SWITZERLAND, which pioneered prescription heroin and safe injection sites decades ago, is now experimenting with decriminalising recreational cannabis, with the drug now available in some Basel pharmacies.
"This is 1,000 times better," said Paul, a 42-year-old resident of the northern Swiss city, as he picked up a package of cannabis from his local pharmacy.
After buying his drug of choice on the street from "weird people or criminals" for the past 25 years, Paul, who asked that his last name not be published, is taking part in a pilot programme allowing him to acquire it over the counter.
"People are happy, since they for the first time can buy it legally," pharmacist Lucas Meister told AFP, showing off a stash of colourful packages containing various dried cannabis flowers and hashish-based products.
His is one of nine pharmacies that have been chosen to take part in the two-year pilot for the legal sale of recreational cannabis.
Thousands of people applied to take part in the trial, but Paul, who mainly uses the drug to treat his depression, was among just 400 chosen.
- Not encouraging consumption -
Cannabis is legal for medical use in the wealthy Alpine nation, but only in extreme cases, such as pain relief for cancer patients.
Low-potency cannabis can also be purchased legally for non-medical use, but only when it contains below one percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the component that gets recreational users high.
And while more potent cannabis is illegal, carrying up to 10 grammes of more potent cannabis for one's own consumption is not punishable by law.
But while there are already a few ways to consume the drug without risking run-ins with police, pressure has been mounting for legalisation.
In 2021, around 70 percent of the population favoured liberalising the laws, up from 58 percent three years earlier, according to the Swiss health ministry.
"We have to get out of the illicit cannabis framework, but ensure strict regulation," said Barbara Broers, vice president of a federal commission on issues surrounding addiction.
"It is important that people have access to controlled and regulated products, but we are proposing to ban advertising and to have plain packaging, as with cigarettes in some countries," she told AFP.
"This is not about encouraging consumption."
- Small steps -
The Swiss government has opted for a small-steps approach, and authorised trials to take place over the coming decade.
In Basel, participants are aged 18 to 76, and the aim is to study "the effects of regulated cannabis sale... on mental health and on consumption behaviour," Marc Walter, a psychiatry professor at the University of Basel and head of the study, told AFP.
So far, participants have been especially drawn to "products with a very high level of THC," he said.
The five-gramme packs that Meister keeps in his pharmacy safe contain products with THC levels ranging from 4.5 to 20 percent.
They are priced at between eight and 12 Swiss francs ($8.70-$13) per gramme, depending on the THC level, in line with black market pricing.
The pricing level was very deliberate, according to Marc Brungger, an executive at the Swiss company Pure Production, which is producing cannabis for the Basel trial.
"If prices are too low, people would try to resell the product, and if they are too high, they would turn to the black market," he told AFP.
Other major Swiss cities, including Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne, are planning to launch similar trials.
- 'Pure and organic' -
In Basel, Paul said he is thrilled to leave street dealers behind and to finally know with certainty what he is getting: "Pure and organic cannabis", grown in Switzerland and quality-guaranteed by the Swiss authorities.
"I want to consume cannabis, not chemicals made in China," he told AFP, voicing horror at the arrival on the street of synthetic cannabinoids -- laboratory-made molecules that mimic the THC effect.
The marketing specialist said it was a shame Switzerland had not taken a more direct route to legalisation, as in some US states, Canada and Uruguay.
But Walter said he was happy "Switzerland has chosen another route".
"As a scientist, I prefer that."
Frank Zobel, head of Addiction Switzerland, agreed, pointing out that taking things slow and steady to see how the population responds was a very Swiss approach.
That model proved itself in the 1990s, he said, noting how Switzerland had slowly introduced prescribing heroin for medical use.
"There too, there were four years of pilot trials, and today it is a treatment that is covered by medical insurance," he said.
ETX Studio
Tue Mar 28 2023
Pharmacist Lucas Meister stands behind his counter next to a bag of 'Berry kush' marijuana strain he will sell during a two-year pilot for the legal sale of recreational cannabis in Basel. - ETX Studio
Peruntukan pembangkang, pembangunan kawasan parlimen wajar diperundangkan - Pakar
Mantan Ahli Tetap Jawatankuasa Reformasi Pilihan Raya (ERC), Dr. G Manimaran berkata peruntukan kepada pembangkang dan dana pembangunan kawasan parlimen wajar untuk diperundangkan berbanding dibuat secara Perjanjian Persefahaman (MoU) semata-mata. Pada masa yang sama, beliau berpendapat sikap pembangkang terhadap MoU yang ditawarkan Kerajaan Perpaduan ketika ini bersifat politik semata-mata. #AgendaAWANI
MoU peruntukan pembangkang berat sebelah, sepatutnya digubal undang-undang khusus - Pakar
Timbalan Ketua (Strategi) Ibu Pejabat Asia UNSDSN, Universiti Sunway, Prof. Wong Chin Huat berkata Perjanjian Persefahaman (MoU) peruntukan pembangkang yang ada ketika ini disifatkan berat sebelah memandangkan hanya menyentuh mengenai pengisytiharan harta oleh pembangkang sahaja. Jelasnya, hal tersebut sepatutnya dilakukan secara saksama oleh semua ahli parlimen dan dilakukan berdasarkan satu Akta khusus berbanding sekadar dalam bentuk MoU. #AgendaAWANI
Negara luar minat labur di Malaysia mahu pengiktirafan JAKIM
Bagi menjayakan usaha ini, beliau telah membuat rancangan dengan kerajaan negeri untuk menyediakan tanah yang akan dibeli atau disewa bagi membolehkan kilang berkenaan didirikan.
