Switzerland’s cannabis scene has flown somewhat under the radar internationally, but that is about to change. The innovative nation actually has rich cannabis culture. From the late 1990s until 2004, a “grey market” flourished as the cannabis community utilized a loophole in the federal narcotics law to engage in cannabis commerce. After the Swiss government closed the loophole, a new market emerged in 2016 when the country legalized the cultivation and sale of cannabis that contained no more than 1% THC as a tobacco substitute.
Swiss cannabis flowers and other products are now cultivated, processed, and sold by more than 600 companies, who export all over the world. Switzerland also has a limited medical program and is making some political strides toward full legalization. Someone that is at the forefront of all things Swiss cannabis related is Ben Arn, CEO of CannaTrade, Europe’s oldest hemp trade fair. The International Cannabis Business Conference is teaming up with CannaTrade as the International Cannabis Business Conference in Zurich will be held from May 15-16, with CannaTrade’s organizing its festivities from the 17th through the 19th. Ben found some time to answer a few questions for us:
Anthony Johnson, for International Cannabis Business Conference: How did CannaTrade first come about?
Ben Arn: CannaTrade was born out of the CannaSwissCup and the Swiss Hemp Days in 1999 and 2000. The first official edition with the name CannaTrade was in 2001 in Bern. It’s the oldest still existing cannabis trade show in Europe. And since beginning, it’s a b2b and b2c fair.
What are your feelings about the current status of Swiss cannabis/hemp laws?
Better than the last 10 years! Now we’re looking forward to get a simplified access for patients in the next 2 years and as well a new regulation for THC for everybody in the next 2-5 years. At the same time there is as well a lot to do concerning CBD and foodstuff, regarding the Novel Food laws like everywhere else in Europe.
Do you have any ideas for how future cannabis laws should move forward in Switzerland? For instance, the highly regulatory model like Canada and Germany, or the more permissive situations occurring in Amsterdam, Barcelona, and what once existed in the “grey areas” in Switzerland? Do you view any nation as a model or should Switzerland form their own unique path?
I wish that Switzerland will form its own path adapted to the regulations of alcohol in Switzerland. But probably, Switzerland will go into the direction as Canada did. Hopefully there will be some place for homegrowers too – it’s what many people in Switzerland are asking for.
Do you have any concerns about Switzerland falling behind other nations’ cannabis industry or are you confident that the Swiss will be able to catch up?
We are on a good position right now – but the politic has to move fast! I see many countries going on with cannabis as medicine way faster than we are doing actually. But fortunately the media is finally bringing the chance of a new cannabis law to the public discussions. It may be possible that we will be able to grow and export THC weed even faster as Swiss patients will get the simplified access to their medicine.
What are your goals for this year’s CannaTrade?
We will break the 1000 business visitors number, we will have the nicest business lounge we ever did, we’re having a nice and interesting program for business- and private people, a great afterparty and we’re looking forward to welcome the International Cannabis Business Conference at our side on Thursday at the Atlantis and from Friday-Sunday at CannaTrade. So we’re looking forward to 4 great cannabis days in Zurich!
What are some highlights for those in the industry?
As already mentioned the BusinessLounge powered by CarbonActive, as well the big Chillout-Area powered by hanfhof, and new – for the first time – the big b2b afterwork-apero on Friday, where all exhibitors and all business visitors are invited – so more than 2000 business people will celebrate 2 hours of b2b-apero and party-time together!
Unless you are living under a rock, you know that cannabis legalization, for both medical and adult use purposes, is moving forward nation-by-nation across Europe and around the world. European medicinal sales doubled last year, and we can expect growth to continue rather aggressively as progress begets progress. Germany has been the leader on medical cannabis commerce, and the attendance and interest at the recent International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin demonstrated the optimism industry participants have for the German market. But Germany is certainly not alone, as Italy also showed strong demand, and opportunities abound in burgeoning markets like Switzerland (where the International Cannabis Business Conference is headed on May 15-16), the United Kingdom, Croatia, Spain (where the International Cannabis Business Conference will return to next year!), and several other nations.
Marijuana Business Daily on the release of its extensive report “Medical Cannabis in Europe: The Markets & Opportunities”:
Year-over-year sales doubled in Europe from 2017 to 2018, underpinned by strong demand in Germany and Italy, though the number of MMJ prescriptions decreased in the Netherlands in that time.
Other countries in the European Union took steps in the right direction, either advancing legislation or introducing (or improving) regulations.
Tracking the regulatory progress of these markets is important because it takes years to develop a functional medical cannabis industry – and some markets get snagged over poor, or slow-moving, regulations.
Differing regulations across Europe can make business decisions difficult, especially when trying to do business in North America, and other legal markets as well. Over time, it will be interesting to see whether the EU and other global partners start to harmonize their rules. No matter the current obstacles, the current and future growth of cannabis markets around the world will reward those that stay educated and make the right networking connections.
Germany’s medical cannabis program has grown by leaps and bounds and you don’t have to be too knowledgeable about Europe to know the influence that the German economy has on the region. The International Cannabis Business Conference has grown right along with Germany’s cannabis market, and the Berlin event has become the conferences flagship with more than 1,200 people from 60 nations in attendance. The recent conference in Berlin was an epic success, setting up Zurich with CannaTrade on May 15-16, and Die Welt, one of Germany’s most influential newspapers (third in circulation), took notice, covering the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin:
A scent of marijuana is in the air on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin. A whole crowd of participants of the “International Cannabis Business Conference” produces a cloud of smoke with the typical grass smell in front of the entrance to the Maritim Hotel.
1200 business people have paid hundreds of euros for their ticket, have traveled from Portugal, Canada, the US, Israel and other countries – just to attend this conference. ”The market is booming,” says its founder Alex Rogers in early April in Berlin.
