17.12.2016 => Winter break until 13. January 2017

An eventful association year comes to an end. The 2016 was full of anniversaries: 25 years of association with Sven as a founding member and 250 months as secretary, 20 years Shit happens (10th edition) and also Fabian joined the association 20 years ago - then in December still the number 75 of our magazine Legalize it!
The most important events were in spring the start of the project Initiative, over the summer the Shit happens was created , in early September the CannaTrade took place and then the Shit happens came out. As always, finding funding was also a big issue.
Now it's time for our winter break, where we want to get some things done and recharge as much energy as possible for 2017! It will be a busy year: The board is to be enlarged and must reorganize itself. With 500 members again, the Friday evenings will have to be coordinated.
The office will be staffed again as of January 16 and will be available best MO, DI, DO and FR afternoons. The next important meeting is the association meeting on January 27. ¹⁾

We wish everyone restful winter days and a successful start to the new year!

13.12.2016 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 75 is on the way

On Friday we packed the current number 75 of our magazine Legalize it!, on Monday it went to the post office and from the middle of the week it should be with the readers.
In addition to the invitation to the association meeting, you will find a text on the association 2017, graphics on hemp tracking and an article on the current topic CBD.
The latest issue is, as always, reserved for our members and will then be available online in March.

Fall 2016

11/10/2016 - Cannabis ballots in the U.S.

On November 8, nine U.S. states voted on cannabis in addition to the presidency. In Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota, the issue was medical use and all bills were successfully passed! Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada wanted to go one step further. Here, votes were held on the legalization of general use (recreational use). With the exception of Arizona(52.1% No), these votes were all won - a great success!
Especially the decision in California could have a signal effect, since it is one of the largest economic areas in the world. It will also be interesting to see how the new reality will affect movies, series and games. Think, for example, of Halloween, which has become increasingly popular here in recent years and which children have probably learned about primarily through American media.
And then there is the hope that Trump's election will not have a negative impact on the numerous local liberalization efforts. Under federal law, cannabis is and will remain illegal - it's just that this seems to play (almost) no role in reality. Before the election, Trump did signal that he was in favor of medical use (medical marijuana) and wanted to leave regulation to the individual states. But he seems skeptical of full legalization (e.g., as of 2014 in Colorado). Either he sticks to his stance (a matter for the states) or conflicts are bound to arise, as federal agencies such as the FBI and DEA are powerful tools of repression.

08.11.2016 - Lecture on "Shit happens" and cannabis on TV

At this year's edition of the hemp fair “CannaTrade” (1-3 Sept.) our board member and legal expert Sven was able to give two presentations on the topic “THC&Law”. Under the title “Shit happens” - which is also the name of our legal aid brochure - he summarized the legal situation of cannabis in Switzerland.
With his answers to numerous audience questions, the one-hour video has now been published on youtube. Those who have already informed themselves via brochure or online will benefit the most.

Last week, Swiss television's knowledge magazine “Einstein” devoted an entire program to the topic of cannabis. Under the title “Cannabis - Drug and Medicine”, various aspects of cannabis or its consumption were examined in individual contributions: Foreign countries (Colorado), history, comparison with alcohol, youth and medicine.

21.10.2016 - Contribution to "Cannabis in medicine".

The “Puls” program on Swiss television, which revolves around health issues, also focused on the topic of “cannabis in medicine” in its October 17 edition.
In addition to a longer feature, there were studio discussions, interviews and an expert chat. For those who have already dealt with the matter and know their way around, there were no surprises to be seen. Only the figures and statements around the authorizations of the FOPH were quite revealing.

15.10.2016 => Update: Autumn break until 24 October

Our office will be closed for vacations until October 24.

During this time we will not be able to answer any mails or phone calls and we will not be able to give legal advice.
From October 25, the office will be available again as usual (Tue & Thu afternoons).

We ask for your understanding and wish you nice autumn days.

09/24/2016 - Shipping Shit happens 10, order form & updated THC&Law section.

On Monday of this week, the printed copies of our legal aid brochure Shit happens were delivered. These were immediately packed and brought to the post office in the afternoon - hempy thanks to the helpers!

Thus our members could enjoy our newest printed product from the middle of the week. The printed edition can now be ordered via web form. For members two additional copies are free of charge: We would be pleased if one or the other new member could be recruited by these.

The week before we also started updating the THC&Right part of our wiki. We have managed to do this as well, but there will still be a few changes - but that has always been the case with our wiki…

We wish everyone good reading and hope for great interest, positive feedback and many new interested people who will eventually become members - let's legalize!

09/18/2016 - Shit happens 10 is printed & magazine Legalize it! No. 74 is online

Every day now we are expecting the packages with the 10th edition of our legal aid brochure Shit happens. This will then be shipped as soon as possible.

