20.12.2018 => Winter break office from December 24 to and including January 16.

An eventful association year comes to an end. Worth mentioning are e.g. the first association meeting outside, the CannaTrade for the first time in Zurich-Oerlikon, 3 issues of our magazine Legalize it! and in summer the 11th edition of our legal aid brochure Shit happens with update of the THC&Law part of our Wiki. Plus various activities around the Initiative project and much more. Many thanks to all who supported us!
Now it's time for our winter break, during which we want to recharge our batteries as much as possible for 2019. After all, the program is already well filled: First to close the 2018 also accounting, then the association meeting, the Legalize it! No. 83 and in May again the CannaTrade.

During the winter break, the office is always available by phone on Friday afternoon - from January 17, we are again available MO, DI, DO and FR afternoons.

We wish you all nice winter days and a successful start into the new year!

02.12.2018 - Vienna: International Cannabis Policy Conference and UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

The NGO FAAAT is organizing the International Cannabis Policy Conference in Vienna from December 7 to 9. The timing is not coincidental, because a few days before (and also in Vienna) the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is meeting to discuss once again the future direction of global drug policy. Among other things, it is about the classification of cannabis (or THC and CBD), also in relation to medical use. In March 2019, this then 10-year process is to be concluded. Whether and how the goal - to solve the “global drug problem” - can be achieved remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, the UN has not shone in the past with meaningful ideas in this area, to put it mildly. In the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which is still in force and has been adopted by Switzerland, cannabis is classified in the same category as heroin.

UN drug policy has always been dominated by the influence of the USA and its “War on Drugs” - and is partly to blame for the worldwide demonization of cannabis. In recent years, there has been hope that something might change for the better. The recent rumblings of the Trump administration, however, cast a shadow over the tender seedling…. Let's hope that this shadow 'only' triggers the blossoming and that we can still reap a passable harvest soon. If the shadow becomes too big and lasts (too) long, the plant could die pretty soon…

From our archive: Kiffen in der UNO - Magazine Legalize it! No. 21, spring 2002, PDF

Fall 2018

26.11.2018 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 82 will be published soon & No. 81 is online

At the beginning of December, our members will receive the current number 82 of our magazine Legalize it! It contains a travel report from the USA & Canada, an overview of the Swiss hemp policy in 2018, info about the initiative and the invitation to the association meeting 2019.

We have also pdf'd another issue of our magazine Legalize it! This is Issue 81now available for Issue 81 download as a whole as well as individual articles in the areas of politics, culture and scene. The current issue is still reserved for our members.

11/17/2018 - Advance notice: CannaTrade 2019 from 17 to 19 May

Mark your calendar already: In exactly half a year, the CannaTrade 2019 will take place. The legendary Swiss hemp fair with exhibitors from near and far will open its doors again in Zurich-Oerlikon from May 17 to 19, 2019.
We can already look forward to three unforgettable days entirely under the sign of hemp!

10/30/2018 - Consultation process on cannabis pilot testing.

The consultation procedure on the experimental article was opened at the beginning of July. Various organizations and experts were invited to comment on the proposed text of the law. It was highly disturbing that not even one organization of affected persons was included in the address list. Neither we from the association Legalize it! as the largest interest group of users in Switzerland, nor Medcan, which advocates for affected patients, were asked for our opinion. Since the consultation was public, no one stopped us from participating anyway. As a result, together with the Association Cannamed Compassion Genève (ACCG), the Associazione Cannabis Ricreativa Ticino (ACRT ) and Medical Cannabis Verein Schweiz (Medcan), we wrote one and Statement on the consultationsubmitted it on October 24.

01.10.2018 => Autumn break office in October

The office will be in vacation mode throughout October: it will be staffed on Thursdays and Fridays in the afternoon, otherwise we can be reached primarily by email.

As of November 1, we will be available again as usual (Mon/Thurs/Thurs/Fri, afternoons).
There will also be a members' meeting on November 2.

We wish you all nice autumn days!

09/17/2018 - Legalize it! No. 81 and new documents in the wiki

- Last Friday we packed issue 81 of our magazine and sent it to the post office. In the course of the week, readers should have it in their mailboxes - we wish an interesting reading!
- Last week Sven also added new documents to the wiki: The first summary penalty order of 2018 (summary penalty orders), another example of punishment of juveniles (Youth) and a special permit for the medical use of cannabis (Medicine).

17.09.2018 - Hemp in Parliament (National Council)

On September 11, the National Council rejected by 104 votes to 86 (with 4 abstentions) to discuss only the proposed hemp law of the Greens of May 2017. As in 2004is the large chamber thus not even willing to discuss a new approach to cannabis policy. Sure, this is not a big surprise: the rejection of various proposals recently and the general negative attitude towards recreational use of (THC-rich) cannabis had strongly pointed in this direction. And yet a sinking feeling remains in the stomach when one realizes once again that the majority of the large chamber - which is supposed to represent the people - wants to stick to the current situation with the senseless or even counterproductive prosecution of users: As if the consumption ban, which has been in force for more than 40 years, would ever have had any positive effect… But as long as the majority of the large chamber is at home in this distorted reality, we cannot expect any constructive discussions or even changes for the better from the Federal Berne - therefore the consumers themselves would have to become active. The best (and strongest) means is still the popular initiative: Let's legalize it!

