Sweden: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

4th October 2023: Sweden: In December 2021, the government tasked the Swedish Medical Products Agency with drafting a report on low-THC products, which it recently published. The report analyses market and regulatory developments over the past two years, also considering the European and North American landscapes. The report recommends establishing a permanent consultation group led by the agency, which would collaborate with other national health agencies to enhance consumer safety and prevent illegal products from entering the Swedish market.
10th July 2023: Sweden: Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and hexahydrocannabiphorol (HHCP), which are currently unregulated, will be classified as narcotics starting tomorrow, 11th July. At the beginning of June 2023, the government made the decision to classify them as narcotics, in response to a request from the Public Health Agency.
12th June 2023: Sweden: The government has made the decision to classify hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and hexahydrocannabiphorol (HHCP) as narcotics, in response to a request from the Public Health Agency. HHC and HHCP, which are currently unregulated, will be classified as narcotics starting from 11th July 2023.
29th May 2023: Sweden: The Public Health Agency has proposed that the government should classify hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and hexahydrocannabiphorol (HHCP) as narcotics. HHC and HHCP, currently not regulated, were already included in the list of substances under investigation managed by the Public Health Agency.
17th April 2023: Sweden: The Public Health Agency has added H4-CBD, a hydrogenated version of CBD, to the list of substances under investigation, while hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) was added in October 2022. The agency uses this list to submit requests for the classification of a substance as a narcotic or health hazard to the government, which then makes the final decision. In the reports submitted for these two cannabinoids, the agency contends that they “can be used for the purpose of achieving intoxication”.
17th November 2022: EU: The Swedish Medical Products Agency (SMPA), the representative for Sweden in the Working Group on Cosmetic Products of the European Commission (EC), told CannIntelligence that a meeting of the working group took place on 8th November 2022. According to the same source, the EC was expected to present a revised paper encompassing all the feedback provided by member states on a previous draft non-paper that examined the potential consequences of the Kanavape case on the cosmetics sector. However, the SMPA said that the EC did not present the revised paper, and that “it is still under process”.
27th October 2022: EU: The Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs has told CannIntelligence that some EU member states expressed concerns during the 1st March meeting of the Working Group on Cosmetic Products over the fact that the draft non-paper presenting the European Commission’s preliminary views on the impact of the Kanavape case on the cosmetics sector establishes THC limits. They were worried that existing national legislation might conflict with the establishment of THC thresholds for cosmetic products. Ireland commented during the meeting that “there is no approach to have THC thresholds/limits at national level”, a view supported by Sweden.
7th October 2022: EU: The minutes of the 1st March 2022 meeting of the Working Group on Cosmetic Products have been published this week. While discussing CBD in cosmetic products, Ireland “commented that ... there is no approach to have THC thresholds/limits at national level”, while Sweden supported Ireland’s position. CBD-Intel is inquiring with the relevant authorities for further clarification, though the statement might refer to the lack of a provision in the draft non-paper allowing member states to establish a THC threshold for CBD in cosmetic products. Sweden considers that a cosmetic product containing THC, regardless of the quantity, is a preparation under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances and therefore considered a “drug”.
2nd September 2022: Sweden: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has sided with Sweden in a case involving medical cannabis, ruling that there has been no violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the case. The applicant – confined to a wheelchair after a traffic accident – cultivated his own cannabis at home to relieve his cramps and pain. On 22nd April 2015 he was charged with criminal offences for the manufacture, use and possession of narcotics, which led to a conviction by the Swedish courts. The ECHR held that in striking the particular balance between the applicant’s interest in having access to pain relief and the general interest in enforcing the system of control of narcotics and medicines, the Swedish authorities had acted within their wide discretion and, therefore, there had been no violation of the Convention.
10th June 2022: Sweden: An administrative court in Stockholm ruled in favour of the Medical Products Agency that banned a Dutch company from selling CBD-containing products through online sales, local media reports. The administrative court rejected the appeal of the Dutch company and considered that the Medical Products Agency has the right to ban the sale of CBD-containing products without a medical market authorisation.

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