20.12.2019 => Winter break office from 23 December to 17 January.

An eventful association year comes to an end: On February 1, we held our association meeting for the second time in the Volkshaus. At the end of March we updated our Wiki. In May, the CannaTrade took place for the second time in Zurich-Oerlikon. We brought out 4 issues of our magazine Legalize it! and in autumn an additional Repression overview(SH12.1, A3). Repression overviewSH12.1, A3

Many thanks to all who supported us!

Now it's time for our winter break, during which we want to recharge as much energy as possible for 2020. The program is already well filled: First, close the 2019 also accounting, then the association meeting, the Legalize it! No. 87 and in May again the CannaTrade.

During the winter break, the office is only available by phone on Friday afternoon - as of January 20, we are again available MO, DI, DO and FR afternoons.

We wish you all nice winter days and a successful start into the new year!

12/20/2019 - Addendum: National Council approves pilot projects.

Already on December 10, the National Council had voted in a new composition on the amendment of the Narcotics Law (experimental article/pilot projects): With 100 votes to 85 (with 2 abstentions) it was decided to accept the amendment. Thus, the business now goes back to the commission, which in its old composition had still voted (very narrowly) against (see web update of 18.11.2019).
Now, once again, it remains to be seen when and how the commission will continue to deal with the business and how the future votes will turn out - Swiss politics is certainly not for the impatient! However, it would be nice if something meaningful would come out after all these years, which unfortunately was not really the case all too often…

09.12.2019 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 86 is published & No. 85 is online

Last week our members received the current number 86 of our magazine Legalize it! It contains articles on the following topics: The pending deals of the Swiss hemp policy, hash from the darknet and an update on the Swiss joint index.

We have also pdf'd another issue of our magazine Legalize it! This is Issue 85now available for Issue 85 download both as a whole and as individual articles in the areas of politics, justice, culture and scene. The current issue is still reserved for our members.

05.12.2019 - Advance notice: CannaTrade 2020 from 15 to 17 May

Mark your calendar: Next year, from May 15 to 17, the legendary hemp fair CannaTrade will take place - after 12 years again in Bern, where the premiere was celebrated in 2001.
For those who decide quickly or also as a gift, there is a promotion for the 3-day pass until the end of December. Also the CannaSwissCup will take place then - for CBD-weed fans the Early Bird action offers itself.

We are already looking forward to three unforgettable days!

Fall 2019

11/18/2019 - Commission narrowly rejects cannabis pilots.

Last Friday, November 15, the Commission for Social Security and Health of the National Council(SGK-N) rejected the creation of an experimental article with the casting vote of the president (11 to 11 votes with 2 abstentions, media release).
In July, the commission had discussed various additional hurdles and commissioned a report on the protection of minors. The business was then put 'on hold' in the meantime (web update 9.9.19).
Even then, it was not really clear what new insights such a report could provide - the pilot projects would only be open to adults anyway (and passing cannabis on to young people is already punishable by law). The report states (in the summary at the end): “The planned legal measures for the protection of minors in the context of possible pilot tests with cannabis are appropriate and sufficient. Various possibilities for improvement are also listed, but their implementation would require “more human and financial resources for prevention work and police enforcement.” Perhaps a shift away from repression could provide additional resources in other areas?

Apparently, however, the report failed to convince opponents in favor of the pilot projects (or it was just a delaying tactic anyway). It is quite conceivable that one of the main reasons for rejection was the fear that young people could have come into possession of “trial cannabis”. But at least this would be produced under controlled conditions.
Unfortunately, many politicians still have not realized that young people have been completely unprotected on the black market for decades. Bans and repression are the most important ingredients for a flourishing black market and not for a meaningful protection of minors (if such a thing really exists). Now it remains to be seen if or how the newly composed parliament will continue the business.
Many young people want to consume cannabis and will continue to do so - no one can prevent this. Therefore: Let's legalize it!

11/14/2019 - Bachelor's thesis on the economic impact of cannabis legalization.

Since the data basis on the economic effects of cannabis legalization in Switzerland is very thin, we commissioned a study in the form of a bachelor thesis, which has now been published. As a basis for the thesis, various data on the consumption of cannabis in Switzerland are elicited. Afterwards, the current cannabis market in Switzerland is examined. For this purpose, the consumption and prices on the current Swiss market are estimated. Based on this data, the market volume under the current situation can be derived. Subsequently, a legalization scenario for Switzerland is designed, which allows an estimation of the market in case of a legalization. At the end of the paper, the tax revenue from value-added tax and cannabis tax is estimated. The figures are impressive and show that the current prohibition prevents hundreds of millions francs in additional tax revenue. Those interested in the paper can read a summary of it or the entire paper right now.

