The Swiss capital is considering launching a pilot program to test the legal sale of cocaine for recreational use in an unprecedented attempt to make the country’s rampant drug use safer.
Bern’s parliament supports the pilot program but the legislation still needs to overcome opposition from the city and requires federal law changes to become a reality.
The proposal comes as more US countries and states are changing their approach to the so-called “war on drugs” with policies including the decriminalization and legal recreational use of marijuana.
Supporters argue that legalization allows for greater control over the market and safer use if people use the drug illegally anyway.
“The war on drugs has failed, and we need to look at new ideas,” said Eva Chen, a Bern councilor from the Alternative Left Party who co-sponsored the proposal.
“Control and verification can do better than mere repression.”
Supporters argue that legalization allows for greater control over the market and safer use if people use the drug illegally anyway. Reuters
Some European countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal no longer issue prison sentences for drug possession charges, including possession of cocaine.
But the proposal in Bern would be the first to make the white powder legal for recreational use, a radical step in drug policy if it goes ahead.
Wealthy Swiss cities have the highest proportion of cocaine use among European cities, according to a wastewater study that analyzed the presence of the illicit drug. Zurich, Basel and Geneva are all among the top 10 cities for cocaine use in Europe.
Officials believe a pilot program to legalize cocaine for recreational use will make drug use safer. pidgeon
Drug use in those cities and Bern has only increased as the price of cocaine has fallen sharply over the past five years, according to the group Addiction Switzerland.
“We have a lot of cocaine in Switzerland right now, at the cheapest prices and the highest quality we’ve ever seen,” said Frank Zobel, deputy director at Addiction Switzerland.
“You can get a dose of cocaine for about 10 francs these days, no more than the price for a beer.”
The pilot program is still far from being implemented with important details such as who will sell the drugs and how they will be obtained still in development, according to Chen.
“We are still far from potential validation, but we should look at new approaches,” he said. “That is why we are calling for a scientifically supervised trial of the pilot scheme.”
The directorate of education, social affairs and sports is drafting a report on possible hearings.
Bern’s parliament supports the pilot but it still needs to overcome opposition from the city and requires federal law changes to become a reality. Freelance artist
However, many are tired of legalizing drugs that can cause addiction and can even lead to death.
“Cocaine can be life-threatening for first-time and long-term users. The consequences of an overdose, but also individual intolerance to the smallest amount, can lead to death,” said the government of Bern.
Experts on drug use outside the government also have different opinions.
Cocaine is not comparable to legal substances such as alcohol or marijuana because of the greater risk of complications such as heart damage, stroke, depression and anxiety, according to Boris Quednow, group leader of the University of Zurich’s Psychiatric Research Center.
“Cocaine is one of the most powerfully addictive substances known,” Quednow said.
Others say that if people are already using it on record numbers, verification would allow the government to at least ensure safe use.
“Cocaine is not healthy – but the reality is that people use it,” says Thilo Beck, from the Arud Zentrum for Addiction Medicine. “We can’t change it, so we have to try to make sure people use it in the safest and least destructive way.”
Parliament also needs to change the law that prohibits the use of cocaine before any pilot can be removed from the field.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
