On June 17, 2019, US law enforcement agents boarded a shipping vessel in Philadelphia and seized 19.75 tons of cocaine with a street value of over $1 billion. It was one of the largest drug seizures in US history and prompted the company to invest millions in security upgrades. The vessel in question – the MSC Gayane – was part of the fleet of the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Corporation, which handles about 16 of the world’s seaborne trade, the second-most after Danish-based Maersk, according to a ranking of shipping operators. UN experts note the illicit drugs trade has been on the rise in the five-year period leading up to 2019 and that drug barons appear to be taking larger risks, sending more cocaine at one time. (See also: Jail sentence for first of MSC Gayane crew in cocaine smuggling case)

The University of Bern cannot conduct a study on the effects of the regulated sale of cannabis in pharmacies on behalf of the city’s authorities. In a written reply the Federal Office of Public Health says the legal framework does not exist to authorise such a scientific project as “current drugs legislation does not allow the use of cannabis for non-medical reasons”. In May 2017, researchers from the university’s Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine and the Clinical Trials Unit filed a request with the health office for an authorisation to carry out a scientific study on the effects of the regulated sale of cannabis for recreational purposes via pharmacies. It also planned to study the illegal cannabis market in the Swiss capital. (Bundesrat Berset blockiert Cannabis-Politik der Städte)

Bern's city government announcedit had commissioned the university’s Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) to research the effects of selling cannabis in pharmacies. Under the study, cannabis would be put on sale in participating pharmacies in the city, with the ISPM monitoring 1,000 registered users of the service, who must be over 18, living in Bern and already using cannabis. However given possessing cannabis is technically illegal in Switzerland – even if many cantons turn a blind eye – the project must be agreed by the federal government before it can go ahead.

Die Stadt Bern soll sich an einem Pilotversuch mit Cannabis-Clubs beteiligen. Das Stadtparlament hat einen Vorstoss der linksgrünen Fraktion überwiesen und damit der Stadtregierung den Rücken gestärkt. Via Motion forderten die Grünen, dass Bern sich zusammen mit anderen Städten an einem Pilotprojekt mit «Cannabis Social Clubs» beteiligt. Die Idee ist, dass innerhalb solcher Clubs der Cannabis-Konsum freigegeben wird. (Google translate: Bern wants to allow smoking pot in clubs | Mehr dazu: In Bern wird Kiffen legal | Basel-Stadt will Cannabis-Pilotprojekt)

Le Conseil fédéral veut dorénavant autoriser les essais pilotes avec cannabis. Les résultats de la consultation semblent lui être favorables. UDC mis à part, un large consensus réunit les partis et les organisations de prévention des addictions. Ils espèrent que ces essais seront instructifs pour la gestion de cette substance à l'avenir. C'est le refus d'autorisation d'une étude qui a motivé le processus de changement de loi. Plusieurs villes et cantons ont voulu que les effets de la vente de cannabis légal sur les consommateurs soient étudiés scientifiquement. L'Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP) a rejeté la demande, en indiquant que les bases légales faisaient défaut.

Following decades of rising cannabis use and talk of liberalisation, Switzerland had appeared poised to become the marijuana capital of Europe. The country still boasts some of the highest rates of cannabis use in Europe, but Switzerland's pot movement has taken a hit in the past few years: proposed liberalisation did not come to pass, enforcement has been on the rise and use among the country's youth has decreased. Enforcement varies widely from canton to canton, but cannabis remains an illegal narcotic throughout the country. Possession, use and distribution are punishable by up to three years in prison, and thousands of offences are recorded each year.

Últimamente, se han observado indicios evidentes de un giro en los enfoques adoptados por los Gobiernos con respecto al cannabis recreativo. Uruguay en 2013 y Canadá en 2018, así como varios estados de los Estados Unidos desde 2012, han tomado medidas para controlar el cannabis a través de mercados regulados desde la semilla hasta la venta, en lugar de prohibirlo. Más recientemente, el nuevo presidente de México y el nuevo Gobierno de coalición de Luxemburgo y Malta también han anunciado su intención de regular el mercado del cannabis recreativo. Esta se considera cada vez más una vía más prometedora para proteger la salud y la seguridad de las personas, y ha cambiado el panorama de las políticas de drogas y los términos del debate.

Descargar el informe(PDF)

Lately, there have been clear signs of a shift in governments’ approaches to recreational cannabis. Uruguay in 2013 and Canada in 2018 – as well as a number of US states since 2012 – have moved to control cannabis through regulated markets from seed to sale rather than prohibition. More recently, the newly elected president of Mexico and the new coalition governments of Luxembourg and Malta also announced their intentions to regulate the recreational cannabis market. This is increasingly seen as a more promising way to protect people’s health and safety, and has changed the drug policy landscape and the terms of the debate.

Download the briefing(PDF)

Der Cannabiskonsum spaltet die Schweizer Politik. Die Sozialkommission des Nationalrats hat den Vorschlag des Bundesrats zu einer vorsichtigen Öffnung knapp abgelehnt. Der Bundesrat will wissenschaftliche Pilotversuche für den legalen Cannabiskonsum zu Genusszwecken unter Bedingungen zulassen. Im neuen Nationalrat, der diesen Dezember erstmals tagt, dürften die Regierungsvorlage und auch weitergehende Reformen durchaus Chancen haben. im Vorfeld der Parlamentswahlen hatten sich 86 von 189 Nationalratskandidaten klar für eine Legalisierung des Cannabiskonsums ausgesprochen, weitere 28 sagten «eher Ja». Eine Garantie für eine künftige Mehrheit ist dies allerdings nicht.

