Cannabis Products Act: the consultation is underway

So now the time has come: hemp is to be legalized, albeit with very strict regulation. The draft for a new Cannabis Products Act is currently undergoing consultation, after which parliamentary work will begin and a referendum may ultimately be necessary.

The new debate was triggered by a parliamentary initiative by former National Councillor Heinz Siegenthaler (20.473, Regulation of the cannabis market for better youth and consumer protection), which he submitted in 2020. That was five years ago! During this time, a subcommittee of the National Council's Social Security and Health Committee (SGK-N) was formed, which worked with the administration to develop a legislative text.

On July 3-4, 2025, the SGK-N discussed the work of its subcommittee for the last time and released the matter for consultation. This is due to start at the end of August (this is after the editorial deadline for this Legalize it, although it may have been a little later). The National Council still has to decide on a second extension of the consultation period, but this should be a formality and will probably happen in September.

Activists have been meeting for six months to prepare for the political debates of the coming years. We have collected arguments for and against as well as study links and discussed possible media work. We are currently around a dozen activists, aged between 30 and 70, almost half of whom are women. There is now also a cooperation between us, the Association Legalize it!, as well as the IG Hemp and Medcan.

Next, we want to look at the draft bill and the explanatory notes.

As I said, the texts were not yet available at the time this Legalize it was completed. There is only a media release from the beginning of the year. This suggests a restrictive approach, with certain similarities to the operation of the current very tightly controlled pilot projects. This will therefore not be an unrestricted legalization, but rather a restrictively regulated legalization. As soon as the texts are published, we will publish the links to them in a web update on hanflegal.ch (which should already have taken place by the time this Legalize it is published).

You are also welcome to join us. Our policy group meets once a month in our meeting room in Zurich and online via our video chat. Subgroups meet separately on specific topics as required. Individuals work on texts or follow the arguments of opponents: you really look into a deep abyss! Together, we try to draw up and submit a consultation response.

We have set up an internal politics section in our wiki, where we collect and discuss arguments and evaluate media reports and creators. Sven inserts the information he receives in batches, revises and edits the pages. We are also developing our consultation response there. We will probably use a few Google documents for this.

But first we need to read, understand, interpret and discuss all the texts.

Once the consultation process has been completed, the responses must be evaluated. The result is expected to be published in 2026. It will then go back to the SGK-N committee, then to the National Council, then to the SGK-S, then to the Council of States. If both Councils approve the law and adopt something, it could also require a revision process (revision of differences). However, if one Council rejects the bill (as the National Council did on the last attempt over 20 years ago), then the whole deal could still be scuppered. If the two councils reach an agreement and the new law is passed in the final vote, the referendum period begins to run. It has already been announced that in this case the opponents will call for a referendum. It is also likely to come about, which will make a referendum necessary.

Depending on the exact wording of the law, some people who are actually in favor of cannabis could also be of the opinion that this law does not go far enough and also call for a referendum. But that seems unlikely at the moment, even if some are certainly not happy with the draft law.

The process will therefore continue for several years. We want and need to get involved again and again: in the discussions in the media, during the consultation process and the process in parliament, and finally so that the vote can be won. So we need a lot of people who can be active over the next few years.

Some of our campaigners have analyzed the mood in parliament on the hemp issue. Well, it's not very edifying, but it's actually the same as always: one half is in favor of a new approach to cannabis, the other half wants to maintain the ban.

It will therefore be crucial how the media and social discussions unfold in the coming months. If we succeed in convincing many people of the positive aspects, it may be enough to gain the necessary majorities. If we don't succeed, then this attempt will also fail. Its success therefore depends crucially on whether dozens of campaigners can hold thousands of discussions with voters and convince them. We know that this is a lot of work, but we are convinced that hundreds of podiums, presentations and stand campaigns will decide whether it will be enough for a majority in a referendum.

Not helpful are all those who are already developing business plans for after legalization. We keep receiving emails asking „whether it will certainly be legal from 2027“ or what „the exact conditions“ will be.

Many people's lack of knowledge about the political process is always hair-raising: it really hasn't happened yet, even if many people simply assume it has. No, it is not clear when the time will come. It is not even clear whether it will come into force at all. Nor is it clear what, if anything, will remain after the political process: A lot of good things could still be thrown out and a few bad things could be written in!

You should have killed the bear before you sell the hide… To do this, dozens, or even hundreds of active people are needed to work out the necessary majorities over the next few years. Otherwise it will fail again this time and then it will be another 10 or 20 years before a new attempt is made.

Hence the appeal: We really need everyone!

If you have the time and desire to become active, you are welcome to register for our politics group. We can then give you access to the internal politics pages and add you to the politics mailing list (e-mail): Send us an e-mail!