Switzerland will consider legalising recreational cannabis use, after a parliamentary commission on Friday proposed a law that would allow regulated sale and access.
The draft proposal adopted by the lower house of parliament's health commission, with 14 votes in favour, nine against and two abstentions, called for adults to be "accorded a strictly regulated access to cannabis".
Cannabis can currently only be purchased legally in the wealthy Alpine nation for medical use, or for non-medical use when it contains below one percent tetrahydrocannabinol the component that gets recreational users high.
Trials have been conducted in several regions and cities in recent years testing the regulated sale of cannabis for non-medical purposes.
But the vast majority of consumers obtain their supplies of the drug through illegal channels, the commission pointed out.
Highlighting a 2022 Swiss survey that found that four percent of people between the ages of 15 and 64 had illegally consumed cannabis in the previous month, it stressed that "cannabis is a societal reality".
"The majority of the commission believes the current situation is unsatisfactory and that the prohibitive approach is a mistake," it added.
It called for legalising the sale and use of cannabis for non-medical use, emphasising though that this needed to be strictly regulated as a narcotic substance, with the recognition that consumption can be harmful to health.
{{/usCountry}}It called for legalising the sale and use of cannabis for non-medical use, emphasising though that this needed to be strictly regulated as a narcotic substance, with the recognition that consumption can be harmful to health.
{{/usCountry}}The proposal marks the first step in what could be a lengthy process before an actual law is drafted and approved by both houses of parliament, and likely also put to a popular vote under Switzerland's direct democratic system.
"The law must regulate the cultivation, manufacture and trade of cannabis, without encouraging its consumption," the commission said.
The Swiss Hemp Interest Group hailed it as "a historic moment for Swiss cannabis policy".
But the hard-right Swiss People's Party Switzerland's largest party condemned the proposal, with parliamentarian Celine Amaudruz vowing to "keep fighting to the end, because this proposal amounts to banalising the dangers of the drug".
nl/rjm/gil
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