Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CANNABIS

Weed wars: 4,000 legal cannabis plants destroyed in Switzerland

A medical cannabis producer in Saint Gallen has suffered 1.3 million francs in losses after unknown perpetrators pulled out 4,000 of his plants from his plantation but didn’t steal them.

Published: 13 July 2018 18:40 CEST
Weed wars: 4,000 legal cannabis plants destroyed in Switzerland
When a male plant pollinates a female it becomes unusable. Photo: Deposit Photos

Usually when you hear of people pulling weeds out of their garden they’re not referring to the kind you can roll up and smoke or consume for medical purposes. 

On this particular occasion however it was just that, although this serial cannabis cull was far from desired.
“More than 4,000 hemp plants have been torn off and thrown to the ground,” Tony Peruzzo, owner of Tell Hemp, told local Swiss daily 20 Minuten.

Earlier this year, Peruzzo bought three hectares of land in the municipality of Benken in St. Gallen, where he began harvesting cannabis for the production of CBD. 

For those not in the know, CBD is the non-psychoactive component found in hemp, marijuana’s conservative cousin, which has been found to have a wide array of medical benefits when taken in oil form. 

Aside from destroying a third of Tell Hemp’s completely legal plants –leaving him with 1.3 million francs in losses – the perperators went one step further.

They sowed other hemp seeds on Peruzzo’s grounds in a bid to wreak havoc with the next harvest.

“The male plants that grow there will make the female plants unusable” Peruzzo said with regret. 

When a male plant pollinates a female it becomes unusable, especially because the flowers are filled with seeds.

Tell Hemp’s CEO believes all this is the work of a competing rival in the medical cannabis market.

“In the beginning we thought it was the authorities were anticannabis,” he said.

“But when we saw that other CBD seeds had been spread, we knew it was a competitor's work.”

He suspects his predecessor in the CBD Benken business, Jakob Beglinger.

But when contacted by 20 Minuten Beglinger defended himself, saying “I do not need to do that”. 

“Business is good. If I want to fight the competition, I will eventually lower my prices. But in no case will I go and destroy the fields of others.”

Beglinger thinks it is rather the work of group young thugs.

Meanwhile, Peruzzo has filed a complaint with the police, offering a 10,000-franc reward to whoever can provide clues to get his hands on the culprits.

“The investigation is ongoing,” confirmed the spokesman of the police of St. Gallen, Gian Andrea Rezzoli.
 

Could medical marihuana be the next cash cow for Swiss farmers?

 

HEALTH

VIDEO: Why CBD cannabis health shops are blossoming all over France

A recent decision by the European Court of Justice which prevents France from classifying cannabis-derived products (CBD) as narcotics has led to dozens of CBD wellness shops springing up all over France.

Published: 12 March 2021 11:25 CET
VIDEO: Why CBD cannabis health shops are blossoming all over France
Nathalie Pagé, a 52-years-old hemp cultivator, sells her cannabis products at the market of Crest, south eastern France. Photo: Philippe Desmazes, Bertrand Guay/AFP

Tomany Macalou got his green light for a Paris cannabis shop last November, when a European court chided France for cracking down on cannabis products stripped of the THC molecules that get people high.

Moving fast, he joined a new crop of entrepreneurs entering a less-illicit side of France’s cannabis market, offering buds but also teas, candy and oils containing only cannabidiol (CBD), the plant’s other main ingredient.

“Some use it to lower their blood pressure or help with insomnia,” Macalou told AFP at his shop, Cannabillion, just a few blocks from a police station in eastern Paris.

Traditional marijuana remains illegal in France, and even though President Emmanuel Macron’s government lowered fines for its use, it has no plans to join the legalisation trend in many countries.

But strict rules on hemp use — products can be made only from the plant’s fibres or seeds, not the leaves — made CBD sales a risky business.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

Video produced by Alex Dunham

The law also says only trace amounts of less than 0.2 percent of THC can be present, a level that is easily exceeded — though still harmless — when extracting CBD from flowers, and none at all in items destined for human consumption.

Two years ago, authorities shut down dozens of businesses that had hoped to ride the wave of popularity for a compound that promises natural relaxation and other health benefits, though some experts dispute the health claims.

In November, however, the European Court of Justice said France was violating EU free market rules by forbidding imported CBD obtained from the entire plant, flowers and all.

“I knew the decision was coming, so as soon as it came I felt confident enough to go ahead,” Macalou said.

‘Radically changed’

France is already Europe’s largest producer of hemp, though mainly for the construction and textile industries.

The country now counts some 400 CBD shops, according to the SPC alliance of hemp professionals.

That’s nearly four times the number that were operational before the government’s crackdown two years ago, representing a market worth €150 million to 200 million ($180-$240 million).

“The context has radically changed,” said Aurelien Delecroix, the SPC’s president. “At the time, the association with recreational cannabis was incredibly damaging for the sector.”

But a growing appetite for natural remedies is attracting a wider range of clients, he said, and most shops have dropped their transgressive vibes for more a sober ambiance: Think pharmacy or organic grocery, not an Amsterdam coffee shop.

“I find it enjoyable and relaxing,” said Thomas Leclair, an architect in his 30s, who was at Cannabillion to buy tea as well as herb “so I smoke fewer cigarettes”.

“I also bought some oils that you put under your tongue: My roommate says it helps ease the pain when she has her period,” he said.

No high here: A saleswoman with a jar of CBD marijuana buds at “Le Chanvrier Francais” in Paris.

‘Reassured’

Jonathan Msika worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years before he made the jump to CBD, opening his Perfect Time boutique near the Place de la Nation in the capital.

“I have elderly clients who say they come here because they’re reassured by the atmosphere. They wouldn’t go to stores that are darker,” he said.

But France’s hemp laws haven’t changed since the European court ruling, meaning shops like his remain vulnerable to administrative closures.

The case was brought by two people in Marseille selling a “Kanavape” e-cigarette that used cartridges imported from the Czech Republic, and who were given suspended prison sentences.

A parliamentary panel report released Wednesday called for an easing of the rules, in particular by lifting the limits on trace THC amounts, to help the CBD market catch up with those in Britain, the United States or Switzerland.

The SPC estimates that could create a billion-euro market within just two years.

“If you have a shop that doesn’t bother the mayor, and get along with the police, work with the authorities and don’t attract the attention of a strict public prosecutor, you’ll be alright,” Delecroix said.

“But if you don’t, you could be taking a big risk.”

SHOW COMMENTS