cannabis trials for recreational use. If it is to be legalised however, the government says it must be organic and grown locally. The study, which was approved by the National Council on Tuesday, hopes to find out more about the effects that a controlled legalisation of the drug would have in Switzerland. The decision to embark upon the trial was to be made in March but was delated due to the coronavirus pandemic. The experiments are to be carried out in Switzerland’s larger cities. Basel, Bern, Biel, Geneva and Zurich have all expressed interest in conducting the trials. (See also: Le National favorable aux tests de distribution de cannabis bio)

The lower house of Switzerland’s Federal Assembly approved a bill paving the way for a pilot research program that would permit the temporary production and distribution of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes. While an important milestone, the vote in early June is also symbolic of the sluggish pace at which recreational legalization is occurring in Europe. While approving the project, a majority of National Council legislators rejected proposals that would have limited the experiment’s size and scope – a sign that the lower house is committed to moving forward with the project. Now the Council of States will debate and vote on the bill. Local experts expect the project to be approved.

In September 2020, the Swiss parliament adopted a modification to the Federal Act on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. The change provides a legal framework for a pilot project that would see legal and government-controlled supply initiatives established in 2021. The projects are expected to provide data on the use of cannabis by the Swiss and contribute to substantiating any potential future regulations. A few days after its passing, a complimentary parliamentary initiative was submitted by a member of the National Council (the lower house of the Swiss legislature). The initiative aims to flesh out a political response to the regulation of cannabis, proposing standards similar to those in place for alcohol.

Switzerland will start adult-use cannabis sales this summer amid a trial program that will involve 400 people. Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) authorized on April 19 the first pilot on the sale of cannabis for recreational use. The initiative is a joint project with the University of Basel and will take place in Basel, Switzerland's third-most-populous city. The study on the legal sale of adult-use cannabis aims to provide information to regulate cannabis in the whole country. In particular, the pilot is intended to provide information to consumers about low-risk consumption, knowledge on the effects of controlled access to cannabis, and information on consumers' behavior and physical and mental health.

People found with "small quantities of illegal drugs" will not be arrested and instead urged to engage with support services, as part of a police pilot. Thames Valley Police (TVP) hopes the approach will reduce deaths, prevent reoffending and lower service demands. Assistant Chief Constable Jason Hogg has denied the scheme is a soft approach, saying there is "nothing soft about trying to save lives". Figures showed drug deaths nationally increased by 29% in 2017. ACC Hogg said people would not be prompted to attend appointments, but if they failed to engage with addiction services "they could find themselves being prosecuted" if found in possession in the future.