Addendum: Cannabis could bring the state over 300 million per year (nzz.ch, 19.11.19).

11/03/2019 - Shit happens 12.1: New repression overview

We have released a new overview of repression: Shit happens 12.1 (A3), which PDF JPGis available as PDFor. JPGThe idea was that, in addition to our brochure and wiki, we needed a concise presentation that could show the complexity of hemp prosecution at a glance. It is meant as a basis for people seeking advice as well as for quick information for media professionals.

This new overview is now being tested in practice during specific legal consultations and we are also happy to receive feedback from interested parties: Is it understandable? Is there a repression path missing?
The goal is for us to further refine this A3, perhaps produce a large print run or expand it into an A2: Depending on what feedback we get. PDFWe are also curious about the one with PDFits links: Is it useful?
With these insights, in 2020 we would like to bring the legal aid brochure and the wiki up to date, as well as develop new forms to present the difficult topic in an accessible way: Chat bot, quiz or game, graphic infographic?

10/17/2019 - Opinion on the amendment of the Narcotics Act (cannabis medicinal products).

In the consultation procedure on the amendment of the Narcotics Law regarding cannabis as a medicine, various organizations were asked to comment. It is disturbing that many organizations were asked, which have hardly anything to do with the topic. The association Legalize it! - as an organization that is close to users and often also to patients - was not taken into account. The opinion of those affected simply does not seem to be of interest.

Since the consultation procedure is public, we have nevertheless decided to Opinionsubmit one. OpinionThe content of the amendment was described in detail in our association magazine number 85 ( online from December). In our opinionwe welcome the present law change, this is nevertheless the most concrete, which brings us again a little further. our opinionHowever, we also propose some adjustments, in particular the complete deletion of cannabis from the list of total prohibition. In our statement, we also emphasize once again that the amendment to the law is clearly too short-sighted and that only a small proportion of patients will actually benefit from it.

05.10.2019 => Autumn break office 7 to 29 October

The office is in vacation mode from October 7 to 29: It is staffed on Thursdays and Fridays in the afternoon, otherwise we can be reached mainly by e-mail.

As of October 31, we will be available again as usual (Mon/Thurs/Thurs/Fri, afternoons).

We wish you all beautiful autumn days!

09.09.2019 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 85 is published & No. 84 is online

In these days our members will have the current number 85 of our magazine Legalize it! in their mailbox. It contains articles on the following topics: the elections in October, the current Swiss hemp policy, medical hemp, statistics (hemp seeds & hash/weed), the price of weed production and a book tip.

We have also pdf'd another issue of our magazine Legalize it! This is Issue 84now available for Issue 84 download both as a whole and as individual articles in the areas of politics, justice and scene. The current issue is still reserved for our members.

09.09.2019 - Addendum: Cannabis pilot projects in cities.

In short: This will probably be nothing (clever) anymore… Already on July 5, the Commission for Social Security and Health of the National Council(SGK-N) had informed about this business(19.021) in its media release: It is to be put 'on hold' for the time being, as a report on the protection of minors is to be written first. Apparently this has the highest priority for the commission, whereby one wonders why the protection of minors plays a role in studies in which only adults are allowed to participate anyway. Apart from that, it could also be argued that the protection of minors has fallen by the wayside for decades, since bans and repression with the resulting black market (and the accompanying opacity) represent the greatest danger, not only for young people. But apparently many people still see this differently and believe in the fairy tale of youth protection through bans.
But back to the pilot projects: The commission thinks it is a good idea that the employers and schools of the future study participants should be informed about their participation. Commission minorities also want to raise the hurdles for study approval even further and are even in favor of study participants having to hand in their driver's license (during the study).

Conclusion: Such pilot projects have been discussed for what feels like an eternity. Realistically, however, they are only part of the lowest common denominator in Swiss cannabis policy (besides medical use). Should such studies really be carried out one day, this would be nothing more than proof that there are no majorities for a real change and improvement of the current situation.
The course of the discussions even shows more and more clearly that the whole thing is degenerating into a kind of token exercise of politics. Decades pass before implementation and what remains in reality is all too often ineffective or even ridiculous. In the pro-anti-scheme, this means that both sides can show their constituencies that they have introduced and pushed through their ideas - even if, in this case, the result then consists, after 20 years, of a few studies on a topic on which there would already be numerous and more reliable data. And even with the argument that figures are needed for Switzerland, it remains open whether such studies will provide them at all - because it remains to be seen whether there will even be the incentives to overcome the high hurdles for approval one day.
In the end, it will probably be difficult to find participants for such projects at all - which makes the whole thing seem rather pointless already today.

