Information from the Association Legalize it! (June 2024)

Hello {name}

Here is our web update information from the last few weeks:

Our members are currently receiving the latest issue 102 of our magazine Legalize it! The summer issue contains a mix of topics: the product range in the Legalize it Social Club (pilot project), a first look at the prosecution figures for 2023, the first (of many?) articles on the situation in Germany and a definition of terms. The complete magazine will be available as a PDF from September.
Become a member so that you are always up to date (e.g. also by e-mail) – you make our activities possible and support the association. Legalize it!

We have also published another issue of our magazine Legalize it! as PDF. The issue 101 is now available for download both as a whole and as individual articles in the Politics and Scene sections – the main section consists of the Annual Report 2023. The current issue (#102) is still reserved for our members.

The CannaTrade ended a few days ago. The hemp fair was a little smaller this year, but we still spoke to many new and familiar people.

We sensed a certain euphoria in some of them: if Germany has taken steps towards legalization, then things will progress here too? But we have to make a skeptical remark: Just because the federal administration and the sub-commission are working something out doesn't mean it will turn out well.

We remember: in 2004, the National Council scuttled all the discussions, reports and work of the administration since 1996 in two votes, see article in LI30. That was that!

Now most people are again hoping that it will work out easily. But at the panel discussion on the topic at the CannaTrade, it became clear that the sub-commission has not yet even addressed such fundamental questions as taxation (this would probably require a constitutional article and thus a majority of the cantons in a vote, which everyone considers unrealistic) or whether outdoor and/or indoor cultivation should be legalized. So there are still many unanswered questions. The sub-commission's proposal is due to be published in the fall, when we will be able to find out more.

We really think that we urgently need a few hundred people across the country to campaign for a change. That means taking part in podiums, standing on street stalls, writing letters to the editor, giving interviews, managing social media and, ideally, standing there with their picture and name and representing the cause. Otherwise, we fear there will be no successful vote (and it is practically certain that a vote will be held).

At the CannaTrade, we unfortunately did not sense any willingness to tackle this effort. That is why we are not euphoric.

Priska and Sven have been adding to our archive every one or two months for many years. Our archive now contains 38 folders on the subject of law, five on international affairs, twelve on politics and seven on miscellaneous. We file newspaper articles, reports, experiences, concepts, legal texts, reports, interpretations and much more. From biochemistry to youth, from road traffic to CBD hemp, from international to trade, from celebrities to opinions.

Hemp and its subtopics really are a broad field! If you would like to take a look at our archive, you are welcome to register for a members' meeting.

It is not always easy for consumers and non-consumers to live together. We are increasingly receiving two types of requests:

• Consumers who feel under pressure from their neighbors because of the smell and smoke they produce (property management, disputes, police).
• Non-consumers who want to find out what options they have to combat the stench without having to call the police.

(Incidentally, the whole thing is even more complicated because there are also consumers who are bothered by consumption by other consumers - especially if it lasts all day).

We then try to present vaporizing as an alternative to smoking. In our experience, this change completely solves the problems surrounding nuisance: vaporizing produces such low emissions that there is no longer any real odor nuisance, even in the same apartment.

It is a little more difficult when growing your own (especially if no odor filter is used, for example on the balcony). There is no smoke, but the smell can be very penetrating.

We would like to explore this topic, which is coming up more and more frequently in our consultations, in greater depth and hope for your input:

Have you had experiences with neighborhood problems because of cannabis? If so, we would be happy to receive a summary of what happened and whether a solution was found that was accepted by all. The more such descriptions we receive, the better our overview of the topic will be!

The Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products Swissmedic, the Federal Office of Public Health FOPH, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office FSVO and the Association of Cantonal Pharmacists KAV jointly publish guidelines for the handling of CBD and other cannabinoids that are not subject to the Narcotics Act. A revised version 7 was published in April 2024. If you want to know how this area is regulated by many laws, you should read this PDF.

Our Association has two membership categories: Private members and corporate members. Both receive our information (magazine Legalize it!, legal overview Shit happens, e-mailings) and can participate in our activities.

We also list corporate members on our company list. If you need something and want to make a purchase, we ask you to look at our corporate members first!

We hope you found our infomail interesting.

Hemp greetings

Fabian, Markus, Michael and Sven

Board Association Legalize it!