Could the possession of small amounts of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, LSD and DMT be legalized in the same way the possession of cannabis and hashish were decriminalized in Switzerland?
“Anyone who prepares only a small amount of a narcotic for their own consumption […] is not liable to prosecution.10 grams of a narcotic drug of the cannabis effect type shall be regarded as a small quantity.” (Art. 19b)
This momentous sentence amended the Narcotics Act in 2017. Last year, it was also decided that the police may no longer confiscate such quantities. But let’s start from the beginning.
When a pothead was caught with small amounts of cannabis (0.5 grams) and hashish (0.1 grams) in Basel some years ago, proceedings were initiated. The case was dropped, but he was fined 300 francs for procedural cost. He refused to accept the verdict and took it to the Federal Supreme Court, leading to the surprising decision. Since then, municipal pilot projects have set things in motion for full legalization.
To many people, the fact that you are allowed to possess but not consume weed or hash is not obvious, because why else would you have it? But from a legal point of view, it makes sense, because an act can only be punishable if it is carried out
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Psychologist Stephan Fundinger, journalist Claude Weiss and information technician Michael Good now want to use the case of cannabis as a precedent to implement the same regulation for small amounts of psychedelics. Because MDMA does not fall into this category, it is excluded for the time being.
They are on the lookout for people who have been picked up by the police for possession of such small amounts: as they were leaving a party, at the Zürich Street Parade or purely by chance. Stephan Fundinger and Claude Weill are old acquaintances. They have been guests at The Psychedelic Salon, both in Basel and in Zürich. You can get in touch with them through us. Of course, your details will be treated confidentially. However, it should have occurred relatively recently. We would be delighted if we could help this interesting approach achieve a breakthrough. It seems a good way to move psychedelics out of the criminal corner for people who use them other than therapeutically.
Please tell your friends about it. We need people who want to pursue the matter with enthusiasm.
Wishing you all the best for the holiday season and a hopefully better New Year,
Yours
Susanne G. Seiler
P.S. You’ll find us at the gaiamedia lounge, in the back yard of Hochstrasse 70 (behind Basel’s SBB station, tram stop Peter Merian), every Thursday afternoon from 14 – 18 h. Welcome!