Switzerland has given the green light to more cities to lunch trials on the sale of legal cannabis to assess the health and social effects of legalization.
The cities of Biel/Bienne, Lucerne, and Bern, the de facto capital of Switzerland, join the trials to assess the impact of cannabis sales in the country, which aim to provide data that could potentially shape the government’s policy on cannabis.
The SCRIPT study
The Safer Cannabis Research In Pharmacies randomized controlled Trial (SCRIPT) of the University of Bern received early this month approval from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the Swiss federal government’s Center for public health, and other local and national agencies to start a cannabis trial to assess the impact of legalization.
The SCRIPT study will be conducted by researchers from the Universities of Bern and Lucerne in collaboration with the cities of Bern, Lucerne, and Biel/Bienne, as well as numerous partner institutions and authorities.
The study is expected to start this fall and aims to investigate the health and social effects of a strictly regulated, non-profit-oriented sale of cannabis in pharmacies. However, only half of the 1,000 participants will be allowed to buy regulated cannabis products in pharmacies during the first six months.
The Cannabinotheque
Meanwhile, the FOPH has also approved a similar program focused on a single authorized dispensary called the “Cannabinotheque,” which will provide regulated access to cannabis. The dispensary will operate on a membership model in Vernier, a municipality in the Canton of Geneva. It will start this year and involve the participation of up to 1,000 people over three years, while the fourth year will be dedicated to the submission of the final report to the federal authorities.
Source: Dario Sabaghi – forbes.com
Image: unsplash.com
