Hemp was not always illegal. But it has now been more than seven decades since it was - and still is - illegal to use it. We cannot and do not want to forget the many experiences of repression. Remembrance Day offers an opportunity for reflection.

Ruth Zwahlen, founder and operator of the Hemp Museum, reflects on a long history of hemp activism and repression and annually invites activists to a meeting in her Hemp Museum. This has now been going on for 27 years! It is an enormous amount of work that Ruth does all by herself. She has welcomed individuals, apprentices, associations and many others, guided them through her museum and educated them.

→ Anyone who would also like to visit the hemp museum is welcome to contact Ruth Zwahlen on 056 491 15 59.

Two dozen activists met on a warm October day to commemorate the ban on hemp over 70 years ago. The visitors lit 72 candles, one for each year of repression. In addition to hemp tastings and cannabis discussions, the program also included a lecture.

The backgrounds of those present were very diverse: former and current members of hemp stores, acquaintances from the area, members of Legalize it, representatives of IG Hemp and relatives of Ruth, as well as a lawyer who had gone all the way to the Federal Court (and was successful). So it was a diverse crowd. And so were the discussions: Stories from the past, wishes for the future. We are not all the same, we don't all have the same opinion. We see different paths and I think we all have to take them - in the hope of finding one that we can follow.

Ruth congratulated our Association Legalize it on its 100th issue on one of the display boards. Dear Ruth: We have you to thank. For your tireless membership recruitment, your help with countlessLegalize it events and your decades of membership in our Association. We wish you many more years in which you can continue to develop your hemp museum!

The decades of repression have caused a lot of suffering, for many people, all over the planet, in practically all societies.

Ruth has followed many sad stories. She has listened to countless victims, offered comfort and encouraged them.

For the 100th edition of Legalize it, she summarizes her thoughts on hemp repression in the following words.

We were frisked, stripped, physically searched, fined, arrested and sent to prison. The state took away our money.

We were harassed, humiliated, spat at, insulted, despised, robbed, cheated, lied to and laughed at. We lost our jobs, were expelled from school or our apprenticeships.

We have been beaten up, blackmailed, executed, murdered or driven to suicide.

We were admitted to addiction clinics and psychiatric institutions. We were not given the right medicine.

We 've been driven to hospitals, our urine and hair have been tested, we've lost our driver's licenses. We had to become substance-free.

We got into arguments with our families and always had to watch what we said - and lie if we didn't want to lose our children.

We are “stoners”, we are “junkies”, we are “antisocials”. We weren't taken seriously. If we drank alcohol, then everything would be fine…

And all because of the ban on hemp, which has been in place in Switzerland since October 3, 1951.

And we have never given up: This law should be abolished.

Thank you all!