Four European countries have adopted national legalization measures: Malta, Luxembourg, Germany and Czechia. But current European Union agreements prohibit national adult-use sales in all of them. Two other countries, Switzerland and the Netherlands, have yet to adopt national legalization, but both allow limited adult-use sales for research purposes, and those efforts are succeeding.
A Unique European Approach
Regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials are unique to Europe. The trials permit a set number of adults to cultivate, sell or purchase cannabis legally at a local level so that data can be collected and analyzed. That research, in turn, helps national policymakers and regulators make better-informed decisions when crafting cannabis industry laws and regulations.
The European Union allows pilot trials because their goal is not to generate profits. Rather, it is to study what happens to public health and other aspects of society when recreational cannabis commerce is allowed. Findings have already been published in Switzerland and the Netherlands, and the results are largely favorable.
Swiss Pilot Trials
Basel, Switzerland, launched the country’s first adult-use cannabis pilot trial. Since January 2023, registered participants have been able to buy legal cannabis from authorized pharmacies. The Weed Care study started with 370 participants and examines how regulated sales affect participants’ consumption patterns and health.
The study is being conducted by the Department of Health of Basel-Stadt, the University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK) Basel, the Psychiatric Services Aargau (PDAG) and the University of Basel. Researchers have found that participants smoked fewer joints containing tobacco and that overall cannabis consumption did not increase, while use of smokeless cannabis products rose.
“Furthermore, the study was able to dispel fears that legalization could exacerbate the psychopathological symptoms associated with cannabis consumption in addition to consumption itself: after the first six months, there was no difference between the two study groups in terms of depression, anxiety or other symptoms,” stated the University of Basel. “The interim assessment after two years of study shows a significant improvement in the mental state of the approximately 300 or so participants who are still taking part.”
Pilot trials are operating in several other Swiss jurisdictions, including the Cann-L trial in Lausanne, where researchers estimate the unregulated market has lost millions of francs’ worth of market share since the trial began. In the Züri Can pilot trial in Zurich, participants reported less problematic cannabis use, better sleep, fewer anxiety symptoms and fewer pain-related visits to doctors.
Success in the Netherlands
Pilot trials are also operating in 10 Dutch municipalities. The “Closed Coffeeshop Chain Experiment” is underway in Almere, Arnhem, Breda, Groningen, Heerlen, Hellevoetsluis, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Zaanstad. The first official assessment found that cannabis consumption has remained stable, with no major related public health issues in participating cities compared with “comparison municipalities” where trials are not operating. Participating retailers are offering more products, and flower prices at those locations are falling.
A Model for Germany to Emulate
The success of the pilot trials in Switzerland and the Netherlands strongly suggests that regulation is a better approach to cannabis policy than prohibition. When adults can buy from legal outlets instead of unregulated sources, they will. When they consume cannabis that has been tested and found free of contaminants, public health improves. And revenue is diverted away from unregulated sellers, which are often run by criminal organizations. Everyone benefits when that happens, not just cannabis consumers and legal industry members.
Regional pilot trials are part of the legalization model Germany adopted in April 2024, making up the “second pillar” of German legalization. The first pillar permits adults to legally cultivate, possess and consume personal amounts of cannabis, and to join one of the nation’s noncommercial cultivation associations.
German legalization is always a hot topic at the International Cannabis Business Conference, which is returning to Berlin in April 2027. To date, no pilot trials have received approval to launch in Germany. As the trials in the Netherlands and Switzerland continue to succeed, pressure will keep building on Germany’s government to approve the many applications that have been submitted.
