Health office approves first Swiss project to sell cannabis for recreational use

The cannabis is to be dispensed under strict supervision by local pharmacies. © Keystone/Gaetan Bally

The city of Basel is the first to be given the green light by the Swiss authorities to sell cannabis for recreational use.

The Federal Office of Public Health said it had approved a request for a pilot on the regulated sale of cannabis through local pharmacies. It will be restricted to just under 400 participants over the age 18 as part of a joint project by the University of Basel, its psychiatric clinics and the cantonal health department.

The trial, due to begin in September, is intended to help evaluate the effects of new regulations on the recreational use of cannabis and ultimately combat black market distribution, the office said on Tuesday.

Several other local authorities, including Zurich, Geneva and Bern, have also applied to roll out similar trials. The Swiss parliament laid the legal basis for such small-scale initiatives in September 2020.

The health office estimates there are 220,000 regular consumers of cannabis in Switzerland despite a legal ban.

Until now, the use of cannabis is only allowed for medical reasons.

In 2008 almost two-thirds of Swiss voters rejected an initiative to decriminalise cannabis consumption; it was the second national vote on the issue in a decade.