Every day weed users are controlled by the police and there are always raids at meeting places of THC users. The public space and traffic is monitored more and more closely. Not only by the officers on the spot, but also by video cameras and drones. This development will continue to intensify and make it more difficult to consume THC in public. What to do or not to do in order to avoid getting caught by the police if possible?

If (plainclothes) police officers surprise you while you're smoking, the only thing left to do is damage limitation. What is found on you during a personal check probably also belongs to you - you can usually no longer meaningfully deny that. But: If you are going to smoke pot outside, then carry less than 10 grams with you and keep quiet about your other consumption behaviour. This will probably put you in the category of an administrative fine: 100 francs - and that's it.

Especially rolling joints in public is tricky: It is conspicuous and your eyes are fixed on the mixture and the joint for a long time. It is more intelligent to pre-roll the required number of joints at home, if they cannot be smoked in private homes. This way you can smoke the joint quickly and inconspicuously in a quiet place.

If only one joint was taken, it can simply be thrown away when you see the police coming (preferably into the water or a storm drain, as many officers are not above searching a bush for a joint butt).

But the simple fact is: smoking pot in public massively increases the likelihood of coming into contact with the police. If you're not into the action, don't do it.

People who use exclusively at home have fewer problems than those who smoke pot outside. But the smoke and the smell can also cause problems in private homes. The neighbours can smell it - fat weedjoints can be noticed up to 50 metres away, depending on the wind strength. Again, there are ways to camouflage. Sometimes just a few sticks of incense will help to mask the smell of cannabis. THC can also be eaten: A yoghurt with some hash - nobody smells anything. A Guetzli with cannabis butter doesn't cause any odour problems either. However, the dosage has to be right!

Further there are very good vaporinhalers that dissolve the THC, which dissolve the THC by means of hot air so that it can be inhaled. Since no smoke is produced, the emissions are extremely low. The smell disappears after only a few centimetres. Such devices (Vervaporer, vaporizers) can also be of good service in windowless rooms (e.g. in practice rooms).

As long as the ban is in place, the watchword can only be: Camouflage is half the battle. And don't forget: Clothes make the man! If you go out on the street with hemp leaves on your T-shirt or with a penetrating weedsmell (be it clothes, be it uncleanly packed flowers), you are virtually attracting the risk. Glass containers are more leak-proof than Minigrips (of which it is better to use two on top of each other). Both can be additionally covered with a paper bag, so that the blossoms are not immediately visible at the first glance into the backpack.

If you have to transport weed or hash, it is best to do so in portions of less than 10 grams (penalty-free small amounts). In general, the following applies to transport: directly from A to B, no detours, no smoking, no fetching paper from the Selecta machine, be as sober as possible and rather during the day than at night.

When growing cannabis on the balcony, it is recommended not to grow two-metre bushes, but rather the small “autoflowering” plants that grow up to 35 centimetres. As these are ready for harvest after only three months, two harvests per year can even be achieved outdoors (which compensates somewhat for the small yield per plantlet).

If you want to grow indoors, you have to work clean (electricity, heat, ventilation, filters). Most of the plants are blown up because they are sloppy.

Hempseedsorders abroad are still not a good idea: Customs will report you!

If you drive a car, you should never carry any smoking paraphernalia with you, including paper. The ashtray should be empty and the car generally clean. During a traffic control, the police are happy to follow up on any evidence of drug use, because driving under the influence of drugs is an offence.

Not all THC users have the same probability of being reported. Particularly at risk are smokers with the following characteristics: male, around twenty years old, long-haired, freaky, often found in the alley. Punks are also increasingly controlled and hip-hoppers have also “risen” to become a favored group. Those who are often out at night and frequent relevant clubs also have a higher probability of being checked and reported.

Less than ten percent of criminal offences for cannabis consumption are committed by women - at least that's how the police register it. However, the real ratio between male and female potheads is about three to one. However, women are less likely to consume in public. And that is the main reason for being arrested.

The under 30s account for 80% of of those accused of transgressions of the offences. The under 18-year-olds make up only about 20% of those charged. Just under half of the referrals concern young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. The over-30s also account for only around 20 per cent of those reported. But here too: Older people smoke pot more at home and have stopped using in public. Often because the fines they have received have made them more cautious!

Generally and exaggeratedly put: A 20-year-old, long-haired, freaky-looking man who spends a lot of time in public is much more likely to be stopped and reported by the police than a 40-year-old, inconspicuously dressed woman who leads more of a domestic life. Even though she may smoke pot a lot more than he does!

The ratio of hash to weed violations increases with age - that is, the older a person is, the more likely he or she is to be caught with hash, while the young are almost always caught with weed:

Even about ten years after the hemp shop boom, weed seems to have kept its supremacy in the cannabis market. It could also have been that after the end of the shop era, hashish consumption would increase again or that more users would be reported for hashish. This is not the case: there are ten times more reports for weed (and plants) than for hashish (and oil).

It is rather the older users (over 30), who probably still have their old connections. They probably also consume more weed than in the 80s, but they don't seem to want to give up hashish completely. This may be due to habit and tradition, but could mean that even the finest weed is not the same as good hash - apples and pears can not be compared 1:1.

Source: Federal Statistical Office, Police Crime Statistics (PKS) 2010, Narcotics Act (NarcA): offences by substance and persons accused.

90% of the consumption convictions concern men. Even though there are probably more men than women who smoke pot, the ratio is hardly 1 : 9. We would rather estimate it at 1 : 2. This means that women are reported to the police much less often than men.

Men also dominate in the case of referrals for misdemeanours (passing on, trafficking) with 92%, even slightly more than in the case of misdemeanour referrals above.

The main burden of repression is clearly borne by the young. The under 30s receive 77 % of the reprimands. Even if more people smoke pot in their younger years than in their old age, there are now also many retired people who smoke pot. But they are less likely to be out smoking joints and less likely to come under legal scrutiny. But: It can also happen to well-to-do older people! The small discrepancy between the two totals in the transgression tables is due to some unclear cases.

It is interesting to note that the age distribution of misdemeanour convictions is very similar to that of infractions. Of course, the figures are less high, but the percentage distribution is quite similar: the main burden of repression is again borne by the under-30s with 69 % of all reprimands.

Most of the convictions are issued for weed: 92% on average. This is the case for all age groups. But for the under-20s, weed accounts for almost 96%, and for the over-60s “only” 81%.