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Smoking marijuana is not yet legal in Switzerland. Photo: trapezoidal
Switzerland is testing legal marijuana: 5 things you need to know
In Switzerland, you should be able to use legal marijuana in the future. At least when you are part of a scientific study. The Council of States gave the green light to this on Wednesday.
Is cannabis legal?
No. The legalization of cannabis is still a long way off in Switzerland. Many politicians still fondly remember the whopping 63 percent of the 2008 hemp initiative.
In 2006, the hemp initiative was launched with 105,000 signatures. People said no to that two years later. Photo: trapezoidal
At that time, the initiative wanted to allow the consumption, possession, acquisition and trade of cannabis and at the same time called for youth protection measures. Since then, not much has changed in Swiss hemp policy. Since 2013, at least the “possession” (the law speaks of “preparation for consumption”) of less than 10 grams of cannabis has been considered exempt from sanction.
What should change now?
In Switzerland, around 220,000 people still regularly use cannabis that contains THC. Today, the black market in particular benefits from this, which raises several questions about prevention and health. On the one hand, traders are already “selling” the weed to young people, on the other hand, buyers often do not know how good the quality of illegally purchased weed is.
Several Swiss cities want to change that. They demand that pilot projects be possible. This is understood to mean scientific studies in which interested parties should be able to purchase cannabis legally and for “pleasure purposes” (ie smoking marijuana).
Cities should be able to conduct studies on cannabis use in the future. (Symbol image) Image: keystone
The background of the experimental article is the denial of approval of a study on cannabis at the University of Bern. The Federal Office of Public Health concluded that there was no legal basis for such studies.
The big cities of Zurich, Bern, Geneva and Basel are interested in these pilot projects. They hope that the Swiss hemp policy will contain “alternative forms of regulation” in the future. Regulated sale in pharmacies is mentioned as an example. However, so far there is no legal basis for this.
What was decided now?
Last year, the Federal Council sent a bill to parliament that allows such pilot projects. After the National Council already said yes to the cannabis pilot projects, now the green light from the Council of States has also arrived.
The law is not yet finished. The Council of States and the National Council are still arguing over a small detail: the great chamber demands that only Swiss organic hemp be used in such tests. The little camera wants a “if possible” formulation here.
Therefore, the National Council will have to re-discuss the law. As soon as there is an agreement on the organic hemp issue, the way is clear for such pilot projects.
When can I buy cannabis in Swiss cities?
That may take a while. The Federal Council wants to regulate the details in a regulation. It does not want to start work on this until Parliament has finally given the green light to the pilot tests.
The ordinance could be a disappointment to many stoners. If the Federal Council has its way, such pilot projects should only be approved with severe restrictions. For example, with regard to the number of participants in the study: the Federal Council writes that this should be “limited to what is necessary for scientific informational value.” Assumes a maximum of 5000 people.
The results of such studies should later help to find new forms of hemp policy. This intermediate step towards the possible legalization of cannabis is also welcomed by addiction experts. Markus Meury of Addiction Switzerland expects “better regulations regarding the protection of minors” and suspects that this could also dry up the black market, as he told Radio SRF.
How does it look around the world?
The days of repressive cannabis policy are over in many countries. Several European countries, including Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain, allow consumption for personal use. Portugal completely decriminalized the use and possession of small amounts of all drugs in 2000. The Netherlands is also known for its de facto legalization due to its famous “coffee shops”
Recreational use of small amounts of cannabis: legal (blue), decriminalized (yellow), without mandatory prosecution (light red), illegal (red). Image: Jamesy0627144 / cc-by-sa
America’s path is amazing. Each state decides for itself how it wants to proceed with the non-medicinal use of cannabis. In recent years there has been a veritable wave of legalization that has created a real market in several places. The situation is similar in Canada, where you can legally buy cannabis flowers, oil, and even lollipops that contain THC.