Ribut tropika Pulasan mungkin hampiri barat daya Jepun - Agensi cuaca
Menurut agensi cuaca Jepun pada Selasa, ribut tropika besar yang semakin kuat mungkin menghampiri wilayah Okinawa dan kawasan Amami di wilayah Kagoshima di barat daya Jepun pada Rabu.
MP PN tolak draf MoU kerana ada niat tersirat - Muhyiddin
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mendakwa MoU itu antaranya mengandungi satu bab khusus mengenai isu bangsa, agama dan Raja-Raja, di mana Ahli-ahli Parlimen PN dilarang untuk bersuara mengenainya kerana menyentuh isu itu dianggap sebagai menyebarkan kebencian.
24 mangsa, tiga kanak-kanak diselamatkan
Bomba menyelamatkan 24 mangsa termasuk tiga kanak-kanak yang terperangkap akibat di Kampung Kubang Kayu, Bukit Kayu Hitam.
Malaysia raih dua emas, Mohamad Aniq lebur rekod kebangsaan di Fiji
Jaguh angkat berat negara Mohamad Aniq Kasdan merangkul pingat emas kategori 61 kilogram (kg) di Kejohanan Angkat Berat Komanwel 2024 di Suva, Fiji hari ini.
Banjir: Cuti pegawai, anggota bomba Kedah dibeku
Cuti hampir 800 pegawai serta anggota Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) Kedah dibekukan berkuat kuasa hari ini susulan situasi banjir di negeri ini.
Jumlah kumulatif kes MPOX (setakat 4 September 2024)
Untuk rekod, jumlah kumulatif global adalah sebanyak 103,898 kes. Asia dengan 5,403 kes.
Pengurus syarikat rugi lebih RM400,000 terperdaya pelaburan tidak wujud
Seorang pengurus syarikat kerugian RM420,000 selepas terperdaya dengan skim pelaburan tidak wujud.
Switzerland buka semula kedutaan di Iraq selepas 33 tahun
Switzerland membuka semula kedutaannya di Baghdad pada Selasa, selepas 33 tahun ditutup ekoran Perang Teluk, lapor Xinhua.
Shaqiri umum bersara daripada bola sepak antarabangsa
Shaqiri bermain hanya dua kali pada kejohanan Euro 2024 di Jerman, beraksi selama 71 minit untuk Switzerland.
EURO 2024: Bukayo Saka pacu England mara ke separuh akhir
Switzerland terpaksa akur selepas tewas 5-3 kepada England melalui sepakan penentuan penalti dalam perlawanan suku akhir.
EURO 2024: Bellingham, Kane watak penting kebangkitan England ke suku akhir
Separuh masa pertama menyaksikan England mendominasi aksi tetapi sukar menembusi benteng pertahanan Slovakia yang lebih berdisiplin.
EURO 2024: Fullkrug selamatkan maruah Jerman di Frankfurt
Walaupun telah memastikan kelayakan ke peringkat kalah mati, Nagelsmann menurunkan kesebelasan utama Jerman yang sama bertemu Hungary.
EURO 2024: Gandingan pemain Manchester United, Liverpool bantu Scotland raih satu mata berharga
Scotland berjaya mengikat Switzerland dengan keputusan seri 1-1 dalam saingan Kumpulan A yang berlangsung di Stadium Cologne awal pagi tadi.
Euro 2024: Switzerland tewaskan Hungary 3-1
Switzerland meraih kemenangan 3-1 ke atas Hungary pada Sabtu yang mungkin menjadi penentu untuk mara ke peringkat seterusnya dalam saingan kumpulan Euro 2024.
Steven Sim ketuai delegasi ke Persidangan Buruh Antarabangsa di Geneva
Sim akan menyampaikan ucapan negara dalam sidang plenari yang menyentuh mengenai pembaharuan kontrak sosial.
Presiden Zelensky rayu pemimpin dunia sertai Sidang Kemuncak Keamanan
Zelensky menyatakan, rakyat Ukraine tidak mahu Piagam PBB diabaikan, seperti buku-buku yang terbakar.
Tiga maut nahas helikopter di Switzerland
Tiga maut dalam nahas helikopter di Switzerland pada Selasa, menurut polis.