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Under the proposed legislation, which must still be endorsed
by parliament, the sale and production of the drug would also
be tolerated.
The cabinet said on Friday that Switzerland's drugs law
needed to reflect the reality that cannabis consumption is
a part of everyday life for many people in Switzerland.
A recent study showed that one in four people in Switzerland
have tried cannabis at least once in their lives, and that
consumption is particularly widespread among young people.
Ueli Locher, of the Federal Health Office, told swissinfo
that the reality is "it's no longer possible to pursue everybody
who uses cannabis and we feel it's time to adapt to the present
situation." The government added that it wanted to keep Swiss
law in line with international regulations, and that the new
legislation would be accompanied by further prevention efforts
and well as measures to combat the export of cannabis. "Switzerland
does not want to cause problems for other countries," said
Locher, "and we are determined to control any kind of exportation."
The draft law would make cannabis consumption legal, and
would lift certain restrictions on its sale and production.
The government said the new legislation was compatible with
its drugs policy, which is based on the four pillars of repression,
prevention, harm reduction and therapy. The draft law will
now be sent to parliament for approval. One of the leading
political parties, the right-wing Swiss People's Party, has
already said that it will oppose steps towards liberalisation.
The government has also come under fire from the International
Narcotics Control Board, which oversees the implementation
of United Nations drug conventions. swissinfo with agencies
09.03.2001 - 13:00
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Audio / Video / Links thanks to www.swissinfo.org
Ueli
Locher of the Federal Health Office tells
Urs
Geiser about the government's proposal
Cannabis
in Switzerland
Federal
Department of Home Affairs
Federal
Office of Public Health
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