Since 2017, there is medical cannabis in Germany on prescription. In the industry, it is estimated that the market potential in Germany is 800,000 patients, currently there are only 40,000. Overall, the statutory health insurance companies took over about 185,000 prescriptions in 2018, gross sales: about 74 million euros. In addition, the cultivation in this country should begin in 2019.
The young market is creating a craze – with consultancies, technology companies, importers, and investors promoting Roger’s conference. But what about the boom? Will not rapeseed and hop fields soon shape the German landscape, but greenhouses with cannabis plants? ”Berlin is the biggest of our conferences this year. Bigger even than the events in Canada and the US, “says Rogers. As some of the participants hope for legalization worldwide, others focus on medical cannabis.
(Unfortunately, the full Die Welt article is behind a paywall, but you can sign up for a free 30 day subscription.)
As legalization, both for medical purposes and adult use, continues to gain momentum across the globe, we will certainly see even more mainstream coverage from major publications like Die Welt. The International Cannabis Business Conference looks forward to connecting investors, entrepreneurs, and advocates together to create more revenue, jobs, and freedom around the world. Next up: Zurich, Switzerland! (Discounted early-bird ticket sales available until April 24th.)
The German medical cannabis system has been an innovative pioneer in a few respects, helping thousands of patients get access to tested medicinal cannabis that is covered by their insurance programs. However, regulatory burdens and the lack of domestic cultivation have hindered the program, increasing prices and decreasing the availability of strains and products. The German government has been accepting domestic cultivation applications in a process that has been complicated and shrouded in secrecy. Applicants could not even speak about applying or their bid would be hindered, as was discussed at the recent International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin. Last week, Germany took a big step forward announcing three companies that have been selected for licenses, pending some issues still left to be worked out.
Our good friends at the German Cannabis Association (DHV) informed their supporters of this historic news in a newsletter (slight editing done due to Google translation issues):
One day after the International Cannabis Business Conference a message came in, with the judge not before 10:04. had expected. On Wednesday, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) informed the 79 candidates who had applied for the cultivation of medicinal purposes in Germany. Accordingly, three companies, including the Canadian producer Aurora and Aphria and the German company Demecan should, (produce) the first medical cannabis in Germany grow(n). Originally, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court should adjudicate on an application that ran against the second licensing round on 04.10.2019. Given the ever-increasing numbers of patients but also advertised by the Cannabis Agency amount will not be enough and Germany will continue to be dependent on imports of medicinal purposes. Other licensing agreements are inevitable to meet as a medicine the increasing demand for cannabis from the perspective of the German Cannabis Association.
The sooner that domestic cultivation can occur, the better it will be for patients. The competition should be good for patients as Marguerite Arnold wrote for the Cannabis Industry Journal, importing into the country is also increasing, so prices should drop:
At the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin last weekend, Australian producers (for one) were also reporting a German demand for their product that was greater than they could fill. And there were many Israelis present for what is expected to be an official opening of their import ability by the third quarter of this year.
The bid itself is going to have a powerful impact on pricing in both the German and European market beyond that. It represents the first time in any country that a government has attempted to pre-negotiate prices for the drug as a narcotic beyond Israel and in this case, it will have at least regional implications.
While there are gonna be some more ups and downs, including lawsuits and bureaucratic wrangling, but Germany moving forward with domestic cultivation licenses is a great step forward for patients and the German cannabis industry. What happens in Germany ripples across the European continent and beyond, and you can learn the latest about these bids and the greater European industry at the next International Cannabis Business Conference in Zurich, Switzerland, this May 15th-16th, in collaboration with CannaTrade (taking place the 17th-19th), get your early-bird tickets by April 24th to save.
Cannabis and hemp are obviously intertwined in reality and politically. Cannabis and hemp are the same plant, but politically and regulatorily, hemp has been classified as basically low-THC cannabis, with allowable THC percentages varying depending upon jurisdictions. In Switzerland, where the International Cannabis Business Conference will be holding its next event in conjunction with the global hemp fair CannaTrade, low-THC cannabis can contain up to 1% THC and be legally sold. European hemp industry participants had hoped to get the European Union hemp THC percentage up to that 1%, but that is going to take a bit more time. In good news, progress is being made, albeit too slowly as allowable THC percentages are expected to increase within the EU in 2021, as Hemp Today reported:
The European Union could soon change the allowed legal THC level in approved hemp varieties from 0.2% to 0.3% after the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development recently approved a batch of proposals for post-2020 reforms to the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
CAP implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programs supporting member nations. Introduced in 1962, the program has undergone constant reform and now also embraces rural development.
Increasing allowable THC levels in hemp varieties grown in the EU from 0.2% to 0.3% would return the EU to the limit that was valid up until 1999. While some had called for an increase to a full 1% THC, perhaps a smaller incremental increase was always more likely to be favored.
The pace of much-needed regulatory changes is often maddening, particularly to people with a long history advocating for cannabis and hemp legalization. It can be extremely frustrating to see people knowledgeable on the cannabis plant placed in charge of enforcement policies and combatting debunked Reefer Madness propaganda. Patience and persistence will remain a virtue in the cannabis and hemp industries as the times are a-changin’ and we can expect more and more positive reforms, until the industries are really booming over the next 5-10 years across Europe, North America, and much of the world.
If you want to learn the latest about the hemp and cannabis industries while networking with top investors, entrepreneurs, and advocates from across the globe, the International Cannabis Business Conference in Zurich this May 15th-16th is the place to be. After Zurich, stick around for CannaTrade, Switzerland’s premier hemp expo. Secure your early-bird Zurich tickets by April 24th to save $$$!
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