Summer 2018

17.08.2018 - Miscellaneous

- Number 81 of our magazine Legalize it! is in the works and will be published in the first half of September. The topics will be politics, health and the initiative.
- Regarding juveniles and small amounts, we have published a decision of the Zurich High Court. However, this is not legally binding, as it has been appealed to the Federal Court.
- We have also updated the dates of the members' meetings for the rest of the year (registration required).

30.06.2018 => Summer break office until 2. August

Even our secretary needs a vacation and therefore our office is only available by phone on Fridays (afternoon) until August 2.
On all other days we are most likely to be reached by mail.

From Thursday, August 2, the office will be available again as usual (Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, preferably in the afternoon).

We wish you all a wonderful summertime!

06/03/2018 - Shipping Shit happens 11, order form & updated THC&Law section.

In the last days of May, we packed the latest edition of our legal aid brochure Shit happens and delivered it to the post office. Some had it then already on Friday in the mailbox, but most probably on Monday.
We wish good reading and hope for a successful campaign “members recruit members”, which should bring new interested people and eventually members.

As before, the eleventh updated and expanded edition of our brochure can be ordered in paper form via the web form. Two additional copies are free for members. We would be pleased if additional new members could be recruited through these.

We have also updated the THC&Right part of our wiki. It still needs small adjustments here and there, but the content is up-to-date. This is also PDF of the new brochurealready available.

We hope for great interest, positive feedback and new members - let's legalize!

02.06.2018 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 80 is online

Already in March we had published our annual report 2017 - and with it almost the entire content of the magazine Legalize it! No. 80. Now we have still Issue 80put the whole Issue 80online and also filed the title and back page in the Scene section.

Spring 2018

22.05.2018 - Hemp in Parliament (Commission of the National Council).

Last Friday, May 18, it was announced how the responsible commission of the National Council(SGK-NR) had decided on various proposals in the field of cannabis(media release). First things first: The Hemp law of the Greens, which was submitted a year ago, was rejected by the commission by a relatively narrow margin of 14 to 11 votes. Now the ball is in the court of the National Council, which will probably not deal with the issue in the upcoming summer session - at least the issue has not appeared in the program so far. Should this parliamentary initiative then be rejected by the National Council, the matter is settled and the business is off the table, which would not be a surprise in the current political climate. The explanation for the decision is rather far-fetched: It was (once again) emphasized that hemp is not a harmless drug. Yes, of course, unlike legal drugs, which are all completely harmless (sarcasm). Moreover, “so far all attempts for legalization have failed before the people”. Well, there was the hemp initiative of 2008, but that can hardly include the DroLeg initiative of 1998, since that was about all illegalized drugs, not just cannabis. It is also always interesting that a rejected popular initiative apparently means for many that the issue is off the table (forever?). Why shouldn't such issues be voted on every 10 to 15 years? Isn't that one of the advantages of our direct democracy?
Probably not much can be expected from the parliament in this area - without popular initiative there is unlikely to be any (mini-)legalization in the next few years… The commission also dealt with the motion on the so-called experimental article. This business found a majority, but with 12 to 11 votes the narrowest possible one. The narcotics law is to be supplemented so that pilot projects are possible, which provide for a controlled and scientifically accompanied distribution of cannabis. However, if such a mini-amendment is so close, this does not bode well for future hemp proposals in parliament.
Last but not least, the commission has clearly spoken out in favor of the medical dispensing of cannabis as a medicine for the chronically ill. This should be associated with lower health care costs and less bureaucracy in the future, and thus probably benefit more sick people. As a result, the parliamentary initiative of the same name was withdrawn. It remains to be seen how this will be achieved.
Conclusion: As long as a majority in parliament is of the opinion that a ban of (THC-rich) cannabis makes more sense than a legalization, nothing or little will change for the vast majority of users. Therefore: Let's legalize it!

08.05.2018 - It was nice at the CannaTrade 2018!

The CannaTrade 2018 is now some time behind us. Once again it was three very interesting days! Thank you for your interest and support, which we hope you will continue to give us after the fair.
As always, we could never have put on such an event without volunteer work from our most active members. Thank you very much for your commitment!

11.04.2018 - Hemp fair CannaTrade 2018 from 27 to 29 April.

