Tag: Switzerland

Cannabis-Induced Psychosis Is Rare Without Pre-Existing Conditions Per Meta-Analysis

Written by Frank Schuler on July 30, 2024. Posted in Science.

One of the most common talking points for cannabis opponents is that ‘cannabis is bad for human brains.’ Many older cannabis observers will attest that this talking point is as old as cannabis prohibition itself.

Such cannabis opponents will cherry-pick public mental health data and present it out of context to try to ‘prove’ their point. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for compassion and logical reasoning, proper scientific research demonstrates that cannabis opponents are wrong.

A team of researchers in Switzerland recently conducted a meta-analysis regarding psychosis and cannabis use, controlling for pre-existing mental health conditions. Below is more information about the methodology and results of the analysis via a news release from NORML:

Lausanne, Switzerland: Cannabis consumption rarely triggers episodes of acute psychosis in those who do not have a pre-existing psychiatric disorder, according to the results of a meta-analysis published in the journal Nature: Mental Health.

An international team of researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom reviewed the relationship between marijuana use and cannabis-associated psychotic symptoms (CAPS) in 162 studies involving over 210,000 cannabis consumers.

Researchers reported that the risk of psychosis “appears most amplified in vulnerable individuals,” particularly those with “pre-existing mental health problems” such as bipolar disorder. By contrast, they acknowledged, “[N]either young age of onset of cannabis use nor high-frequency use of cannabis or the preferred type of cannabis (strains high in THC, strains high in CBD) was associated with CAPS.”

Overall, they estimated that 0.5 percent of those who consume cannabis may experience a psychotic episode during their lifetime. That percentage mirrors estimates published in a prior study involving 233,000 European marijuana consumers. The authors of that study concluded, “Rates of CAPS as observed here are comparable to rates of other drug-induced psychosis, such as alcohol-associated psychosis (around 0.4 – 0.7 percent).”

The studies’ findings push back against claims that marijuana exposure is a frequent trigger for psychosis and other mental health disorders.

Full text of the study, “Assessing rates and predictors of cannabis-associated psychotic symptoms across observational, experimental, and medical research. Additional information on cannabis and mental health is available from NORML’s white paper, ‘Cannabis, Mental Health, and Context: The Case for Regulation.’

Signature Drive In Switzerland Seeks To Legalize Cannabis For Adult-Use

Written by Hazel Norman on May 6, 2024. Posted in Policy.

Europe is currently home to three nations that have adopted a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure, and if cannabis advocates in Switzerland succeed in their effort, their country could become the fourth.

Currently, Malta, Luxembourg, and Germany have approved legalization measures. Malta did so in 2021, Luxembourg did it in 2023, and Germany’s legalization measure officially came into effect on April 1st, 2024.

Out of the three nations, Germany’s legalization model is the best. All three legal European countries permit cannabis cultivation, possession, and use. However, Luxembourg does not permit adult-use commerce in any form, and in Malta commerce is limited to noncommercial cannabis clubs. In addition to clubs, Germany will also allow regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials.

Switzerland currently has cannabis trials underway, and according to domestic reporting, the signature-gathering effort seeks to take sales nationally. Per Swiss Info:

The people’s initiative, “Cannabis legalisation: opportunities for the economy, health and equality”, wants a new article on cannabis enshrined in the constitution. According to the text of the initiative published in the Swiss Federal Gazette, citizens should be allowed to grow and possess cannabis from the age of 18 for their personal use.

Commercial cannabis growers and sales outlets would require a licence and be subject to strict quality and safety regulations. The proceeds from the taxation of cannabis products would be channelled into drug education, addiction prevention and awareness.

The effort needs to successfully gather 100,000 valid signatures by October 30th, 2025 to trigger a vote. It is worth noting that a similar effort occurred in Italy in recent years, with advocates gathering the necessary signatures. However, Italy’s top court ultimately ruled that the measure was unconstitutional before voters got to decide on it.

If the effort does succeed in getting enough signatures in Switzerland, in addition to being reviewed by Swiss courts, the measure will presumably also be reviewed by the European Union. The European Union indicated in its discussions with Germany that nationwide adult-use cannabis sales are not permitted by current EU agreements.

Adult-Use Cannabis Commerce Pilot Project Begins In Bern, Switzerland

Written by Hazel Norman on April 8, 2024. Posted in Policy.

Back in November 2023, government officials in Bern, Switzerland announced that long-awaited registration was open for adult cannabis consumers who wanted to participate in a regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot project.

