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CANNABIS

Why Basel is about to become Switzerland’s marijuana capital

Starting this summer a whiff of cannabis will be in the air in the northwestern Swiss city of Basel. This is what you should know about it.

Why Basel is about to become Switzerland's marijuana capital
This grass is not greener in Basel. Photo: MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP

Although Switzerland has a liberal policy regarding heroin distribution, use of marijuana is still illegal.

READ MORE: Cannabis: What are the rules in Switzerland?

However, this may soon change — a parliamentary commission ruled  in October 2021 that the drug should no longer be banned, and the first pilot trial focusing on recreational use of marijuana will begin this summer in Basel.

This joint project of the University of Basel, the University Psychiatric Clinics and the Department of Health of the Canton of Basel-City aims to test the sale of cannabis in pharmacies, under “strict conditions and …scientific support. The aim is to obtain useful lessons for defining future cannabis legislation”, health authorities said.

But if you are a Basel resident and think you will be able to just go to a pharmacy and ask for a hit, your high hopes will be dashed. 

That’s because the aforementioned “strict conditions” mean the cannabis will be heavily restricted. 

For instance, it can only include 400 pre-selected adult volunteers  “with previous experience of cannabis” and  whose state of health will have to be constantly monitored.

In addition, cannabis products must meet high quality requirements and come from Swiss organic crops.

READ MORE: Switzerland to legalise recreational and medical cannabis usage

This is what we know about the Basel study so far

According to a report in Swiss news outlet Blick, cannabis will be sourced from the “research campus” of the Pure Holding AG in Zeiningen, Aargau, where more than 8,000 different varieties of cannabis are currently growing.

The site “will become the exclusive supplier of the first cannabis distribution pilot project in Basel-City”, Blick said.

“We have spent the last two years preparing for this pilot project. Since then, we have been able to test which specific variety of THC is best suited to Basel,” said Lino Cereghetti, a biologist at Pure Holding.

In all, four kinds of flowers and two varieties of hashish will be available to the volunteers through 10 selected Basel pharmacies. Some of the products contain more THC —  the active substance primarily responsible for the feeling of ‘high’ — while others contain less.

Interestingly, prices will match the local black market, which “represents between 8 and 12 francs per gramme, depending on the product and the THC content”, Cereghetti said.

“With these trials, we want to provide insight into what a functioning [cannabis] regulation might look like”, he added.

And according to Lavinia Flückiger, the study’s co-director, “Our goal is to find out how a regulated distribution of cannabis affects people’s consumption behaviour and physical and mental health.”

If you are concerned that the grass is greener in Basel, don’t fret: other similar projects will take place in other Swiss cities at a later date.

What about medical marijuana?

Medicines containing cannabis must be licensed, according to a government site.

In Switzerland, only one product, Sativex, is currently approved for use, and  “doctors are allowed to prescribe it in certain cases of multiple sclerosis. It contains THC, but also a substance that inhibits its intoxicating effect”.

The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) may also grant exceptional approval for the prescription of cannabis-based medicinal products in response to an application from a doctor in a specific case.

However, an amendment to the Narcotic Drugs Act proposed by the Federal Council was widely approved in October, which paves the way for Swiss doctors to prescribe cannabis in the future to help their patients relieve the pain of cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other serious illnesses, as is currently the case in many other European nations.

READ MORE: Medical cannabis could soon be legal in Switzerland

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For members

BASEL

What you need to know about rail disruption in Basel this spring

If you live in or near Basel, be prepared to put up with many train cancellations and other disruptions as Swiss national railway is ‘carrying out extensive expansion and maintenance work’.

What you need to know about rail disruption in Basel this spring

“The construction work will lead to train cancellations, changed travel times and connections,” the company, SBB, said on its website.

Not being able to rely on Switzerland’s (usually very reliable) rail system will surely be a headache for commuters living, or transiting through, one of the country’s busiest train stations.

But it may be reassuring to know that the “the aim of these projects is to increase train connections and ensure that train services continue to be safe and punctual,” SBB said.

What exactly is being ‘improved’?

“The expansion projects will enable quarter-hourly service on the S-Bahn between Basel and Liestal and half-hourly service on long-distance services on the Basel–Delémont–Biel/Bienne line by the end of 2025,” SBB said. “At the same time, maintenance projects are carried out to ensure safe and punctual train services.”

In all, a total of around 1.7 billion francs will be invested in the infrastructure in the Basel area for expansion projects. There are also extensive maintenance projects, such as the basic repair of the Hauenstein base tunnel, for 140 million francs.

Which services will be disrupted, and when?

Travelers in the Basel area will be particularly affected on the weekend from March 16th to 18th, 2024.

According to SBB, construction will take place at Basel SBB train station, in Muttenz, in Laufental and in Fricktal. Construction work is also taking place across the border on French and German territory.

Timetable restrictions from March 13th, 2024 in Fricktal

On the Basel–Frick–Brugg AG–Zurich HB route there will be adjustments to the timetable from March 13th to June 24th and from August 11th to November 8th, 2024 due to the renovation of the Mühlebach Bridge.

The InterRegio trains are temporarily canceled between Rheinfelden and Frick, and replacement buses run between Möhlin and Stein-Säckingen instead of the S1.

Basel–Olten: timetable restrictions at night and on weekends

The SBB is completely renovating the Hauenstein Base Tunnel on the Basel–Olten railway line – one of the main axes of Swiss passenger and freight transport.

That’s why the timetable will be adjusted from Sunday to Thursday evening from 10 pm throughout the 2024 timetable year.

From Sunday evening, July 7th, to Monday morning, August 12th, 2024, one of the two tunnel tracks will also be closed. From mid-November, the tunnel will be completely closed for four weekends. The single-track closure and the total closures lead to travel time adjustments, diversions and train cancellations with replacements.

Laufental: timetable restrictions at night and on weekends
 
So that the long-distance trains Basel–Laufen–Delémont–Biel/Bienne can run every half hour in the future, the SBB is expanding the railway line between Grellingen and Duggingen to double track. As a result, the route must be closed on several weekends and nights between January 19th and October 7th, 2024, and replacement buses will run.
 
Where can you find further information about the disruptions?

Through your SBB app, or online at this link, which is updated in real time. 

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