The legendary Swiss hemp trade fair CannaTrade opens its doors again this year: From Friday, April 27 to Sunday, April 29, numerous exhibitors will present everything about hemp in Hall 622 in Zurich Oerlikon. As always, there will also be culinary delights and a chill-out area to linger. Special this time is the CannaSwissCup, which has been held again for a long time, where the best CBD weed of 2017 will be crowned.
We from the association Legalize it! will also be there again: At our booth - No. 412, outside in the tent - activists will bring info to the people, recruit members, answer questions as well as take addresses for the initiative project and collect donations.
We would be happy if we could welcome you at this interesting event. See you at the CannaTrade!

29.03.2018 - Update: Project Initiative

Congratulations to the Initiative Group for reaching 20'000 entries in the database! The mark was already cracked a week ago. If you haven't already: sign up now in the online form, so you can stay up to date and become part of the movement! Let's legalize it!

11.03.2018 - Annual report and financial statements 2017

Our association meeting had already taken place on 26 January in the Volkshaus. Last week we published the annual report in the magazine Legalize it! No. 80 and now it is Annual report with financial statements 2017also available as a PDF in the Wiki. It gives information about our financial situation and the activities in the past year as well as a short outlook about our plans in 2018.

03.03.2018 - New documents on cannabis repression.

Sven has been busy: He has put various facsimiles online this week. All documents are from last year - so for the 2017 we now have summary penalty orders from the cantons of Schwyz, St. Gallen and Geneva. In addition, there are two discontinuation orders for minor quantities - from Basel Land and the canton of Zurich.
Do you have such or similar documents that you could send us? We are happy to receive them by e-mail or post and anonymize them (if you do not do this yourself). We will then publish them as examples of repression against cannabis in Switzerland.

Winter 17/18

26.02.2018 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 80 will be published soon & No. 79 is online

This week our members will receive the current number 80 of our magazine Legalize it! Thanks to Ruth and Sven for the mailing! Furthermore we thank everyone for their support and wish an interesting reading!

We have also pdf'd another issue of our magazine Legalize it! It is Issue 79now available for Issue 79 download, both as a whole and as individual articles in the areas of politics, justice and the scene. The current issue is still reserved for our members.

01.02.2018 - Minor quantity: the fight goes on

In September, a federal court ruling had led to the fact that in most cantons for the mere possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis no fixed penalties were no longer issued. However, the 'illegal' material was still confiscated and destroyed (without receipt?!).
Till Eigenheer now wants the Federal Court to clarify this exactly. Since the costs of a defeat are not to be underestimated, he has started a crowdfunding.
A ruling will hopefully one day lead to more clarity in dealing with the small amount. If all cantonal law enforcement agencies would then proceed in the same way, this would be more legal certainty for all consumers - the hope remains!

28.01.2018 - That was the association meeting 2018

Last Friday we held our annual general meeting (AGM) - for the first time externally, as it was already tight in 2017 and we have grown again. With 24 participants we were not yet the big mass, but for the first time in the Volkshaus this was probably rather advantageous.
At this point we would like to thank again all participants for their attendance and from the board especially Sven, who had organized the event and led it competently. The actual meeting went like clockwork: First of all, the Minutes 2017 annual report 2017 was accepted Minutes 2017, then the annual report 2017 was Minutes 2017acknowledged and the board - after acceptance of the invoice 2017 - was granted the decharge. Minutes 2017
Thereupon, the board was elected in the same composition for another year. After the outlook on our activities in 2018, we concluded the official part. There was then some chatting and a larger group set off to visit the pop-up store on Langstrasse.
We will then publish the minutes of the AGM with the annual report and accounts for 2017 in March in the magazine Legalize it! No. 80 and also put it on the Wiki.

23.01.2018 - Discussion about hemp legalization on the radio.

Already on January 11, the radio program “Forum” held a discussion entitled “Legalize Cannabis: Yes or No?” took place. Andrea Geissbühler (SVP/BE) and Thomas Kessler were in the studio. In addition to experts, listeners also had their say.

09.01.2018 - Green help for the cannabis initiative

Already from January 4, it was mentioned in 20 Minuten and on Facebook that a very special sales campaign with the help of “Marry Jane” will take place in the next months: Both in the pop-up store at Langstrasse 231 and in the online store, two different CBD weeds can be purchased(Greenhouse and Indoor). The profit generated in this way will flow entirely into the preparations for the popular initiative.

So if you are a fan of CBD hemp - please consider supporting the initiative in this way with your next purchase, thank you!

04/01/2018 - New era in California & our cannabis initiative (#CH420).

In California, a new era was ushered in at the turn of the year: Cannabis is now legally available for recreational use for adults over 21 years of age(NZZ, Blick, Berner Zeitung). Until now, only medical use was legal (medical marijuana), although this was always also somewhat hypocritical: many only became patients in order to obtain the coveted cannabis.

InSwitzerland, unfortunately, the well-known repression with the associated black market still prevails. A legalization in this country should be an improvement in many areas - but we can only achieve this with your help(20 Minuten reported). Therefore: Sign the form, collect signatures yourself one day, become a member of the association and donate if you can. <strong>Let's legalize!</strong>