We have also pdf'd another issue of our magazine Legalize it! This is Issue 74now available for Issue 74 download both as a whole and as individual articles in the areas of politics, justice, culture and scene. Issue 74

09/14/2016 - Quasi-legal: The minor amount of cannabis - A first judicial clarification.

In the summer of 2016, we were sent a verdict of the District Court of Zurich from September 2015. To our knowledge, it is the first time that a court had judged the practice of the Zurich police as illegal and the defendant was acquitted (Article: CH am SO, 20 Minuten, Watson).
The defendant had received a fine from the city police for possession of a minor amount of cannabis (under 10 grams). Since no consumption had taken place and this is exempt from punishment according to the law, he had not paid the fine and the case eventually ended up in court. We know of similar cases that then simply petered out - the persons concerned never heard anything more from the authorities. In this case, the court needed 13 pages (!) to confirm that no criminal act had taken place.

Under the term “quasilegal” we have pointed out in all our publications since fall 2013 that the law would actually be clear: If no consumption takes place, the possession of up to 10 grams of cannabis is exempt from punishment according to NarcA . However, it quickly became apparent that the law enforcement agencies either did not understand this or then deliberately disregarded it and - depending on the canton - issued fixed penalties or even reported those concerned (e.g. in Bern).
For the future, there would be two scenarios: Either the (Zurich) police change their (illegal) practice or they try to drag on a similar case in court until they get justice. Unfortunately, the latter is to be assumed, because for inexplicable reasons they seem to want to continue their squeezing, although the NarcA would allow a relatively large leeway for a more liberal handling of THC users for ages. Their motto seems to be “we've always done it this way”. Too bad, another missed chance to loosen up the unfairly strict practice a bit and to find a more realistic way of dealing with the most popular illegal substance - for these concrete heads it would have been a big surprise though! We stay tuned to the topic and will report news.

07.09.2016 - It was nice at the CannaTrade 2016!

The CannaTrade 2016 is in the past. Once again it was three very interesting days! Thank you very much for your interest and support, which we hope you will continue to give us after the fair.

As always, we would never have been able to organize such an event without the volunteer work of our most active members, thank you for your commitment!

A special thank you also goes to the organizers and staff of the fair itself: without their kindness and assistance such a fair appearance would not be possible for us.

Summer 2016

23.8.2016 => Hemp fair CannaTrade 2016 from 2 to 4 September

The legendary Swiss hemp fair CannaTrade opens its doors again this year: From Friday, September 2 to Sunday, September 4, numerous exhibitors will present everything about hemp in the Stadthalle Dietikon. As always, there will also be culinary delights and an outdoor area to linger.

Also we from the association Legalize it! will be there again: At our booth - no. 104, in the basement - active people will bring information to the people, recruit members, collect addresses for the initiative project and generally donations.

We would be happy if we could welcome you at this interesting event. See you then, at the CannaTrade!

Before the fair: The second preparation evening for our appearance will take place on Friday, August 26 at Quellenstrasse in Zurich. We already have a good number of members and hope to address many interested people.

25.6.2016 => Summer break until and including 12 August

Now the big Legalize it! summer break. During this time the office will be closed on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and there will be no Friday meetings. But we are reachable by mail and if you want to become active in the Initiative project, please contact Nino.
There is a lot to do: The 10th edition of our Shit happens should be created over the summer. Some pages will be added and many topics have to be updated.
From August 14th we will be back as usual and our Friday meetings will start on August 19th with the first of two preparation evenings for the CannaTrade.

We wish everyone a wonderful summer time!

06/25/2016 - Update: Project Initiative

Congratulations to the Initiative Group for reaching 10'000 entries in the database! The mark was cracked this week. If you haven't already: sign up now on the online form and become part of the movement!

Background: Since a few months there is a group of active members who started a project for a popular initiative to legalize cannabis (#CH420). You can find more information on the wiki page of the project, in the new forum, the social medias or directly through Nino.

Why don't you join the database right now - only together we can make a difference! Let's legalize it!

12.06.2016 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 74 is on the way & No. 73 is online

Last Friday we packed the current number 74 of our magazine Legalize it!, on Monday it goes on the post office and should be then starting from the middle of next week with the readers.

We have also pdf'd another issue of our magazine Legalize it! It is Issue 73now available for Issue 73 download, both as a whole and as individual articles in the politics and scene sections. The current issue is still reserved for our members.

June/July 2016 - Legal aid brochure Shit happens 10 - Call for donations for printing

The 9th edition is now over two and a half years old and almost all copies are out of stock. In 2016 we want to 10th editionbring out the 20th anniversary of our brochure 10th edition(Article in Legalize it! No. 72). 10th editionArticle in Legalize it! No. 72 For this purpose, we will summarize all the information about hemp, smoking pot, THC and the laws on prosecution cannabis in Switzerland fresh and include a lot of new information from the last almost three years.
All in all, this project needs the time from March to August 2016, plus about 18'000 francs (work and printing). The amount for the work is already collected - thank you very much for that! Now it's a matter of finding a few thousand more francs for printing. We are happy to accept pledgesfor this project: Please contact Sven. Thank you very much!

