European countries are gradually turning their attention toward cannabis reform as medical and adult-use cannabis steadily become the new status quo in states around the U.S. While Germany gears up to launch its adult-use program next month, Switzerland has embraced an alternative approach in the form of an adult-use cannabis pilot program.

Earlier in March, Swiss officials published the first data from its pilot study in Zürich, offering initial insights on the demand for legal cannabis in the country along with some emerging consumer trends.

The results of the study will be used to determine what, if any, public health implications adult-use cannabis availability might inflict on Switzerland as well as the rest of Europe.

Switzerland is currently running trials in the cities of Lausanne, Zürich, Liestal, Allschwil, Bern, Bienne, and Lucerne, along with the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Geneva.

A First Look at Cannabis Consumers in the Swiss Pilot Program

Regarding the recently shared data on the “ZüriCan” study, a total of 2,100 people are able to take part with 1,928 currently included and eligible to purchase cannabis as part of the study. 

Significantly more men (80.7%) than women (18%) or nonbinary people (1.2%) are taking part. This disparity was predicted, with researchers referencing a country-wide online survey from 2016 that similarly showed the majority of Swiss cannabis consumers were men. The 28-32 age group is also the most frequently represented in the study, with a mean age of 35 years.

The data also takes a closer look at the consumption habits of study participants, with the majority consuming cannabis four or more times a week.

“Participation in the study seems to be particularly attractive for people who consume frequently,” researchers state via translation. “However, people who only use cannabis a few times a month also take part in the study. This will allow us to compare people with different consumption habits in our study.”

Researchers also note that approximately a fourth of participants had evidence of a cannabis use disorder before they had access to the products in the study — confirmed via a screening questionnaire, the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test (CUDIT). Researchers note that this trend mirrors other similar studies.

Acknowledging and honing focus on this variable could also prove to be valuable from a research perspective:

“Regulated distribution of cannabis can create a framework that promotes lower-risk cannabis consumption. In particular, cannabis users who have problematic consumption have easier access to advice and treatment services,” authors note. “… The sales staff at the reference points have been specially trained to provide advice and prevention so that individual, targeted advice is possible. Since study participants always buy their study cannabis from the same source, a closer relationship of trust can develop over time, in which problematic developments can also be identified and discussed.”

Product Trends and ‘Promising Insights’

The program originally offered five options, but in December 2023, it expanded to include nine different cannabis products — five flower and four hash products — with varying levels of THC and CBD. Researchers note that study participants have requested “all products,” with a total of approximately 16,500 sales so far and a total of around 140 kg (around 309 lbs) of cannabis products sold in five-gram packs.

The data did not include any further breakdowns surrounding consumer behavior or the popularity of specific products, however.

The European cannabis company Cannavigia is working with the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health on the study, namely to track cannabis sales and provide data on consumption trends through its Cannabis Dispensary System. 

According to Cannavigia Head of Marketing Tobias Viegener, these initial findings are already providing some major insights.

“The initial data from the ‘ZüriCan’ pilot, published this month, reveals promising insights into the regulated cannabis market’s functionality and its acceptance among participants,” he told Forbes. “This level of engagement indicates a positive reception and an effective distribution system, setting a solid foundation for informing future cannabis policy and regulation.”

Another Cannabis Study is Coming to Switzerland Soon

On March 18, officials also shared an announcement of the country’s latest study, which will run for five years and could see as many as 7,500 participants — Switzerland’s largest trial to date. 

The study will also include a comparison group, with consumers continuing to source cannabis through the illicit market, while the other groups located in Winterthur, Schlieren and Horgen will have access to regulated products through participating pharmacies and retail locations.

Cannavigia software will also be used in the recently announced Canton Zürich pilot study. 

According to the Federal Office of Public Health, “The aim of the pilot trial in the canton of Zürich is to investigate the social and economic consequences of legalising recreational cannabis use in Switzerland. In addition, the effects of a self-regulation programme for the prevention of excessive cannabis use are to be studied. This involves a randomised controlled trial (RCT).”

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One cannabis trial covering the areas of Bern, Lucerne, and Biel, and another in Geneva, were recently approved in Switzerland.

According to a press release on May 10, the SCRIPT study (safer cannabis research in pharmacies randomized controlled trial) that will cover Bern, Lucerne and Biel received approval from the both the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), the Cantonal Commission of Ethics and the Ethics Commission of Northwest and Central Switzerland.

Research will be conducted by the Bern Institute for Family Medicine at the University of Bern, which is expected to begin in October 2023-April 2026. The program expects the sample size number of participants to be 1,091.

The head of the SCRIPT study at the university, Reto Auer, explained that the goal is to examine “health and social effects” of a regulated cannabis industry at local pharmacies. “These elements are intended to make the products less attractive, especially for young people—we know that from tobacco prevention,” Auer said in a press release. “Our study therefore does not aim to legalize cannabis in the free market—but to be able to address the problems caused by prohibition and the black market and to test possible harm reduction approaches, as well as a strict control of supply and distribution use demand for cannabis.”

Auer added that education through pharmacy sales staff could help prevent harm caused by preventable harm from tobacco or other substances. “Dispensing at the pharmacy allows for better information and the possibility of reducing damage. Users often do not know what is contained in their cannabis. On the illegal market there is cannabis that contains synthetic cannabinoids, pesticides or fungi—some of which are very dangerous.”

Adults 18 years or older will be allowed to participate in the study. Half of participants will get to purchase cannabis during the first six months of the study. “The comparison of the fate of people in the two groups should make it possible to obtain study results that are as scientifically rigorous as possible,” the study announcement states. 

An additional study initiative called “The Cannabinotheque: a pilot trial for the regulated sale of cannabis in the canton of Geneva” was also approved by BAG. Beginning in June 2023 through June 2027, this study will “improve knowledge of the substance and its associated issues and concerns and may help reduce the health and social risks that drug consumption usually entails” with a sample size of 1,080 participants.

Switzerland lifted its ban on medical cannabis on June 2022, which paved the way for studies to begin. The country initially announced that it would be conducting a cannabis trial back in September 2021. Switzerland’s medical cannabis law went into effect on August 1, 2022. “Up to now, cannabis for medicinal purposes has not been allowed to be cultivated, imported or processed into preparations without an exceptional permit,” BAG announced last year. “Treatment of patients with cannabis medicinal products that were exempt from authorization was only possible with an exceptional permit from the BAG and only in justified cases. The demand for such permits has increased in recent years. This is administratively complex delays treatment and no longer corresponds to the exceptional character provided for by the Narcotics Act.”

The first cannabis trial in Switzerland, called “Züri Can – Cannabis with Responsibility” launched on March 23, 2023 and covered a total of 2,100 participants. “The City of Zurich Cannabis Study attaches great importance to the self-determination, responsibility and cooperation of all those involved,” the study website stated. “At all reference points, value is placed on individual advice aimed at reducing damage and promoting health. The respective reference points can contribute their different strengths in the area of ​​individual and public health protection.”

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