Paul, a 42-year-old man from Basel, whose identity AFP knows but has agreed not to reveal it at his request, considers "1,000 times better" to buy his cannabis in pharmacies, rather than on the sly as he did for 25 years with "strange people or criminals".

"We have the different products stored in the safe because it is mandatory," he told AFP. It produces colorful bags resembling candy packets, 5 grams each, containing six different products (four in the form of dried cannabis flowers, two hashish products), with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, euphoric substance) ranging from 4.5 to 20%.

In Switzerland, cannabis containing more than 1% THC is prohibited for consumption. Even if possessing up to a maximum of 10 grams for one's own consumption is not punishable, pressure is growing for a change in legislation.

In 2021, about 70 percent of the population favored liberalization, up from 58 percent in 2018, according to the Health Ministry.

"We must get cannabis out of the illicit framework, but make a very strict regulation. It is not a question of encouraging its consumption," said the vice-president of the Federal Commission for Addiction Issues, Barbara Broers, to AFP.

"It is important that people have access to controlled and regulated products but we propose to ban advertising, and to have plain packaging packages as for cigarettes in some countries," she said.

Policy of small steps

The government has opted for a policy of small steps, allowing trials for 10 years.

In Basel, thousands of people applied, but only about 400 were selected, aged between 18 and 76. The aim is to study "the effects of the regulated sale of cannabis (...) on mental health and consumption behaviour," study leader Marc Walter of the University of Basel told AFP.

So far, the study has shown that participants mostly like "products with very high THC content," he says.

Prices, ranging from 8 to 12 francs per gram depending on the THC, follow the black market. "If they are too low, people will try to resell the product, and if they are too expensive, people will turn to the black market," Marc Brüngger, an official at the Swiss company Pure Production, which produces cannabis for the study, told AFP.

Recreational cannabis sachets sold on an experimental basis at this pharmacy in Basel, Switzerland, are kept in a safe © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Other major cities will launch trials, including Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne, but the sale will also be made in associations.

"Pure and organic"

In Basel, Paul is delighted to have said "goodbye" to dealers and to finally know what he consumes: a "pure and organic cannabis", grown in Switzerland and whose quality is guaranteed by the authorities.

"I want to consume cannabis, not chemicals made in China," he told AFP, horrified by the arrival on the market of synthetic cannabinoids, molecules produced in laboratories mimicking the effects of THC.

This marketing specialist regrets that Switzerland has not directly legalized, as in some American states, Canada and Uruguay.

"Switzerland has chosen a different path, and as a scientist I prefer that," says Professor Walter.

"It's very Swiss to do this kind of thing. You are doing a study to see how the population will react, what are the questions that arise," adds Frank Zobel, deputy director of Addiction Switzerland.

"The model comes from the 90s" when Switzerland introduced the medical prescription of heroin, he says, "there were also 4 years of pilot tests and today it is a treatment that is reimbursed by health insurance".

© 2023 AFP