Switzerland: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

The long road to EFSA authorisation for CBD as novel food in the European Union

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 20th May 2024

In June 2022, the European Food Safety Authority broke some very bad news to CBD companies applying for their products to be authorised as novel food in the European Union ...

The uncertain fate of IHDCs in Europe: could a general ban be on the horizon?

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 12th April 2024

In this part of a series of articles celebrating the tenth anniversary of Tamarind Intelligence, we look at how the landscape of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (IHDCs) across Europe has changed over the years ...

Is the cannabis sector failing to ensure gender equality at its own expense?

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 17th July 2023

Women started entering the cannabis sector right at its beginning, and by 2015 over one third of US executives in cannabis companies were female. In 2017 this figure was down to 26% ...

Relaxation beats intoxication – IHDC sales aren’t just about getting high

Written by Freddie Dawson | 15th March 2023

HHC is the most popular intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid (IHDC) in Europe, while delta-8 THC remains top in the US, according to CannIntelligence analysts ...

Switzerland’s recreational cannabis pilot projects under criticism from within

Written by CannIntelligence | 13th February 2023

Recent criticism from the Swiss canton of Bern on a pilot study to legalise and sell recreational cannabis in pharmacies will have no impact on plans to carry on with the project ...

Developing countries could get economic boost from industrial hemp, says UN

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 25th January 2023

Government and industry representatives from around the world met in Geneva last week to hear about the “significant economic opportunities” offered by industrial hemp and the need for greater clarity on its legal status ...

A very Juicy scandal as 'e-growers' see their cannabis investments disappear

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 3rd August 2022

Scandal now surrounds the cannabis “crowdgrowing” platform Juicy Fields, which is being sued by its investors for fraud ...

CBD watchdog Leafreport tests sleeping products, with eye-opening results

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 20th May 2022

The need to improve sleep is one of the main reasons why US consumers buy CBD, according to CBD-Intel’s latest market research; however, a recent report from a CBD watchdog claims that 60% of the...

Basel moves forward with its recreational cannabis trial

Written by CannIntelligence | 6th May 2022

Basel will start allowing the sale of recreational cannabis through local pharmacies at the end of the summer as the first Swiss city to win the approval of health authorities for the pilot project ...

Omura to take its heated Flowersticks international, starting in Switzerland

Written by CannIntelligence | 21st December 2021

The US-based heat-not-burn (HnB) hemp company Omura will announce a new set of target country markets in the first quarter of 2022, starting with Switzerland as a bridge into Europe ...

Luxembourg leads Europe on the road to legalisation of recreational cannabis

Written by CannIntelligence | 6th December 2021

Luxembourg will become the first European country to establish a legal regulatory framework allowing adults to grow and use cannabis for personal use and to trade seeds ...

Switzerland heads towards cannabis legalisation, but some hurdles remain

Written by CannIntelligence | 19th November 2021

Switzerland inched closer towards legalising recreational and medical cannabis as a committee of the upper parliamentary chamber backed a proposal to regulate the market ...

Euro cross-party group to push for EU harmony on medicinal cannabis rules

Written by CannIntelligence | 12th July 2021

A new cross-party European parliamentary group wants to help patients across the European Union get better access to medical cannabis and advance the EU’s cannabis resolution of 2019 ...

European ingredient popularity drives cannabinoid sector's latest M&A action

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 18th June 2021

Appetite for European ingredients producers appears to be driving the latest round of merger and acquisition (M&A) action in the cannabinoid sector ...

US market to top $3bn in two years, but Swiss remain the biggest CBD users

Written by CannIntelligence | 15th March 2021

Swiss consumers are head-for-head the biggest purchasers of CBD products, according to CBD-Intel’s 2021 market size analysis. Meanwhile, we predict big growth in a number of other markets, and a shift in the most popular...

Switzerland opens a door by allowing non-EU catalogue varietals to be grown

Written by Freddie Dawson | 24th November 2020

Starting next year, Switzerland will allow the commercial growing of all hemp varieties with a THC content below 1% – even those that are not in the European Union catalogue ...

Ambitious firms defy the times by expanding operations into new markets

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 5th October 2020

Turbulent times and the ongoing challenges caused by COVID-19 are not stopping some CBD businesses from doing deals and making major investments as they seek expansion into new markets ...

