We would like to thank everyone who attended our annual general meeting last Wednesday, October 19, 2022. A total of around 50 of you took part in our most important annual event, which took place this year in the KUFA Lyss. During the official part, we made numerous decisions that are groundbreaking for the future of IG Hanf. We would like to inform you about the most important points below.

elections to the board

An important item on the agenda this year was the appointment of a new member to our board of directors. Claudio Buholzer (President), Michael Mosimann (Cashier), Lino Cereghetti, Dr. Miguel Guttentag, Manuela Tornatore, Nicolas Sahli and Philippe Wietlisbach resigned at the 2022 general meeting. We would like to thank the retiring members for their commitment and wish them all the best for the future, both professionally and privately.

The previous vice president was elected president of the IG Hanf:

• Thomas Baer (CANWAY Holdings AG)

In the future, the Board of Directors will consist of the following members:

• Dr. rer. nat Claudia Zieres-Nauth (Medropharm AG)
• Stefan Strasser (SwissExtract AG)
• Sebastian Zeller (Canexis Pharma AG)
• Elias Galantay (Vigia AG)
• Cédric Heeb (PhytoXtract SA)

We wish the newly elected members much success in their upcoming tasks at IG Hanf.

With the changed board, we are consciously moving towards new horizons. In order to meet our requirement of a balanced strategic management body, we have deliberately sought out both innovative and stabilizing forces who are familiar with the founding generation of IG Hanf. The newly composed board is striving to drive forward the professionalization of the industry, actively expand the reputation of IG Hanf and at the same time continue what has proven successful.

Annual Financial Statements and Budget 2022

The annual accounts and the audit report for 2021 were approved unanimously by those present. The budgets for 2022 and 2023 were also presented. These include, among other things, higher spending on internal communication and industry unification, legal advice and PR and communication expenses (especially lobbying). This is essential in order to be able to contribute to the current political and legislative process with the necessary resources.

number of members and membership fees

After the number of members in 2021 by 72 to 237, this year it has increased by 79 to 158  reduced. In order to compensate for the decline in membership numbers and to be able to contribute effectively to legislation as described above, we are increasing membership fees as of 2023. We therefore presented two variants at the general meeting, with a majority of 31 votes in favor of our preferred option, variant II. The membership fees for 2023 are therefore as follows:

IG MAX 1 – 1 employee:  

• CHF 500.00

IG MAX 5 – 2-5 employees:

• CHF 1

IG MAX 10 6-10 employees:

• CHF 3’000.00 

IG MAX 25 11-25 employees:

• CHF 6’000.00 

IG MAX 26+ – more than 26 employees:                   

• CHF 10’000.00 

Outlook and Strategy 2023/2024

For the next two years, we will focus on the following priorities:

• Participation on the basis of the parliamentary initiative of Heinz Siegenthaler
• Creation of concepts and position papers for dealing with legalized THC cannabis
• Strengthening options for liability insurance and general insurance
• Development of special conditions for the pension fund for members
• Collection of industry-internal data (companies, jobs, turnover, sub-sectors, etc.)
• Stronger exchange with authorities and other associations, also internationally
• Agreement of all cannabis companies in Switzerland
• development of additional member benefits

Our strategy for 2023/2024 aims to promote better communication among IG Hanf members and to significantly strengthen our external presence. We hope to continue to be able to count on your support and commitment. Members who would like to actively support IG Hanf and our common interests can contact Tom Krisper to be added to the relevant email distribution list or WhatsApp group "IG Hanf Affiliates". We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

The board of IG Hanf Schweiz