Summary penalty orders 2026

In 2026, the ban on hemp remained in effect. Even though there was much discussion about a new Cannabis Products Act (CanPG), the Cannabis Act (NarcA) remained unchanged. Consequently, repressive measures continued. Those affected are most stressed by the strict regulations regarding THC and driving (driver’s license).

This extremely interesting case will be included as soon as it has been published in * Legalize it! 112 (Winter 26/27). — Sven 2026/09/15 16:01

The woman was stopped during a traffic stop and admitted to smoking half a joint. She refused to submit to the ordered blood test (which constitutes a “misdemeanor”: a separate penalty imposed by the public prosecutor resulting in a criminal record entry, similar to what would happen if THC had been detected in the blood sample).

Here is the order from the Department of Motor Vehicles stating that the individual’s fitness to drive must be assessed. This is a standard document in such cases. It is very similar in all cantons. In it, the office decides that the driver’s license, which was confiscated during the check, will be returned. If the person in question had stated that they consumed THC more than twice a week, or if their blood THC levels had been high, the driver’s license would have remained confiscated.

But in any case, complete abstinence is now required for good if you want to keep your driver's license and pass the driving aptitude test.

For your information: For alcohol, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5 per mille corresponds to 0.25 mg/l in exhaled breath (at which point a fine is imposed), and 0.8 per mille corresponds to 0.4 mg/l (at which point the driver is deemed unfit to drive). For new drivers and professional drivers, a zero-tolerance policy applies, which corresponds to 0.05 mg/L or 0.1 per mille, respectively.

During a traffic stop, a blood test may be ordered. In most cases, the police will call an on-callprosecutor to do so. The written order is then delivered later.

This blood sample was not collected as part of a traffic stop, but rather as a voluntary blood sample taken as part of a study. It was drawn approximately a quarter of an hour after consumption. We are showing it here so that you can see what levels can be measured immediately after consumption. For comparison: Driving under the influence of drugs is considered proven at 1.5 micrograms of THC per liter of blood. This value has nothing to do with an acute effect or recent consumption. It is simply the detection threshold – that is, the point at which the presence of THC in the blood is legally deemed sufficiently proven. This does not prove any effect, yet you will still be convicted as if you had been driving under the influence.

It confirms that for drivers who use cannabis under a doctor’s prescription, the detection threshold (THC of 1.5 or higher) does not apply to their ability to drive. Furthermore, the criteria that would otherwise lead to a suspicion of drug dependence (a THC-COOH level above 40; consumption more than twice a week) do not apply in this case.

Nevertheless, the driver’s license remains revoked. It is likely that the re-evaluation of driving fitness will again yield a negative result. In the field of traffic medicine, there is considerable skepticism regarding cannabis, even when used as a prescribed medication. It is hard to imagine that, given these quantities, the individual would be deemed fit to drive.

Ultimately, we recommend that everyone keep THC use and holding a driver’s license separate. Either you use THC (whether recreationally or medically) or you hold a driver’s license. Doing both at the same time poses too many problems under the current zero-tolerance policy. For recreational use, abstinence is mandatory in order to keep or regain a driver’s license. For medical use, the situation is theoretically less clear-cut, but since traffic medicine takes a very negative stance toward cannabis, this leads to protracted disputes and high costs in this area – and the driver’s license is still revoked; whether through a precautionary revocation or a provisional revocation for an indefinite period makes little difference to those affected.

Anyone who absolutely needs a driver’s license for work or personal reasons should avoid consuming any THC at all – not even medically prescribed THC. The risks simply seem too great to us at this time. Perhaps this will change someday, but it’s hard to imagine that dosages exceeding a few grams of cannabis per month could ever be considered acceptable from a traffic medicine perspective. Furthermore, the dosing regimen would have to be structured in such a way that there would likely be a fairly long interval between consumption and driving. That would severely limit the scope of prescriptions.

This ruling as a PDF