The police are stepping up and cracking down on the sale of cannabinoids - which seems to have put some Swedish vejp shops under the radar.
Two recent raids on shops in different parts of the country are likely due to the fact that the semi-synthetic cannabinoid Delta-8-THC-acetate is now a scheduled drug.
Cannabinoids are a group of chemical substances that affect the body's endocannabinoid system. Distinguishing between them is not only high-level chemistry but has also created a huge grey area in terms of Swedish laws. In Sweden, THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) has long been classified as a narcotic. THC is the main psychoactive component of cannabis. The ban applies regardless of whether THC is present in cannabis flowers, oil, edible products such as sweets or pretty much anything else.
THCB, on the other hand, is a so-called semi-synthetic cannabinoid, which means that it is a synthetic variant of substances found naturally in the cannabis plant. More recently, THCB has appeared on the market, often as an alternative to other similar substances, and is often the subject of newspaper headlines such as "cannabis is sold openly here".
New substances on the production line
Since May 2024, the Public Health Agency of Sweden has classified THCB as a substance hazardous to health that is likely to be declared a narcotic. In a statement to the Swedish Customs, the authority assessed that the substance may endanger human life or health and that it is intended to be used for intoxication purposes. This is an important step in the process of formally classifying the substance as a drug and gives the police new powers to act. As soon as a new cannabinoid is narcoticised (such as HHC 2023), new, similar substances often appear on the market. This is because it takes time for the authorities to detect and investigate the new substances, and then to recommend to the government that they should be scheduled.
Neighbouring countries such as Norway and Denmark have instead introduced so-called generic/family-based bans to cover new cannabinoids more quickly. In Sweden, such discussions are ongoing and as recently as March 2025, the Minister for Social Affairs, Jakob Forssmed, said that they are "open to a change in the law" with generic classification.
Illegal, in practice
But we're not there yet - and so the grey area of what can and cannot be sold remains fairly intact.
In one of the vejp shops recently raided by the police, in Karlskrona, the local newspaper BLT states that the shopkeeper "suspected of selling drugs after they were banned".
For example, it could be the semi-synthetic cannabinoid Delta-8-THC, which was banned just over a year ago. But it could also be THCB, as it is already considered illegal in Sweden. The substance is not yet formally classified as a narcotic, but it is in the process of being so, and its sale is therefore considered to be a legal grey area that the authorities are working to close. The Public Health Agency of Sweden's assessment that THCB is likely to be declared a narcotic drug enables police and customs to act against sales and possession, even without formal drug classification.
"Nothing that is illegal"
The police raided the other shop, in Borås, just over a month ago. The shopkeeper writes in a text message to Vejpkollen that he has not yet received any answers from the police and that:
"It's nothing illegal and as I told Borås tidning: we can talk about it when the analyses come back," they write to Vejpkollen.
