Cannabis controversy: legal to smoke weed? Switzerland is taking it easy

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

A beer in one hand and a joint in the other. Both luxury foods. Both legal. This was necessary based on an initiative from the canton of Solothurn, which came before parliament this week. The same legal rules should apply to the trade and consumption of cannabis as to alcohol.

But that went too far for Parliament. After the Council of States, the National Council also rejected the initiative this week. What does this mean for the legalization of cannabis? The four most important questions and answers:

The consumption of cannabis should be legalized. At least according to the National Council’s “Cannabis Regulation” subcommittee, which has been working on implementation for two years. However, cannabis should still be considered a narcotic. Unlike tobacco and alcohol, which are luxury foods according to the food definition.

This means that cannabis consumption should not be encouraged. “To ensure the protection of young people and health, production, distribution and sales must be closely monitored by the state,” the National Council’s Health Committee wrote in autumn 2023.

In addition, an incentive tax is planned, as is currently known from the tobacco tax. For a pack of cigarettes, the tobacco tax is more than half the price. The revenue flows directly to the AHV and the IV – the high price of around nine francs per pack is intended to discourage cigarette consumption.

The subcommittee is advised in its deliberations by experts from Quebec in Canada and Germany, where the legalization of cannabis has already been implemented.

The Health Committee report speaks of an “extremely complex legislative project”. Legalization does not only have consequences for criminal law. Questions about the protection of young people or road traffic law also need to be clarified. For example, it is not clear how high the THC percentage in the blood can be when someone is behind the wheel.

The subcommittee plans to discuss a proposal at the end of this year. This so-called draft decree is then presented to the Health Committee of the National Council and later to parliament.

“My assessment is that we will realistically have legislation in 2027,” writes Barbara Gysi (59), SP state councilor and chair of the subcommittee, when asked. However, the consultation could delay the project. And even then, legalization is not guaranteed.

Not everyone is convinced that smoking weed is legal. The SVP has announced a referendum if cannabis legalization comes. Former SVP Council Member Andrea Geissbühler (47) told ’20 Minutes’ that consumption was very harmful for young people: ‘If grass becomes legal, the threshold for young people to smoke weed will decrease dramatically.’ From the SVP’s point of view, the people should have the final say.

It’s complicated. Anyone who smokes weed but does not have cannabis with them pays 100 francs. If you have cannabis with you and don’t smoke weed, you pay nothing. However, if it concerns more than 10 grams of weed, a fine will follow.

Cannabis has been permitted for medical purposes since August 2022. According to the Federal Office of Public Health, doctors can prescribe cannabis medicines without a license.

The consumption of CBD and other cannabinoids with a THC content of less than one percent is also permitted. However, caution is required: the list of prohibited narcotics is updated every six months. It is possible that the consumption of a cannabinoid that was legal in February will already be banned in March.

Source:Blick