European countries that are widening their cannabis policies should invest in monitoring and evaluation to understand the impact on public health and safety, according to the European Drug Report for 2023 issued by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). Cannabis remained the most commonly used drug in Europe in 2021, with around eight per cent (22.6 million) of adults estimated to have used cannabis “in the last year”. Malta legislated for home growing and use in private, alongside non-profit communal growing clubs, for recreational purposes. Germany and Luxembourg are planning to permit home growing. The Netherlands is piloting a model for a closed cannabis supply chain for cannabis coffee shops and Czechia has announced plans for a regulated and taxed distribution system.

While in the Americas cannabis policy reform is taking off, Europe seems to be lagging behind. That is to say, in European nations at the level of national governments – where denial of the changing policy landscape and inertia to act upon calls for change reigns. At the local level, however, disenchantment with the current cannabis regime gives rise to new ideas. In several countries in Eu­rope, local and regional authorities are looking at regulation, either pressured by grassroots movements – in particular the Cannabis Social Clubs(CSCs) – or due to the involve­ment of criminal groups and public disorder.

Download the briefing (PDF) | Version auf Deutsch

Local and regional authorities across Europe are confronted with the negative consequences of a persisting illicit cannabis market. Increasingly, local and regional authorities, non-governmental pressure groups and grassroots movements are advocating a regulation of the recreational cannabis market. The Transnational Institute (TNI) analysed possible cannabis market regulation models (in Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands) to allow local authorities to share best practices and improve the understanding of drug markets as a means to reduce the negative consequences of illicit drug markets on individuals and society.

The first Swiss project on the legal sale of cannabis in pharmacies will start on September 15 in canton Basel City. Hemp users over 18 can now register to take part, with the number of participants limited to 370. Six cannabinoid products – four types of cannabis flowers and two types of hashish – will be sold in nine pharmacies selected by the authorities. The prices charged by the pharmacies will be around those charged on the black market for products with a THC content. A gram will therefore cost CHF8-CHF12 ($8.40-$12.60). The Federal Office of Public Health approved the pilot in April. It will be part of a project by the University of Basel, its psychiatric clinics and the cantonal health department. It is intended to help evaluate the effects of new regulations on the recreational use of cannabis and ultimately combat black market distribution.

Le Parlement pourra aborder la question des essais pilotes de distribution de cannabis. Contre l'avis de sa commission, le nouveau Conseil national est entré en matière mardi. Le projet qui vise à mener des programmes strictement encadrés. La discussion n'a porté que sur l'entrée en matière. Le dossier retourne auprès de la commission qui avait proposé de rejeter le projet suite à un rapport de l'Office fédéral de la santé publique. Le Conseil fédéral veut créer une base légale dans la loi sur les stupéfiants pour pouvoir mener des études scientifiques sur les effets d'une utilisation contrôlée du cannabis. Son objectif est de comprendre le fonctionnement du marché et de combattre le marché noir.

Des projets pilotes de distribution de cannabis devraient pouvoir être menés en la Suisse. Le Parlement maintient la pression après un premier niet fédéral. Une commission du Conseil des Etats a soutenu une initiative de son homologue du National. Le Conseil fédéral est prêt à revoir la réglementation. En novembre dernier, l'Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP) a refusé d'autoriser une étude scientifique de l'Université de Berne sur les effets de la régularisation de la vente de cannabis sur les consommateurs et sur le trafic de stupéfiants à Berne. D'autres villes comme Genève, Zurich, Bâle ou Bienne avaient manifesté leur intérêt pour cette expérience.

Swiss cities are adapting their drug policies in the face of new forms of drug use. Thirty years after the open drug scene in Zurich, experts say it is time to act. New ways of acting must also be developed because of new types of drugs, according to the organisation Addiction Switzerland. The arrival of ready-to-consume “crack rocks” in Geneva two years ago broke the relative stability of the drug landscape and consumption patterns in that canton, Addiction Switzerland deputy director Frank Zobel said. In addition, drug use in public spaces is on the rise again throughout Switzerland – from Geneva to Basel, Lausanne, Chur and Zurich. Mini-drug scenes are the result. This is related to the very high availability of cocaine. (See also: Geneva struggles with crack-cocaine epidemic)

The Zurich city government and the Zurich University Hospital said that the Federal Office of Public Health approved the conditions for the organic production of two separate strains of cannabis. The project, Zuri Can - Cannabis with Responsibility, is intended to study the impact of regulated cannabis supply on the consumption and health of consumers. The project was delayed last October following objections by the health office. The sale of cannabis products from pharmacies and social clubs to control groups is now due to begin next August. A maximum of 2,100 participants can take part in the large-scale pilot project in Switzerland's biggest city. (See also: Zurich set to legalize cannabis In Swiss trial program)

The possession of small quantities of cannabis, if for personal use rather than re-sale, is already not treated as a criminal offense in Switzerland. However, the highest court in Switzerland clarified that such mini-amounts are also not liable for seizure – that is, if there is no proof of any crime having taken place, and if the user is not nabbed while actually consuming the drug. In 2008 Swiss voters rejected legalisation, but in 2012 parliament reduced the penalty for possession and consumption of small amounts to a fine – in order to relieve the police and judiciary and save costs. (See also: Swiss police face confusion about hard drug rules)

A Vancouver based drug policy researcher has been working for decades to get the federal government to regulate illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine. Don MacPherson authored the groundbreaking Four Pillars Approach to Drug Problems in Vancouver in 2001 — calling for this kind of regulation. Now, 16 years later, and in the midst of a year-long public health emergency in B.C. centred around overdose deaths, MacPherson continues to try to convince politicians that this is the only way out of the overdose crisis. "It's clear that every thing we are doing is not working. It's absolutely pathetic that we can not move beyond this paradigm that we have supported for so many years and at the cost of so many lives." (See also: And the band played on: Overdoses, death and a resistance to change)