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Historique
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Swiss time 11:15, Saturday 22.12.2001
Parliament moves towards legalising cannabis
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![Smoking a joint in fear of an arrest might become a thing of the past in Switzerland [swissinfo / SRI]](picnew/sdf.jpg)
Smoking a joint in fear of an arrest might become
a thing of the past in Switzerland [swissinfo
/ SRI]
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Senate has approved a government proposal to allow
the consumption of cannabis. |
 Audio / Video / Links
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Pending approval by the House of Representatives,
the production and trade in hashish and marijuana
could also become legal under certain conditions.
The amended law, which was accepted by 25 votes
and no opposition in the Senate, is aimed at catching
up with present-day reality. More than 700,000 people
between the age of 15 and 30 have smoked cannabis
at least once in their lives.
While the consumption of hashish and marijuana would
be legalised, the cultivation and sale of cannabis
would only be allowed under certain conditions.
The interior minister, Ruth Dreifuss, said during
Wednesday’s debate that the liberalisation was in
line with the government’s anti-drugs policy. It
is based on prevention, repression, therapy and
harm reduction.
She stressed that hard drugs, including heroin,
will not be allowed in Switzerland under the amended
law.
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Heated debate
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The
issue of legalisation of cannabis consumption divided
the Senate. Many speakers from the French-speaking
part of the country argued that the decriminalisation
of cannabis could send the wrong signal to young
people.
They said by adopting a liberal attitude towards
cannabis Switzerland would further isolate itself
and become an island in the heart of Europe, which
has a more restrictive policy. They warned that
drug addicts from neighbouring countries would travel
to Switzerland to buy cannabis.
A majority of senators, however, pointed out that
the amended law was merely a pragmatic step to bring
legislation in line with reality. The current situation
was hypocritical and not satisfactory from a legal
point, they said.
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The Dutch example
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The
Netherlands, where soft drugs are decriminalised,
were quoted a number of times during the debate
to show how a laxer policy on drugs can work.
While hard drugs are illegal there, it is allowed
to carry up to 30 grams of soft drugs.
“You also have coffee shops, where you can drink
coffee or buy and smoke a joint,” Elsbeth Gugger,
a Swiss journalist in the Netherlands, told swissinfo.
“I think the Dutch policy is working, because there
are not more young people consuming soft drugs than
in other countries in Western Europe.” Gugger said.
“The other effect of the policy is that hard drug
addicts are getting help, and are not looked upon
as criminals, but rather persons with a health problem.”
swissinfo with agencies
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13.12.2001 - 07:53
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