August 17, 1999

By Richard Rose

I just returned from a few days in Switzerland, and I have seen the best-case future for cannabis.

The Swiss constitution is such that growing, preparing, and selling marijuana is legal (after all, it's just a weed/plant/herb), only the actual smoking is illegal. Which means that no one is breaking the law except the person putting match to herb.

Every town large and small has a hemp store, which is a lot like a combination of our hemp and head stores, plus they retail very decent herb for about US$5 per 2 grams. Openly. Even across the street from the Police station in one very small town a hemp store had a Sinsemilla plant in a pot next to their 'Open' sign, next to the street.

So instead of low-THC varieties of industrial hemp they grow high-THC varieties of industrial hemp. And what do they do with it? Why, make essential oil of course!
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Yes, the Swiss yield about $5,000 per acre steam-distilling the Sinsemilla into essential (or aetheric) oil for use in perfumes, foods and cosmetics.

Compare that yield to industrial hemp at $700 per acre! But sorry, the THC component gets thrown away along with the organic matter, leaving a 20x concentrated oil costing about US$5,000 per liter (kilogram).

And the oil is oh so heavenly. Whenever I let people smell it their eyes light up, especially after I tell them what it is!

We visited the largest producer, who has long had many acres under Sinsemilla cultivation. Named 'Valchanvre,' they are the nicest people with a commitment to the plant. The fields are next to apartment buildings, with no fences, right next to the apple orchard and vineyards in the wine country of Switzerland. Only 1 plant occasionally gets stolen, but none when they were next to the Police station.

While North American hemp industry gets caught up in THC limits and registered varieties, the perfect model for cannabis is in Switzerland, allowing a farmer to grow whatever they want. And it is shrewd, since they know that no other country will be able to match them (and the return-per-acre shows it).

For more information visit the Valchanvre web site at www.valchanvre.com , and see the Journal of the International Hemp Association issue volume 4, number 2. It was written by a government ag official. That's right, the Swiss government has experts advising farmers how to grow Sinsemilla.

Whatta country!

Richard Rose,

Founder of the Hemp Food Association, richard@hempfood.com.

For more info on the HFA send an email to: moreinfo@hempfood.com .