Report of the Federal Council: clarify, wait, 2031...

“Perspectives on Swiss Drug Policy” summarizes the current position of the Federal Council. On 71 pages, there is a review, an analysis of the current situation, an appreciation of various preliminary reports, and an outlook for the future.

The international drug treaties of the UN have “clearly failed” to achieve their goals of drug freedom and abstinence! The Federal Council also states: neither the consumption nor the trade of prohibited narcotics has been reduced. It further acknowledges that legal cannabis markets are pushing back the black market, and that no unexpected negative changes accompany legalization.

Internationally, a lot has happened in recent years: Hemp has become legal in entire countries, albeit in very different ways. But the experience with these new regulatory approaches is still too fresh, he said. Therefore, the Federal Council does not want to rush anything. This is mentioned several times in the report.

After all, steps have already been taken, says the Federal Council: the fines for cannabis use has been possible for a few years, the facilitations for cannabis medicines are just around the corner and now the pilot projects can start (after 15 years of discussion). There should and can now be researched whether other approaches than prohibition would be possible.

The text is fluent to read and gives an overview of what the Federal Council and the administration see a need for action and would like to do in the next 10 years - and what not. There are many good considerations in the process. Abstinence as a goal simply cannot be: it is unrealistic because it cannot be enforced with reasonable effort. You can see that many people see prohibition as a failure, but they are also very afraid of a free market. That's why they want to restrict and control this market. How exactly, that is the crux.

The Federal Council now wants to wait for the results of the pilot projects and consider until 2031 whether and how changes can be discussed. We are curious to see whether the parliamentary initiative can speed up this timetable somewhat.