Municipalities in Switzerland are permitted to apply to launch pilot projects under certain conditions in which adult consumers, cultivators, and retail outlets can legally conduct cannabis commerce activities for the purpose of research.

Such projects are already operating in Basel and Zurich with no reported issues. Now adult participants in Bern will also be allowed to participate in the ongoing public policy experiment. Per Swiss Info:

The study is being conducted by the Institute of Primary Health Care at the University of Bern. The cities of Biel/Bienne and Lucerne are also involved. A total of over 1,000 people from the three cities are expected to take part.

Over 900 cannabis users from the Bern region registered and 700 have been included in the study, according to the city of Bern. Of these, 80% are men.

Participants will reportedly be able to make purchases of ten different products as part of the program in Bern. In total, seven trials are underway in Switzerland to some degree, from accepting registrations to being fully operational.

Regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot projects are also in existence in the Netherlands. Similar to Switzerland, where an estimated 15,000 adults are participating in the trials out of a national population of nearly 9 million people, the cannabis commerce pilots in the Netherlands are fairly small in size and scope.

Germany is also expected to launch regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot projects, however, the size and scope of Germany’s projects are expected to be much larger comparatively.

Physicians Endorse Cannabis-Based Treatments For Young Cerebral Palsy Patients

Written by Frank Schuler on January 15, 2024. Posted in Science.

Arguably the most sensitive area of cannabis research and policy pertains to young people, for a multitude of reasons. The history of cannabis propaganda and targeting young people is complicated, to say the least.

However, in limited and controlled instances, emerging research is demonstrating that cannabis use for medical purposes can be effective in treatment strategies for younger patients. Young patients with severe epilepsy and medical cannabis are a particularly promising area of research.

A recent survey in Switzerland found that a growing number of physicians are endorsing cannabis-based treatments for young patients with cerebral palsy. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Bern, Switzerland: Physicians are recommending cannabis-based treatments for children suffering from cerebral palsy (CP), according to survey data published in the journal Children.

Swiss researchers surveyed 70 physicians with experience treating children with cerebral palsy. Physicians participating in the survey resided in Europe, North America, and Australia.

Forty-seven percent of respondents reported having authorized cannabis-based therapies (e.g., Dronabinol, Epidiolex, whole-plant cannabis extracts, or CBD) to their pediatric patients, typically as an adjunctive therapy. Doctors were most likely to recommend cannabinoids for treating seizures, spasticity, and pain. Sixty-nine percent of respondents reported that cannabis-based treatments provided either “strong” or “moderate” effects on CP symptoms.

The study’s authors concluded: “This international online survey assessed the prescribing practices of cannabinoids in children with CP by their treating physicians. The participating physicians acquired their knowledge about cannabinoids mainly outside their medical training. The physicians frequently prescribed differing formulas of cannabinoids for various indications in children with CP. The most common indications were epilepsy, spasticity, and pain, and treatment was initiated as co-medication or second-line treatment. Overall, physicians perceived a moderate efficacy of cannabinoids and no long-term side effects.”

Survey data published last year in the journal Orthopedics reported that 17 percent of US pediatric patients with CP are using CBD supplements to mitigate disease symptoms.

Full text of the study, “Prescription practices of cannabinoids in children with cerebral palsy worldwide – A survey of the Swiss cerebral palsy registry,” appears in Children.

Most Surveyed Swiss Psychiatrists Favor Regulating Cannabis

Written by Frank Schuler on December 11, 2023. Posted in Policy.

According to a team of researchers associated with the University of Bern in Switzerland, medical cannabis is “a growing issue” in psychiatry, with more patients asking about it now that cannabis policies are being modernized in Switzerland and beyond.

The researchers note that Switzerland amended its laws in 2021 to permit adult-use cannabis commerce pilot programs to be conducted at the municipal level and that there is a rising need to examine attitudes towards cannabis, including within the mental health professional community. The researchers surveyed psychiatrists in Switzerland in a recent study.

“From December 2021 to February 2022, we conducted an online survey of psychiatrists in Switzerland. The survey comprised questions on attitudes towards regulative models for CNMU and towards prescribing CMU for mental disorders.” the researchers stated about their survey methodology.

“We contacted 2010 psychiatrists in Switzerland. A total of 274 (14%) participated in the survey.” the researchers also stated.

“Sixty-four percent agreed to a regulated legalization of CNMU, and 89% would welcome pilot trials in Switzerland assessing models for regulating CNMU with those from a French-speaking region being more skeptical.” the researchers stated about their findings.

