Tens of thousands affected every year

The two graphs (click to enlarge) represent the number of hemp defendants prosecuted for consumption or preparatory acts for personal consumption. Each person is counted only once, even if he or she was reported several times. The left graph shows the different categories of convictions, the right graph shows the age distribution of those convicted.

Incidentally, 21,857 men were reported in 2019, compared to 2,655 women. For weed, 18,026 people were reported, for hash 5,905 and for hemp seeds 587.

Hash to weed ratio : Hash on the rise

These graphs show those who have passed on or sold something: again, several thousand defendants. The left chart shows the two categories of convictions (light misdemeanor and heavy misdemeanor or felony), the right chart the age distribution of those convicted.

⇒ These graphics, text about them, and source as PDF: Shit happens 13, pages 24 to 27, summer 2020

Swiss Federal Statistical Office BfS, Police crime statistics, annual reports 2009 to 2019, graphical representation by us. Federal Statistical Office BfS

The figures are not above suspicion. All cantons count in their own way and the categorization is questionable. Nevertheless, these figures give the best possible insight into the diversity and frequency of hemp repression in Switzerland.

Effectively, the hemp conviction figures are likely to be around 10% higher, because the category “multiple” also includes cases with multiple hemp products, but is not fully broken down. Therefore, we omit it.

We publish the OB figures recorrected by the BfS in each case, except in 2014, there Geneva was not recorrected, so we take the originally published figure. Since 2015, paid and non-paid OB are partly shown. About 20 to 25 % of the OB are not paid and then converted into convictions (the number of paid OB is therefore lower).

Our category weed includes the BfS categories: Cannabis, Marijuana, Hemp (young plant, plant dried, plant fresh). The hash category includes: Hash oil, hashish and synthetic cannabinoids. The substance is not recorded at fines.