A research agenda for the regulation of non-medical cannabis use in Switzerland

In Switzerland, cannabis has been illegal since 1951. Recently, decriminalizing cannabis has been discussed in the Federal Assembly. Developments in other countries received increased attention and stimulated further discussions on reforms. Regulatory approaches in other countries vary widely, but firm scientific evidence on the effects of instruments is still scarce. Some Swiss cities launched initiatives to conduct pilot trials with cannabis in order to find evidence-based alternatives to the status quo, which is marked by various inconsistencies. An initial request by the city of Bern to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) was rejected in 2017 due to lack of legal basis, but contributed to the establishment of an experimental article for pilot trials with cannabis in the following years. The Ordinance on pilot trials in accordance with the Narcotics Act (BetmPV) allows cantons, municipalities, universities and other organizations to conduct pilot trials to gain scientific knowledge about alternative approaches to regulate the non-medical use of cannabis. The ordinance lists various conditions that must be met before an application is approved by the FOPH. With a view to future pilot trials, the FOPH has mandated Prof. Daniel Kubler and his team from the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich (IPZ) to develop a research agenda focusing on new legal approaches to cannabis regulation. This agenda aims to serve as a guideline for the generation of scientific evidence related not only to the cannabis pilot trials, but also with respect to additional questions related to cannabis regulation, and to reflect on research coordination and funding.