Zurich continues to serve as Europe’s laboratory for regulated cannabis distribution. The city council has requested an extension of the “Züri-Can” project until 2028 – and after three years, the results are remarkable. What began as an experiment is increasingly developing into a functioning market model with clear public health benefits and growing social acceptance.
Currently, more than 2,300 people legally obtain cannabis through the project, which is scientifically monitored by the Psychiatric University Clinic of Zurich (PUK). Participants can purchase cannabis at 20 points of sale – including pharmacies, the city’s drug information center, and so-called social clubs, which are privately operated. The latter have proven particularly successful: More than half of participants use social clubs, as they offer consumption in a safe, social environment.
The legal market is growing – and pushing back the illegal market
So far, around 750 kilograms of cannabis have been sold, across more than 88,000 individual transactions. This corresponds to an estimated 7.5 million Swiss francs removed from the black market. For Zurich’s health director Andreas Hauri (GLP), this is a key argument:
“Thousands of people consume cannabis in Zurich. We must acknowledge this reality and act accordingly.”
The project shows that regulation works better than repression. While overall consumption remains high – 55 percent of participants consume four times a week or more – the data shows no signs of increasing problematic use. According to PUK researchers, 78 percent of participants do not show any use disorder, and psychological stress levels are comparable to the general population.
