After a four-month delay, the “Weed Care” pilot in Switzerland, which was supposed to be the first THC adult-use cannabis trial in Europe, is now scheduled to start on January 30, 2023.
The historic study has resumed after a second batch of cannabis was given the go-ahead for use, which is expected to “open the door” for other adult-use cannabis studies to be conducted throughout Switzerland and Europe.
After its initial 30kg batch “narrowly” failed to meet quality criteria, Pure Production AG has verified that it has acquired renewed authorisation from Swiss health authorities to deliver the study.
Those involved are optimistic that this delay will yield “the first learnings” for the project and facilitate the many other significant investigations that are anticipated to be approved “over the coming weeks.”
The Delay
Initial plans were for Basel, Switzerland’s third-most populous city, to host the Weed Care experiment beginning on September 15 and continuing through March 2025.
However, the city’s health authorities reported that the cannabis provided “narrowly failed to meet a quality level established in the Ordinance on Pilot Trials under the Narcotics Act” just days before the controlled sale of adult-use cannabis was scheduled to begin in a few Basel pharmacies.
The items utilized must be produced organically rather than through far more strictly regulated indoor growth, as required by the Swiss regulatory framework for the controlled sale of adult-use cannabis for research purposes.
Fluopyram, a pesticide “not permitted for organic growing,” was discovered in Pure’s first batch after analysis. This pesticide is believed to have come from the greenhouse soil that was tainted “years before” Pure started using the location.
Although the levels of fluopyram were substantially below the upper limit for normal food consumption (lettuce is 15 ppm), the study was put on pause until a solution was sought due to the legislation’s rigorous requirements, which led to the decision to incinerate the 30 kg batch.
“In the end, for us it was never a possibility to release this batch, unless they chose to alter the thresholds, because we’ve been battling for quality in cannabis in Switzerland for years,” said Lino Cereghetti, COO of Pure Production, to BusinessCann.
With “Limited Options”
The government and the owners of the study then had a “six-week” debate about how to find an other supply of product so that the study could begin as soon as feasible.
Since there aren’t many recreational markets in the world that can export, the alternatives were somewhat limited. Canada was taken into consideration, but when we had to ensure that suppliers were growing according to Swiss regulations, that further reduced the pool of potential suppliers, according to Mr. Cereghetti.
While Basel officials remained silent, the option to import goods from Canada was publicized in the Swiss media. However, it is known that this was only ever a “fallback option” in the event that Pure’s second batch was likewise rejected.
Even if we had utilized Canadian goods, they would have just filled in the void; Swiss goods would have taken their place.
While these negotiations were going on, Pure was able to harvest a second batch successfully at a different location that “has been run organic for the last 30 years.”
Now that it has obtained its federal office authorization, it has been confirmed that its second batch “meets all the criteria of the quality assurance.”
As planned, Pure will provide two hashish and four cannabis flower products to particular pharmacies in Basel, which will be sold beginning on January 30, 2023.
The Basel-Stadt health department, University Psychiatric Clinics, Aargau Psychiatric Services, and Basel University have proceeded in spite of the delay.
