Shoppers in Switzerland will soon be able to purchase cannabis cigarettes alongside their bread and cheese. The major Swiss supermarket chain Coop has announced that it will sell what’s being billed as the world’s first hemp cigarette.
The cigarettes are so low in THC that they’re legal under Swiss law, according to the company Heimat, which manufactures the cigarettes. While many EU countries cap allowable THC at 0.2%, Swiss law has a higher limit: 1%.
The cigarettes will indeed deliver a burst of cannabinoids, just not intoxicating ones. Heimat says the smokes will contain 20% CBD. So even though the cannabis cigarettes won’t produce a noticeable high, the amount of CBD means they could offer relief from pain, inflammation, depression and anxiety, epilepsy, or other ailments.
According to the English-language Swiss news outlet The Local, a Coop spokesman said the supermarket already sells other hemp products, like tea, beer, and oil, and are in “high demand.”
Manufacturer Heimat, which is based out of the Swiss city of St. Gallen, has been producing tobacco cigarettes since last year. Only recently did the company turn its attention towards making cigarettes using hemp.
The cigarettes are expected to retail for 19.90 Swiss francs (around US$20.61) per pack and will be available for purchase on the company’s website and through various outlets across the country, including Coop supermarkets.
CBD products, such as oil, are already experiencing a boom in the country, as the annual sales of legal cannabis is around 100 million Swiss francs (US$103.6 million).
A promotional video and more information are available (in German) on the product website.
