Switzerland weighs relaxing Marijuana ban

There has always been a lot of debate about the legalization of popular but notorious drug, Marijuana, in different parts of the world including Switzerland. Marijuana is also, oftentimes, called as “cannabis” or “hashish”. In the beginning, marijuana and other drugs were used for medicinal purposes, however, with the passage of time, humans begin to take cannabis for recreational use. Most of the countries around the world has completely banned the use of marijuana both for recreational use and medicinal purpose, but some of the governments have legalized its consumption for medicinal purposes only.

In Switzerland, it’s illegal to possess and consume marijuana, but since 2011, Government has permitted low potency cannabis which doesn’t make individuals high. Despite Government’s ban, increasing number of people are purchasing and consuming marijuana in Switzerland for recreational use. Among this huge number of marijuana buyers, some 200,000 people in Switzerland consume cannabis regularly not for medicinal but recreational purposes. Not only men but also women are equally involved in the consumption of marijuana. It’s surprising to know that roughly 40% of Swiss men and around 33% of Swiss women have tried marijuana at some point in their lives.

Seeing this huge demand and market for marijuana consumers, pharmacies in Switzerland now want to sell marijuana legally for both medicinal and recreational uses. Illegal marijuana market of Switzerland generally makes 600 million Swiss francs annually. According to pharmacists, legalizing the consumption of cannabis will help provide safe products to users and tackle criminals who profit from the country’s black market of marijuana. “Although current laws forbid its consumption and seek to punish it, this number is not declining,” the government said. “At the same time, the black market is flourishing, and the safety of consumers cannot be guaranteed due to a lack of quality control.”

It is estimated that total cost for Switzerland to wipe out the use of cannabis from the country is up to 1 billion Swiss francs per annum. Although the law has once been relaxed in 2011 to allow the sale of cannabis to cure diseases, in order to combat this sensitive issue, Swiss Government plans to conduct a pilot study to further relax the laws. “The scientific pilot studies would be limited and restricted to specific areas,” the government said. “Participant numbers would also be limited, and minors would be excluded.” Many cities and cantons of the country are looking to conduct their pilot studies to examine various models of regulations, according to the statement from seven-member Federal Council.