Switzerland to open 4 cannabis clubs

Switzerland will open 4 cannabis club pilot projects in the cities of Zurich, Basel, Bern and Geneva, where members will be able to smoke without fear of being penalized.

«All 4 cities have agreed to pilot projects on their commune,» Sandro Cattacin, professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and representative of the cannabis discussions for the city of Geneva, told the group. SRF.

If the project goes ahead, young people and adults with drug-related problems will be able to consume legally and under state control. The cannabis clubs will be monitored by scientists to draw up conclusions from the initiative.

However, the cantonal governments and the Federal Office of Public Health still have to approve the project.

The clubs will allow 2,000 people to legally consume cannabis. However, at least 500,000 people consume cannabis in Switzerland despite a ban and fines for breaking the law.

The project provides for the purchase of controlled and limited quantities of cannabis from cultivations aggregated by the Swiss authorities.

The desire to open cannabis clubs in Switzerland dates back to 2013, when the city of Bern contacted the people behind the Geneva project. The debate centered on the possibility of allowing minors to become members.

In 2014, Geneva's Union Démocratique du Centre (UDC) strongly opposed the project, calling cannabis a «hard drug».

Supporters of the project argued that this new measure would reduce the black market, in particular by adding new mandatory controls.

It is illegal to consume cannabis in Switzerland, although repression varies between cantons. In 2013, the federal government passed a law decriminalizing possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis, still punishable by a fine of 100 Swiss francs.