Forty-nine percent of psychiatrists agree that CMU might have a therapeutic effect in mental disorders, but 50% agree that there is not enough scientific evidence yet. Participants working in an inpatient setting or in a French-speaking region as well as those with a longer duration of practice were more skeptical on CMU for mental health.” the researchers also stated about their study’s findings.

“Most surveyed Swiss psychiatrists favor the regulation of CNMU and the conduct of pilot trials. Despite little evidence and potential negative consequences, many participating Swiss psychiatrists agreed that cannabis could be efficacious in the treatment of some mental disorders advocating for more research in this topic.” the researchers concluded.

Registration Opens For Cannabis Pilot Projects In Bern And Biel

Written by Hazel Norman on November 27, 2023. Posted in Policy.

Switzerland is home to a very interesting public policy experiment. In May 2021, an amendment to Switzerland’s Federal Narcotics Act went into effect which permitted adult-use cannabis commerce pilot projects. Eventually, such projects would launch in Basel and Zurich.

In theory, adult-use cannabis commerce pilot projects are designed to serve as a study, gathering data about various consumer-focused areas of commerce at a local level to help national lawmakers and regulators be better suited to craft national policies and regulations.

The projects in Switzerland are limited in scope and size, although for program participants cannabis is effectively legal as long as they stay within the parameters of the adult-use cannabis commerce pilot program that they are enrolled in.

Pilots in Basel and Zurich have experienced no reported issues to date, and the nation’s network of pilot programs is set to expand with registrations opening up in Bern and Biel. Per Nau:

The cities of Biel and Bern have started the pilot project for cannabis distribution. Registration opened on Wednesday, as the University of Bern announced. The study participants are expected to be able to purchase various products such as cannabis flowers, cannabis resin or liquids with different THC and CBD content in selected pharmacies from February 2024.

According to the statement, the names of the pharmacies will not be published due to security reasons. The study will be carried out in the three cities of Bern, Biel and also in Lucerne. A total of around 1,000 participants will be accepted, including around 700 in Bern and 170 in Biel.

For a population of well over 8 million people, the number of participants in Switzerland’s pilot program is not substantial. However, the fact that at least some people are legally purchasing cannabis for recreational use in Switzerland is worth celebrating, and it is great to see that more pilot programs are on the way.

Pilot programs can be a two-edged sword, in that it gives lawmakers an excuse to drag their feet and delay taking meaningful action toward passing national legislation. Whether or not that proves to be the case in Switzerland will take some time to determine.

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‘Cannabis Light’ Doesn’t Negatively Impact Simulated Driving Performance

Written by Frank Schuler on September 5, 2023. Posted in Science.

‘Cannabis light’ is very popular in many parts of the world right now, particularly in Europe. The term is used to describe cannabis that is low in THC and high in CBD. Many governments around the globe have reformed their laws and/or regulations in recent years to permit cannabis that is low in THC.

The rise in the use of low-THC products has generated questions regarding their safety as it pertains to driving impairment. According to a recent study conducted in Switzerland involving driving simulations, the products do not negatively impact driving performance. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Basel, Switzerland: The inhalation of high-CBD/low-THC cannabis doesn’t adversely impact driving abilities, according to clinical trial data published in the International Journal of Legal Medicine.

A team of Swiss researchers assessed the impact of CBD-dominant (< 1 percent THC) cannabis on simulated driving abilities.

Consistent with other studies assessing the influence of CBD on psychomotor skills, investigators acknowledged, “No significant differences regarding driving ability were found between the CBD-cannabis products and placebo.”

However, researchers reported that participants nonetheless tested positive for trace levels of THC in their blood in the hours immediately following their use of low-THC herbal cannabis. As a result, they cautioned that some consumers could potentially run afoul of traffic safety laws that impose per se limits for the presence of THC in blood despite having never been impaired.

Five states – Illinois, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington – impose various per se limits for the detection of trace amounts of THC in blood while ten states (Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wisconsin) impose zero tolerant per se standards. In these states, it is a criminal violation of the traffic safety laws to operate a vehicle with detectable levels of THC in blood – even absent any demonstrable evidence of psychomotor impairment.

NORML has long opposed the imposition of THC per se thresholds for cannabinoids in traffic safety legislation, opining: “The sole presence of THC and/or its metabolites in blood, particularly at low levels, is an inconsistent and largely inappropriate indicator of psychomotor impairment in cannabis consuming subjects. … Lawmakers would be advised to consider alternative legislative approaches to address concerns over DUI cannabis behavior that do not rely solely on the presence of THC or its metabolites in blood or urine as determinants of guilt in a court of law. Otherwise, the imposition of traffic safety laws may inadvertently become a criminal mechanism for law enforcement and prosecutors to punish those who have engaged in legally protected behavior and who have not posed any actionable traffic safety threat.”

