From the beginning of 2021, hemp will no longer be subject to Switzerland’s agricultural seed legislation.
In Switzerland, only quality- and identity-assured seeds from performance-tested plant varieties are made available for agricultural purposes for important crops. Testing required under the legislation includes a check to determine if a variety is homogeneous, stable and distinct from all others. Another test evaluates the cultivation potential and the processing aptitude.
Hemp was made subject to the legislation in 1998 – not because it was considered an important crop at that point, but in order to distinguish it from narcotic forms of cannabis. However, in 2011 a limit was put on hemp THC levels (<1%) – and this was sufficient to distinguish hemp from marijuana – meaning hemp’s inclusion under the seed legislation was really no longer required. But like many things cannabis related, reform tends to occur very slowly – as it did in this case.
Read more at hempgazette.com