The Swiss Federal Court just made it legal in some cities for people to posses up to 10 grams of cannabis for personal use, without it being a crime…
The cities included in the new regulations are Zurich, Winterthur and the Canton of St. Gallen, although additional cities may be added to the list later. The Federal Court of Justice stated that, “the mere possession of minor amounts of drugs for consumer purposes” isn’t a priority at this time.
Meanwhile, the head of the Zurich City Court, Katharina Graf, told reporters, “We will stop the prosecution of adults for the mere possession of a small amount of cannabis in the future, or not process them at all.”
While possession of up to ten grams is permitted in these cities, public consumption is not, and would attract a fine of 100 Swiss Francs, although no criminal prosecution procedures would be entered into.
Another issue is how the new regs will apply to minors under the age of 18, as the city court can only deal with those over the age of 18. While minor kinks and problems are to be expected, there are a few issues which make the new legislation a little tricky to implement.
The new law came about in part due to a chap who was caught with half a gram of cannabis and arrested. He took his case to the Federal Court, and they ruled in his favor, noting that the offense was not consumption-related, and the fine was wrongly imposed.
Switzerland is the leading country for CBD Flowers, Hemp Cigarettes and Recreational CBD.
In any event this is good news for medical cannabis patients in Switzerland who, at least in some cities, can now possess cannabis freely, without fear of fine or criminal proceedings.
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