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In a European comparison, the Swiss consume a lot of coke – even though the drug is banned in this country.
Sarah BelgeriRingier journalism student
That doesn’t happen every day in Switzerland! A powerful Colombian drug lord is on trial in Basel next week. Alvaro H.* (47) is said to have smuggled tons of cocaine from Colombia to Europe from Basel.
The white powder is popular in this country: in a European comparison, the Swiss consume a lot of coke. St. Gallen, Zurich, Basel and Geneva were even in the top ten of Europe’s cities with the highest cocaine consumption per capita in 2021.
Two grams of cocaine are allowed in St. Gallen
While the use of drugs in Portugal, for example, has been unpunished for over twenty years, Swiss drug policy is still strict: Only in the canton of St. Gallen were drugs decriminalized a good three years ago – there, the possession of two grams of cocaine and heroin is permitted.
Otherwise, the purchase, trade and consumption of all drugs is prohibited. Only in the case of cannabis are a few grams exempt from punishment for personal use. Scientifically supported pilot tests with adult cannabis users will also start this year in several Swiss cities.
Federal Councilor Cassis once for coke legalization
In the past there have been repeated efforts to decriminalize hard drugs as well. For example, before his election to the Federal Council, Ignazio Cassis (61) explicitly advocated the legalization of cocaine. “A regulated market is the best way to combat drug abuse,” the former Ticino canton doctor told the “Aargauer Zeitung” in 2017.
Cassis isn’t the only liberal who advocated a change of course in drug policy. For example, the City of Zurich FDP wanted to legalize hard drugs in small quantities – but so far without success. And the Young Liberals are also committed to legal access to cocaine, ecstasy and other drugs.
Bans bring nothing
One of the most prominent advocates of a liberal drug policy is Andrea Caroni (42), a member of the Appenzell Free Democratic Party (FDP). If he had his way, the first step would be to evaluate the cannabis pilot trials. After that he could imagine similar experiments with cocaine. “Cocaine should not be banned across the board, but regulated, the delivery controlled and the population educated,” says Caroni. The protection of minors is central.
The Bernese middle national councilor Heinz Siegenthaler (67) also thinks little of bans. That’s why he submitted a motion in Parliament that no longer bans cannabis, but wants to regulate the market anew. Although he doesn’t want to equate hard drugs like cocaine with cannabis, he says: “It’s the wrong approach to fight drug use with prohibition.” Enough experts and studies have shown that such bans would not help.
Andrea Geissbühler suspects salami tactics
The Bernese SVP National Councilor Andrea Geissbühler (46) does not want to know anything about the legalization of any substances. “The easier it is to get drugs, the more you consume them,” says the co-president of the umbrella organization drug abstinence Switzerland. For Geissbühler, it is clear that it is not the parliament that must decide on such important issues, but the people in any case. The goal must be an efficient, healthy youth.
In addition, the argument of salami tactics can often be heard from the camp of opponents of liberalization. Knowing that pushing ahead too quickly could be counterproductive, serious attempts are unlikely to be made to legalize hard drugs as long as the use and sale of cannabis is not legal. The demand would not be able to win a majority at the moment anyway.
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