Summer 2019

08.08.2019 - Transfers now also by credit card

Donations and membership fees can now be paid by credit card. Here you can find the revised page with all our transfer options.

08.07.2019 => Summer break office until 7 August

From July 8 to August 7 the office will be in break mode. During this time we are only available on Thursdays and Fridays, in the afternoon. Outside of these times, we can best be reached by email.

As of Thursday, August 8, the office will be available again as usual (Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri, preferably in the afternoon).

We wish you all a wonderful summertime!

08.07.2019 - New documents on the topic criminal prosecution

We have added several new documents to our THC and Law section: The first summary penalty order of 2019 (Jura) and a non-tampering order (Zurich). On the subject of semen tracing, an identification service record and an acknowledgement of facts (BL, 2019) with police report.
Furthermore, on the topic of medicine, we added an application for an exemption permit with the treatment of cannabis.

08.07.2019 - Feature in "10vor10" and related article

Already on June 12, the program 10vor10 featured a report on the unclear situation regarding the prosecution of (illegal) cannabis in Switzerland. The article also shows that there are (still) different approaches (depending on canton and region or police and public prosecutor).
We have always tried to provide users with as much information as possible, so that they at least have an idea of what the range of punishment can be. Therefore, here are two more points that may be important.
- For possession of up to 10 grams to be exempt from punishment, the cannabis must be intended for personal use - mere possession could be considered misdemeanor and punished (more severely) accordingly.
- If it is about consumption, it can unfortunately still come to a "normal" report (with interrogation and protocol, possibly even recognition service recording, etc.). This depends on the individual case (canton, region, police, public prosecutor etc.). The customs authorities, for example, often do not consider small quantities to be exempt from punishment, but instead report smuggling or importing, even in the case of very small quantities.

08.07.2019 - Mixed messages

- On June 26, the Federal Council presented its proposal for the facilitation of cannabis medicinal products(website - fact sheet [PDF]). In the future, it should no longer need a license from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), but a medical person would be responsible for it. The consultation procedure will last until October 17. We will continue to report on the topic (e.g. in the magazine Legalize it!).

- A new book has been published on the subject of cannabis in Switzerland: ”Cannabispolitik - Die Fragen, die niemand stellt“. We will report on it in the magazine Legalize it!

11.06.2019 - The magazine Legalize it! No. 84 is published

These days our members have the latest issue No. 84 of our magazine Legalize it! in their mailbox. In it you will find articles about the current hemp policy in Switzerland, the fixed penalties, the hemp-prosecution 2018 (with graphics) as well as a strange police control.
As a member you benefit among other things always from our current info around the topic hemp. The PDF of this issue will then be put online in September and will be accessible to all.

Spring 2019

23.05.2019 - It was nice at the CannaTrade 2019!

Last week the CannaTrade took place - it was again three very interesting days! Not only for us, but hopefully also for the 11'000 visitors (and 1'600 business visitors). We were able to talk to numerous interested people at our booth, answer questions, present our association, discuss various aspects of hemp and its handling in Switzerland as well as collect donations.
A big thank you goes to those members who actively helped and without whose commitment such an appearance would not have been possible. Thanks are also due to the CannaTrade team for the smooth running of the event. The atmosphere was good and even the weather cooperated - what more could you want?
Next year the fair will take place again in Bern. We would be pleased to welcome you at our booth then. Legalize it !

5/13/2019 - Don't miss it: Next weekend is the CannaTrade 2019!

As already mentioned in February and March, this year's Swiss hemp fair CannaTrade will take place from May 17 to 19 in Zurich-Oerlikon(Hall 622). We are looking forward to three unforgettable days around the topic of hemp!

05/13/2019 - Study on cannabis use for health and medical reasons.

The Institute for Addiction and Health Research ISGF is conducting a study with an online survey and interviews on behalf of the Federal Office of Public Health FOPH. It is about the legal and illegal use of cannabis as a medicine or self-medication.
Even though the study is titled “Cannabis use: recreational or medical motivations?”, it is not about mere recreational use. The participation criteria indicate that it is about use for health and medical reasons. Those who meet the criteria mentioned should participate - because perhaps reliable data will convince policymakers to finally move forward in this area and remove the unnecessarily high barriers.
Uncomplicated access to cannabis as a medicine could help many sick people and reduce dependence as well as the side effects of conventional medicines.

