Tired of that regular swiss chocolate? A pilot program for adult use of cannabis in Switzerland may fix that soon(ish) with dustings of green, orange, and gold.
Although it isn’t approaching at the bug-spattering pace of a firenado, legal traction for recreational cannabis has amassed some noteworthy interest in the alpine nation’s corridors of power. For such a traditionally conservative country, that’s a win in our books.
An Origins Story
The green shoots of recreational acceptance hail as far back as 2016 when the work to develop the new pilot program for adult use first emerged. The tests, initiated in earnest on 16 April of this year, are monitoring 400 subjects along the lines of physical and psychiatric effects. In keeping with the national character, the pilot program for adult use is highly rigorous, enlisting psychiatrists and physicians of the highest order and involving only 4 quality strains in hashish form. . Thank Flückiger, that worthy doctor, and the University of Basel who decided to embark on his hopeful project with him when Swiss legislators finally came round. We salute you.
Why Is A Pilot Program For Adult Use So Groundbreaking?
For those un-versed in Swiss law, the present legal status of cannabis is super limited, with THC content limited to 1% for cultivating or selling. Effectively, the only legal weed is hemp. Selling anything of potency can send you to prison, and any brick you have stashed inside your cupboard will keep you up in cold sweats of imminent arrest. Personal usage below 10 grams isn’t yet enforced, nor does it result in prison time, but it can fetch you a meaningful $100 fine.
That makes regular recreational gatherings prohibitively expensive. Are they still worth it? Well, yes, of course, but that kind of money could be put to better use in our opinion.
An Enlightened Trade-Off
Though Swiss legislators are grinding at a sloth’s pace through the process, they do have their own interests at heart too. In their decision to cut to a pilot program for adult use, they’ll be killing two birds with one stone. The first bird is definitional: Swiss institutions have, up until now, put up a stony front against “recreational use” of just about anything narcotic, but they also have a forward-thinking attitude that runs diametrically against this tradition.
The brightest example of that is the HAT (Heroin Assisted Treatment Program), where a limited number of addicts were given heroin for the purpose of… well, weaning them off heroin.
Now, “Recreational use” of cannabis is not the same as recreational use of other drugs, and legislators are smart enough to realize it. By exploring the actual effects of cannabis scientifically, through a highly controlled pilot program for adult use, they’re set to throw a whole heap of naysayers off their collective back, including the most fastidious members of the population – of which there are a great many. In turn, this will free up space to deal with the country’s truly odious felonies.
That is the bigger “bird,” which is, of course, the problem of illicit undertakings. Both crime and addiction will likely take a dive if recreational use isn’t punished nearly so harshly. Rather than swelling the bank accounts of career criminals, setting up the youth for lifelong stigmas, or forcing them onto the tangents of the pimp-underworld just to get a hit, (not to mention fostering general annoyance in the population), this move may disempower any shady individuals who take it upon themselves to throw cannabis money into other black hat operations. In other words, the first in a series of steps that will probably benefit the private sector and policymakers, and, in the long run, make the population that much more joyous.
Other Green Horizons
Germanic nations are strong in the race for general legalization, with Holland remaining the gold standard insofar as recreational use is concerned. A slight step back is Holland major’s recent sea-change in opinion, which slants toward curbing cannabis sales to tourists; but as people there are so naturally generous, this strikes us as a bit of a nothing-burger. Germany is set to fully legalize the sale of Cannabis soon, with Luxembourg not too far behind. Malta is a good place to cultivate and recreationally toke, having decriminalized both activities last year. All of which gives Switzerland plenty of hope, and with any luck, the Swiss will be adding Swiss chocolate to their list of cultivars in keeping with their innovative, if not edgy reputation with recreational users.
Enjoyed that first hit? Come chill with us every week at the Friday Sesh for a freshly packed bowl of the week’s best cannabis news!
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