Bern, April 8, 2022 – After the Association of Cantonal Chemists of Switzerland (VKCS) informed in February about alleged health risks of foods containing CBD, the Federal Registration Office for Chemicals ordered on March 24, 2022 that fragrance oils containing CBD may only be placed on the market in denatured form, which is intended to prevent abusive oral consumption. The industry association IG Hanf notes this disproportionate measure with regret and calls on the legislature to take a holistic look at the legal basis and to enact modern and comprehensive cannabis legislation. The association hopes that this will lead to better and more comprehensive economic use of the various forms of the hemp plant and its products.
On March 24, the Chemicals Registration Office ruled that CBD fragrance oils must now have a denaturant added, which is usually done to protect against dangerous substances such as cleaning products if their consumption poses a health risk. The denaturation is intended to make CBD oils with additional flavorings inedible in order to prevent accidental or improper consumption. Undenatured CBD oils that are marketed as chemicals and were already placed on the market before March 24 may only be sold during a transitional period of 6 months.
The Swiss cannabis industry feels once again offended by the authorities' latest move. For some time now, it has taken the view that the authorities' confusing, arbitrary and inconsistent handling of CBD-containing products is due to the unsatisfactory legal framework for cannabis. "As an emerging industry, we feel let down by the authorities. The increasing demand for CBD products is extremely difficult to satisfy in Switzerland due to the unclear and complex regulation. After even the WHO has confirmed several times that CBD does not pose any significant risks or side effects, hardly anyone in the industry understands this latest measure, and even fewer consumers, especially since, to the best of our knowledge, there is not a single known case in which there was any kind of health impairment after accidentally taking CBD fragrance oil orally!", says Thomas Bär, Vice President of IG Hanf. Accordingly, the association is committed to comprehensive and uniform regulation on behalf of the cannabis industry in order to achieve legal certainty in the production, trade and use of hemp and cannabis products and to ensure consumer protection. Past constructive efforts for a dialogue with representatives of the authorities have unfortunately fallen on deaf ears.
Most CBD fragrance oils marketed as chemicals in Switzerland are so-called whole plant extracts, which can also contain traces of THC (up to a maximum of 1%). Such products are hardly approved as food in Switzerland due to the current contaminants regulation.
CBD oils that are marketed as chemicals were, by definition, never intended to be taken orally. As long as such products are properly registered and the required hazard and safety information is on the packaging, they have been completely legitimate products to date.
Apparently, however, many consumers have ignored the "not for ingestion" label on the packaging and thus "abused" such products as natural remedies - for which hemp has been recognized in many cultures for thousands of years - and subsequently enjoyed relief from various common health ailments such as sleep disorders, according to countless reports.
This has obviously spread among the population and led to a real boom, which the BAG is trying to put a stop to.
The IG Hanf considers it particularly offensive that the issuance of the general decree by the Federal Chemicals Reporting Office regarding the denaturation of CBD oils deprives a product or, in fact, an entire market of its legitimacy, which had previously been approved by all relevant federal offices in the CBD enforcement assistance since 2017, the general admissibility has been certified. For example, the latest version of the CBD enforcement aid states, among other things:
"… can CBD-containing Products Who e.g. Fragrance oils absolutely under the provisions des chemicals law legal in Traffic brought .»
With the green light from the authorities, an entire industry has emerged in Switzerland over the last five years and hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs have been created, which are now in acute danger.
In this context, the actions of the responsible authorities must be described as counterproductive. It is also shocking that the de facto ban on CBD oils as chemicals is being carried out by means of a general decree by an enforcement authority, bypassing the intended legislative process. The consequences of this are foreseeable: Since the demand for CBD oils will not decrease, consumers will de facto be forced to purchase their products abroad or on the black market, which makes quality controls and consumer protection impossible.
With the acceptance of the postulate Minder («Legal certainty in the production, trade and use of hemp/cannabis products») on June 16, 2021 in the Council of States (30 votes to 6), the clarification of comprehensive cannabis regulation should finally be brought into motion. The initiative aims to make the various forms of the hemp plant (cannabis) more economically viable and to enact modern and comprehensive cannabis regulation (including health, food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, road traffic, tobacco products and customs law) taking into account a realistic risk potential and compliance with consumer protection.
The entire industry is also looking forward to Bern, where the parliamentary initiative by Heinz Siegenthaler the course is set for the development of regulation of the cannabis market for better protection of minors.
In this context, the IG Hanf is available to support the health committees of Parliament in the drafting of corresponding legislative proposals.