The import of Swiss hemp products under the Heimat brand has caused quite a stir in Bermuda. The Swiss hemp pioneers Koch & Gsell, together with their import partner in Bermuda, have won a legal battle, meaning the Swiss CBD products can now be sold legally in Bermuda.
In the summer of 2017, the Eastern Swiss company Koch & Gsell launched the world's first industrially produced cigarette containing tobacco and CBD hemp. The product caused a stir internationally. Koch & Gsell received numerous inquiries from interested parties around the world who wanted to import the product. The complex and largely unclear legal situation surrounding the trade in hemp products made these negotiations extremely difficult.
Bermudian entrepreneurs Kwan Smith and Andre Marshall, founders of Infinity Hemp Bermuda, secured the necessary permits to import their home-grown CBD cigarettes in 2018. The first cartons of hemp cigarettes were shipped from Switzerland to Bermuda in the spring of 2018 and distributed through various retail outlets. However, in the fall of 2018, the Bermudian police confiscated the imported home-grown hemp products.
Infinity Hemp Bermuda and Koch & Gsell believe the seizure was unlawful because Bermuda does not classify hemp products with a CBD content of 1% as narcotics. The legal framework is therefore very similar to that in Switzerland. Infinity Hemp Bermuda, with the support of Koch & Gsell, took legal action. The Bermuda Parliament addressed the question of the legality of hemp products during its session in early November 2019 and concluded that the seizure of the home-grown hemp products was unjustified. David Burt, Premier of Bermuda, explained that this decision will put an end to the unfair treatment of hemp entrepreneurs by the Bermudian police. This means that home-grown hemp products can now once again be exported and sold from Switzerland to Bermuda.
Chronology of events
July 2017 The Swiss start-up Koch & Gsell launches the world's first tobacco-hemp cigarette, causing an international stir.
January 2018: Kwan Smith and Andre Marshall of Infinity Hemp Bermuda contact Koch & Gsell. Import negotiations for domestic CBD cigarettes begin.
March 2018 First delivery of Heimat hemp cigarettes to Bermuda.
October 2018 Bermudian police confiscate hemp cigarettes from the homeland. Infinity Hemp Bermuda is pursuing a legal dispute with Koch & Gsell, as the entrepreneurs believe the legal framework for the legal sale of hemp products has been complied with.
November 2019 The Bermudian Parliament considered the matter in its session. It concluded that the seizure was unjustified and that hemp products with a CBD content of less than 1% can be legally sold in Bermuda.
