Pilot project in Basel – Cannabis trial: Visiting the suppliers from Aargau – News


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400 people will soon be able to legally obtain cannabis in Basel. The material for the test comes from Aargau.

From autumn, 400 selected people in Basel can legally buy hashish or hemp flowers in the pharmacy – and at the usual prices on the black market. With this test operation, the health authorities, the University of Basel and the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel want to find out whether and how the consumption of the test participants changes if they are allowed to legally purchase the drug.

We want to find out whether people in a legal environment also reach for lower doses of hemp plants.

The subjects can choose from four different THC-containing hemp plants. Plants containing THC are psychoactive, meaning they can induce a high. In complete contrast to hemp products containing CBD, which have no such effect and have therefore been legal to sell since 2016. For the Basel trial with THC-containing plants, a special permit from the federal government was required, which has been available since last autumn.

In Basel, four different THC-containing products are sold for the trial. One is relatively high in THC, comparable to those circulating illegally in the alley. The others are dosed weaker. “We also want to find out whether the test subjects in a legal environment use lower doses of plants,” says Lavinia Flückiger, co-leader of the study. The medical aspect is clearly not the focus of this experiment.

Hemp from the Aargau

The company Pure Holding in Zeiningen in Aargau was awarded the contract for the delivery of the hemp plants. There she grows the different types of hemp in large greenhouses. “We examined hundreds of plants from all over the world in order to be able to supply exactly those that are needed for the Basel trial,” says Lino Cereghetti, a member of the management board at Pure Holding.

Legend:

Pure Holding grows the hemp plants in long greenhouses.

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The contract with the canton of Basel-Stadt provides for the delivery of 100 kilos of hemp flowers for the Basel trial. Cereghetti has practically become the dealer of Basel-Stadt – a comparison that he doesn’t like that much. “I’m more the representative of the company that is allowed to supply scientific experiments with study cannabis.”

No big deal so far

Hemp cultivation in Zeiningen could also attract cannabis fans or criminals. Therefore, there are great safety precautions around and in the facility to prevent the entry of unwanted visitors.

Pure Holding has been researching hemp plants containing THC since 2019. According to Lino Cereghetti, the economic success of the THC-containing plants has been modest so far, because their legal use is largely prohibited. “We disposed of several hundred kilos of hemp plants every year”.

Nevertheless, Pure Holding has stuck to its research because it is convinced that hemp products containing THC can be tolerated, especially in the medical field. With the Basel trial, the demand for their THC-containing hemp could increase. Because other cantons also want to carry out their own tests in the population.

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