Switzerland: Lausanne could legalize cannabis

Interesting discussions are underway in Switzerland. While 4 cities are already studying the possibility of legalizing cannabis by opening pilot projects for registered consumers, Lausanne could join Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich in this effort as early as this evening.

Lausanne's elected representatives are meeting to discuss and, if necessary, approve this project, which was initiated back in 2014. The project was submitted by Hadrien Buclin, a member of La Gauche. As the left-wing alliance has a majority at City Hall, the project should pass.

This does not mean that Lausanne will become a new Amsterdam. Once the project has been approved, Lausanne will have to think about how to implement this new regulation, for example by joining the think tanks of the four other cities, but also by changing the federal law of the Canton of Vaud to allow the production, sale and distribution of narcotics.

For Hadrien Buclin, the aim of this evening's meeting is primarily to acknowledge the failure of repression. In fact, the pre-debate committee work observed that de facto decriminalization already applied, given the prevalence of cannabis consumption. Today, Swiss politicians are more concerned about the non-control of products, with very high THC levels or haphazard cuts, than about the very existence of cannabis.

As far as cannabis distribution is concerned, Lausanne is leaning more towards a Cannabis Club model, with consumers pooling their equipment and know-how to grow and distribute the harvest within the Club. This model, widely developed by Hemp & Freedom in France, is already at work in Spain, Belgium and England, with subtleties specific to each country.

For the time being, the final obstacle is the Right-wing bloc. Even if the economic stakes of state regulation of cannabis might interest them, it's always more natural to oppose a good idea when you haven't had the courage to come up with it in the first place.