Spring 2016

14.05.2016 - Update: Project Initiative

Congratulations to the Initiative Group for reaching 9,000 entries in the database! The mark was cracked on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at about 14:20. If you haven't already: sign up now on the online form and become part of the movement!

By the way, Nino was on the TV show “joiZone” on May 3. For those who haven't seen it yet: joiZone: Is cannabis legalization coming?

Next Saturday, May 21, the first Hemp Walk Day will take place in Eastern Switzerland. Due to bad weather, this had to be postponed by one week. Up-to-date info can be found on the corresponding Facebook page. We wish you a lot of fun and good conversations!

20.04.2016 - Project Initiative

Since a few months there is a group of active members who started a project for a popular initiative for the legalization of cannabis (#CH420).

Starting April 20 (4-20), the project will now start collecting active members or filling the database. More information can be found on the project's wiki page, the new forum, social medias or directly through Nino.

It's best to register in the database already today - only together we can change something!

23.03.2016 => Spring break until and including April 1st

From March 23 to and including April 1, we will take a break and there will be no Friday meetings.
During this time, the office will not be staffed, we will not be able to offer legal advice and are best reached by email.
From April 4 we will be available again as usual and start the quarter on April 8 with a members' meeting.

We wish you all nice spring days and a successful start into the new season!

14.03.2016 - Fourth supplement to Shit happens 9 is online

9th editionOur legal aid brochure Shit happens is now over two and a half years old. When it was published, we did not yet know, for example, how fixed penalties was handled in practice. In the course of time, many answers could be found to questions that were still open at that time and, unfortunately, there was also a new wave of repression (semen prosecution).
In order to be able to paint as complete a picture as possible of the legal situation, we have gradually recorded the new findings in four supplements: The open questions (E1, Aug. 14), the ( Repression OverviewE2, Feb. 15), the ( Repression Overview police questioningE3, Aug. 15) and recently a ( Repression Overview police questioning Repression overview updateE4, Feb. 16). Repression Overview police questioning Repression overview update
Thus, the most important information about the legal situation of THC in Switzerland is available offline in addition to being published on the wiki. With your help, we plan to 10th editionget those 10th editionout soon 10th edition(see above).

08.03.2016 - Miscellaneous messages

Annual Report 2015 - Our annual association meeting has already taken place on January 29. In Legalize it! No. 73 we have now published the minutes of the AGM together with the annual report and the accounts 2015. In it you will find the information about our activities and (financial) situation in the past year.

Social Media - Congratulations to our social media group for reaching 500 Facebook likes! We thank you for the effort, the numerous interesting contributions and wish you continued success. It's worth checking in: Facebook & Twitter

|Parliament - In the National Council on March 3, the minority motion of Andrea Geissbühler (SVP/BE) had no chance: With 123 to 51 votes (with 6 abstentions), the “attack” on the fixed penalties (since 1.10.13) was clearly rejected(PDF). The aim of the drug hardliners was to fixed penalties for cannabis(Art. 28 NarcA) to be abolished, in that these would not have been transferred to the new fixed penalty law, but would have been deleted. In the future, therefore, also fixed penalties for cannabis should be defined by the Federal Council by ordinance. We will stay tuned to this topic and will report any news.

05.03.2016 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 73 is shipped & No. 72 is online

Yesterday evening we packed the Legalize it! No. 73, on Monday it goes on the post office and should be then from the middle of next week with the readers.

We have also pdf'ed another issue of our magazine Legalize it! It is Issue 72now available for Issue 72 download, both as a whole and as individual articles in the politics and scene sections.
The current issue is still reserved for our members.

Winter 15/16

07.02.2016 - Association meeting and member dispatch

Our association meeting on January 29th confirmed Sven and Fabian for another year as board members and approved the annual financial statement 2015. So we can now concentrate on the projects in 2016. Besides our usual activities (Legalize it! magazine and legal consultations), the 10th edition of the legal aid brochure Shit happens is certainly a focus this year.
Last week a mailing went out to our members and we hope for your support as well! (see post above)

29.01.2016 - Association meeting 2016

On Jan. 22, we really started the new year and prepared the association meeting on Jan. 29. The figures for the annual accounts are already available, now we have to prepare the annual report. With this we would have most of the ingredients for the official part of the AGM together.
There will certainly be enough time for questions and discussions - an important part of the evening, especially in a special year like this one.

We look forward to welcoming many new and old familiar members!