30.03.2019 => Spring break office in April

During the whole month of April the office is in break mode. During this time we are only available by phone on Thursdays and Fridays, always in the afternoon. Outside of these times, we are best reached by email.

From Thursday, May 2, the office is available again as usual (Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, best in the afternoon). On May 3, our members' meeting will take place on the topic ”Hemp and Law“(registration).

We wish everyone beautiful spring days and a successful start to the new season!

03/26/2019 - Hemp trade fair CannaTrade 2019 from 17 to 19 May.

As mentioned in February, this year's Swiss hemp fair CannaTrade will take place from May 17 to 19. The location is like last year the hall 622, right next to the train station Zurich-Oerlikon - so optimally accessible by public transport. In addition to the numerous booths of exhibitors from all over the world, there will again be a spacious chill-out area under the open sky with a large culinary offer. In addition, a rich supporting program will take place again this year, covering many interests. At this point we would like to mention the Joint Roll Contest and the CannaSwissCup - these are only two of many events, including lectures and panel discussions. We from the association Legalize it! will be present with a booth again this year. We would be happy if you would visit us at booth no. 408 (in the outdoor tent). If you would like to help with finding new members and collecting donations, you are welcome to contact Markus. cu@#CT19!

10.03.2019 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 83 is online (incl. Annual Report 2018)

As the issue of Number 83our magazine Legalize it! consists mainly of the Number 83 annual report and the 2018 accounts, we are already making the entire content available online. Number 84 (June) will then be reserved for members first, as usual, and will not be put online until the fall.

04.03.2019 - Magazine Legalize it! No. 83 will be published soon & No. 82 is online

If all goes well, our members will have the current number 83 of our magazine Legalize it! in their mailbox next week. This will contain the minutes of our association meeting of February 1 with the annual report and accounts 2018. We will also make these available online soon.

We have also pdf'd another issue of our magazine Legalize it! This is Issue 82now available for Issue 82 download both as a whole and as individual articles in the areas of politics, culture and scene. The current issue is still reserved for our members.

Winter 18/19

15.02.2019 - Association meeting, board and annual report

On February 1, our annual association meeting took place - already for the second time in the Volkshaus Zurich. Nino Forrer did not stand for election again this year and so Sven, Markus and Fabian were elected for another year as board members.
We would like to thank Nino for his many years of commitment to the association and the Initiative project! With his enthusiasm and drive, he has brought the demand for a more sensible handling of (THC-rich) hemp from 2016 back into the conversation throughout Switzerland. Now we hope the project gets new momentum in the recently founded supporting association and will lead to a successful vote in the coming years.
On February 8, the somewhat reduced board constituted itself in its first meeting and continued planning the year 2019. Now we are finalizing the annual report with conclusion for the magazine Legalize it! No. 83 and will then also make it available online.

06.02.2019 - 100 days to go until CannaTrade!

In 100 days the Friday at the legendary Swiss hemp fair will be CannaTrade is already almost over. From May 17 to 19, we will once again have the opportunity to explore and experience pretty much everything that has to do with hemp. Since the fair will take place again right next to the train station Zurich-Oerlikon, it is optimally accessible by public transport. If you would like to support us from the association Legalize it! also at the fair, please feel free to contact Markus. cu@#CT19 !

31.01.2019 - New documents on the topic criminal prosecution

We have added to our THC and law section various Summary penalty orders and other documents: An astonishingly mild sentence in Thurgau still from 2017, various cases from 2018 (including a discontinuation order from Ticino) and an example of an offense.
It is always amazing how many hemp seeds cases there were again in 2018. People seem to have already forgotten the “clean-up action” of the customs and the subsequent wave of repression in spring 2015.
Surprisingly often, affected people have ordered from “Sensi Seeds”. After a short pause in delivery in 2015, these and other seed suppliers are again letting their Swiss customers go full bore. What good does it do people if they get their money back, but are reported for importing illegal narcotics and in some cases even have to endure house searches? In the end, those who are only punished because of a contravention can consider themselves 'lucky'… because those who get to the cash register because of a misdemeanor are really poor!

Ordering hemp seeds, which produce THC-rich plants, often leads to criminal proceedings!