A parliamentary committee in Switzerland has put forward plans that would legalise the possession and use of cannabis. The proposal would allow the sale of cannabis products to Swiss citizens over 18 years of age and for a maximum of three plants to be grown at home.
Under the proposed legislation, cannabis will be strictly regulated and sold under a not-for-profit scheme, although manufacturers will be allowed to make a profit. Driving under the influence of cannabis will not be tolerated, and neither will the sale of it to minors. Current passive smoking laws would regulate the consumption of cannabis in public spaces, making it illegal to smoke cannabis in the same places it is illegal to smoke cigarettes.
Members of the National Council’s Social Security and Health Committee who drew up the proposal said a 2023 study found that 4% of 15-64 year olds had consumed cannabis at least once in December 2022 and that the current legal situation surrounding cannabis wasn’t working.
“The majority of the Commission considers the current situation to be unsatisfactory and the prohibitive approach to be flawed,” the committee said in a statement.
Although cannabis is currently illegal in Switzerland, it was decriminalised in 2012. Possession of less than 10 grams goes unpunished. Switzerland has already been carrying out adult-use trials in multiple cities to better understand the impact of cannabis legalisation on public health and wider society. As part of these trials, Europe’s first legal dispensary opened in the Swiss municipality of Allschwil in 2023.
Despite these extensive pilot schemes and the legal access to medical cannabis, the committee believes most cannabis consumed is still bought illegally. Their proposal aims to combat this by making all legal cannabis sales non-profit, and by tightening punishments for sales made outside of the proposed regulations.
“Strictly regulated access to cannabis with a controlled market makes it easier to protect public health, strengthen youth protection and increase safety,” the committee said. “Consumers could thus be reached more effectively with prevention messages and guided towards less harmful forms of consumption. The population could be better protected from the negative effects of cannabis consumption and young people could be prevented from using it. The illegal market should be curbed.”
A number of voices have come out in opposition to the pans, including The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) who said the move would be the same as encouraging drug use.