Switzerland edges towards legal cannabis with trials likely next year

Written by CannIntelligence | 17th August 2020

Switzerland plans to launch trials next year as part of a move toward legalising cannabis with high levels of THC – but it could be several years before Swiss users can legally light up a...

Swiss authorities return money after hemp flowers tax court ruling

Written by CannIntelligence | 28th July 2020

Switzerland’s customs authorities returned CHF33m (€30.5m) to CBD producers after the federal supreme court ruled there was no legal basis to tax hemp flowers under the country’s tobacco law...

Government aid available to European companies hit by COVID-19 measures

Written by CannIntelligence | 28th May 2020

CBD companies based in Europe have a range of possible options for government assistance to help them through the various strictures imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic ...

Two companies separately develop micelle encapsulation for CBD

Written by CannIntelligence | 27th March 2020

Two companies have independently come up with the same general solution to major CBD problems. Micelle encapsulation replicates the body’s normal internal process of absorbing fats. The process used by the companies encapsulates CBD in...

Toothpaste giant enters CBD market: business news in brief

Written by CannIntelligence | 26th February 2020

Toothpaste giant Colgate is entering the CBD market, researchers have created a laser scanner that can tell the difference between legal hemp and potentially illegal cannabis, and wrestling legend Kevin Nash has become the latest...

Swiss Supreme Court rules that hemp flowers should not be taxed under tobacco law

Written by CannIntelligence | 24th February 2020

Switzerland’s federal supreme court has ruled CBD should not be taxed under tobacco law, meaning that hemp flowers will no longer be subject to the 25% tax under the Swiss tobacco law ...

Rugby league stars to promote CBD brand on kit: business news in brief

Written by CannIntelligence | 21st January 2020

CBD-Intel brings you news that a rugby league team will be the first senior outfit in its sport to promote a CBD brand on its kit, a qualification for hemp production is offered in Kentucky...

Police set to drop ‘drug bust’ charges: CBD-Intel business news in brief

Written by CannIntelligence | 25th November 2019

CBD-Intel's regular round-up of business news in brief revisits the strange case of the Fed Ex tip-off that got New York police confused ...

Unreliability of oils ‘will hold back CBD’ – but there is another way

Written by Freddie Dawson | 5th November 2019

A CBD company is trying to convince other vendors to give up selling CBD oils, believing the variable bioavailability of oils will hold the industry back ...

CBD 'most searched health term in the US': CBD business news in brief

Written by CannIntelligence | 4th November 2019

According to research from San Diego State University, CBD is the most searched health term in the US. Also covered are further stories from the US, Australia, India, Italy and Switzerland ...

Coca-Cola heir launches bank and cryptocurrency just for hemp trade

Written by CannIntelligence | 21st August 2019

A Greek billionaire claims to have launched the world’s first bank specifically focused on supporting the hemp and legal cannabis markets ...

CBD-Intel business news in brief, 29th July-2nd August 2019

Written by CannIntelligence | 5th August 2019

US food and pharmacy chain Kroger has increased its range of CBD products with deals to distribute CV Sciences, Veritas Farms and Charlotte’s Web products in 1350 stores across 22 states ...

CBD-Intel business news in brief, 15th-19th July 2019

Written by CannIntelligence | 22nd July 2019

Christian Books or hemp extract? CBD-Intel brings you a pot-pourri of CBD-related news snippets from around the business world ...

Swiss company plans final appeal against 25% tax on cannabis flowers

Written by Freddie Dawson | 19th March 2019

An appeal is planned against a Swiss court’s decision that low-THC cannabis flowers should continue to be taxed at the same 25% rate as fine-cut tobacco – a decision that came as no surprise to...

Swiss report signals ‘the beginning of the end of cannabis prohibition’

Written by CannIntelligence | 28th February 2019

Growing acceptance and use of CBD in Switzerland, as demonstrated in a recent report, could eventually lead to legalisation of cannabis in the country, according to a range of experts ...

It’s a smoking hot issue – Swiss CBD users like flowers best

Written by CannIntelligence | 13th February 2019

Swiss consumers use CBD for assorted reasons, but one thing is clear: most prefer to smoke it. A preference for flowers was one major finding of a study into the habits of CBD users in...

Liposome-based oils ‘deliver CBD four times faster’, manufacturer claims

Written by CannIntelligence | 15th January 2019

A Swiss CBD company claims to have become the first cannabidiol firm to use liposomes to deliver the substance into users’ bodies and says its new products will deliver CBD to a user’s system four...

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