Full text of the study, “Effect of vaporizing cannabis rich in cannabidiol on cannabinoid levels in blood and on driving ability – A randomized clinical trial,” appears in the International Journal of Legal Medicine. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Marijuana and Psychomotor Performance.’

Switzerland Cannabis Pilot Programs Set To Expand

Written by Hazel Norman on May 16, 2023. Posted in Business, Policy.

Switzerland is home to a cannabis commerce public policy experiment that is based on a concept which is seemingly growing in popularity in policy and regulatory circles. The concept, limited regional cannabis commerce pilot projects, is already in operation in Basel, Switzerland where 374 people between the ages of 18 and 76 can make legal adult-use cannabis purchases.

Additional pilot programs were approved for Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, and Bern, with Bern’s pilot program set to launch this fall. The pilot program in Bern ‘plans to recruit 1,091 participants, including approximately 600 in the federal city’ according to domestic reporting.

Zurich is Switzerland’s largest city with a population of roughly 400,000 people, although the overall metro area pushes that number considerably higher. Zurich’s pilot program is expected to launch at the end of the summer and will involve 3,000 participants when fully operational. Participants will be able to make legal cannabis purchases from an expected 21 regulated outlets in Zurich.

Switzerland is not the only nation pursuing plans for regional pilot programs. Officials in Denmark are pursuing their own plans, and Germany is likely to eventually become the largest embracer of such public policy efforts. German lawmakers are working right now to hammer out details that will serve as the foundation for the nation’s pilot programs.

Officials in Frankfurt and Offenbach have already declared their intentions to launch pilot programs, and they are surely not alone. Germany will not be the first place where pilot programs are launched, however, the nation that serves as home to the largest economy in Europe will likely prove to be the place where pilot programs become the most common, and on a much larger scale than what will be found in Switzerland.

The expansion of pilot programs in Switzerland is worthy of celebration to be sure, although the scope of the nation’s pilot programs needs to be kept in proper context. They are very limited in size and are not coupled with noncommercial cannabis clubs like what is being pursued in Germany and proposed in the Czech Republic.

What Switzerland really needs, and this is true for every country on earth, is a robust cannabis policy that ensures safe access to all forms of medical cannabis for suffering patients, and incorporates regulated adult-use commerce for all cannabis products, regardless of THC content, to help boost public health outcomes.

Limited Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Project Is Moving Forward In Zurich

Written by Frank Schuler on March 22, 2023. Posted in Policy.

Switzerland’s experiment with adult-use cannabis pilot programs is reportedly expanding, with Zurich’s city government and the Zurich University Hospital indicating today that the Federal Office of Public Health has given the ‘greenlight’ for the local pilot program to proceed later this year.

A cannabis pilot program is, in theory, designed to permit limited local cannabis commerce for the purpose of gaining insight and helping craft potential national cannabis industry laws, rules, and regulations. It gives lawmakers and regulators the opportunity to see what works and what does not work at the local level to help them be better suited to create and implement national policies.

Zurich will not be the first jurisdiction in Switzerland to launch limited adult-use sales as part of a pilot program. Back in early February Basel, Switzerland launched its pilot program with 180 participants after experiencing various delays. The Basel program will eventually involve 374 people total, all aged between 18 and 76.

The pilot program in Zurich, which is the result of a legal amendment adopted by the Swiss parliament in 2020 allowing for adult-use cannabis trials, will be considerably larger than the one in Basel. However, it will still be very limited in size compared to other legal adult-use markets around the globe. Per Swiss Info:

The project, Zuri Can – Cannabis with Responsibility, is intended to study the impact of regulated cannabis supply on the consumption and health of consumers.

The project was delayed last October following objections by the health office.

The sale of cannabis products from pharmacies and social clubs to control groups is now due to begin next August.

A maximum of 2,100 participants can take part in the large-scale pilot project in Switzerland’s biggest city.

Meanwhile, right on the other side of the border between Switzerland and Germany, adult-use cannabis legalization is on the move at the national level. It will be very interesting to see if/when Germany legalizes cannabis for adult use and launches regulated sales nationwide how it may affect Switzerland’s pilot programs.

Presumably, at least some amount of consumers that would have otherwise participated in a Switzerland pilot program will instead go to Germany to make their cannabis purchases.

Even for those that participate in the program at home, many will still travel to Germany for various reasons and consume cannabis there instead of back in Switzerland, and that may skew the results of the cannabis trials, at least to some degree. Switzerland would be better served by passing its own national cannabis legalization measure.