*The Swiss Model* works... a personal account (Should cannabis be legalised?)

Member Name: Redhead23

Product:	Should cannabis be legalised?
Date:	03/02/01 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No black market for cannabis users, an occasional toke won't ruin your future

Disadvantages: How would the government explain this change of mind?

*Oh no, not ANOTHER opinion on legalisation of cannabis!* I hear you say. But fear not, I am not intending on repeating what others have said numerous times (And I do agree with many of them, although I didn't rate all opinions on the subject -it'd take me all night for a start!). Instead I want to tell you about the situation in Switzerland where, at least in certain places (mainly cities and the -more liberal - French-speaking parts of Switzerland), getting hold and partaking of the so-called 'Whacky Baccy' has been acceptable for some time now. Not OFFICIALLY de-criminalised, but socially acceptable.

I smoked my first joint at 17, after I happened to find (and this is true!) a little plastic bag with approximately 1 g. of a brown substance (clearly hash) at a nearby tram station.
Having know a few people who smoked the stuff before, I was a tad wary (but none the less curious) of trying out this little find of mine, seeing as though the people I had previously known to smoke weed/hash between the ages of 13 and 16 were the people who smoked the stuff during breaks at school, the people who did it *to be cool* - and they were the very same people who ended up getting kicked out of school or ended up without a proper education for other reasons.

But, as I had just entered college, I also knew that there were 'sensible' cannabis users, people who had a hell of a lot of brains and talent - who actually made use of their brains instead of spending all their time *looking cool* with a spliff in their hand.
Thus, even before first trying it, I was already aware of the fact that the use or misuse of this substance (and other substances, legal OR illegal) was a question of one's PERSONAL MINDSET. If you are young, impressive and think that anything that makes you look cool or tough in front of your mates is worth doing in excess, then ANYTHING will be abused (this includes ~mobile phones~). I personally have seen peop
le (and that includes me) in very bad states - NONE of them were related to cannabis, although a lot of my friends smoke it on a fairly regular basis.

So I tried the stuff, and apart from feeling altogether more content with the world (and a little less shy, which is not to be confused with the overly confident feeling alcohol can provoke) I didn't feel any strong or mind-altering effects.
This was to be my last spliff for a long time, seeing as though at the time I was a *geek*, a straight-'A' student who wasnt' very popular or *cool*, so it obviously didn't look cool to be seen smoking spliffs with me.

Then, when I met my first long-time boyfriend, I was a little surprised when he told me that he and his mates regularly partook of the *wholly toke*, seeing as though they were all young lads with a working brain, good grades and clear ideas about their future - not exactly the kind of image society gives you about *heavy* or regular users of cannabis.
I started smoking the stuff on a sort-of regular basis and have stayed a ~somewhat~ regular user for quite some time after this, and guess what - I am STILL a straight-'A' student, and have always been top of my class!

So let's get back to the spotty, 19-year old me who smoked cannabis on a somewhat regular basis...
The transformation came slowly, and not many people noticed at first. For a long time, *tokers* in Basel, Switzerland, had to get hold of the illicit substance from dealers who hung out in certain places around certain times ('Barfüsserplatz after 9 pm' to name just one of those), or sometimes they had to go to dubious bars and nightcubs. Basically, it was obvious that those people sold a hell of a lot more than just hash, and I found this a little scary because I knew that cannabis wasn't on the same level as hard drugs; the fact that I had to go and see some seriously corrupted sweaty old blokes just to have a relaxing, a
lcohol-free night in with my mates - relaxing, philosophising about the meaning of life or our aspirations and dreams - just made me feel VERY uncomfortable.

Then, all of a sudden and withouth much of a warning, a so-called 'Hemp Store' opened its doors to the public, and it was only a matter of time until more of them popped up. At first, all they sold were hemp clothes and literature, but soon they started selling weed as 'pot-pourri' (air freshening herbs and flowers that you put in a bowl to fill the room with pleasant scents).
The police, to everybody's surprise, didn't seem to mind. The quality of the weed increased from below-average homegrown to nigh on Amsterdam skunk, and little by little the dubious creatures (err I mean the dealers, not the tokers ;) ) lurking around places like the 'Barfüsserplatz' disappeared. You had to be 18 to buy it, but I think that is a fairly reasonable age, considering the bad effect it SEEMED to have on younger, more vulnreable and attention-seeking people I have seen before.

Since then, many more hemp shops have opened their doors all over Switzerland's cities, and although my personal experience is only based on the model of Basel, a generally liberal and open city (hey, Huddersfield are planning on taking on Basel's successful scheme on getting rid of the pidgeon plague!), I have so far only seen positive effects.

For one, the average youth doesn't see smoking weed as a 'rebellion' against society any more. None of my mates in Switzerland (who ALL smoke weed) take any other drugs and are generally very intelligent, sensible and successful people (maybe I've just got really 'perfect' mates ;) ).
The police somewhat accept all this, seeing as though the black market for 'soft drugs' has disappeared since and young 'smokers' don't end up having to get in contact with individuals from dubious backgrounds any mo
re.

The newest addition to the ever-growing world of Basel's hemp shops is a place that is open until 10pm, sells approximately 10 different kinds of first-class weed and offers a delivery service until 1am, where you can place your order over the phone and get it delivered straight to your doorstep (Stop drooling PLEASE! ;) ).
And, bar a few 'raids' on these hemp shops (considering that the police are fully aware of the fact that weed IS sold in these shops and that nobody follows the suggestion 'Not to be ingested or smoked' imprinted on every bag of weed sold, this is only fair, seeing as though they MUST get a few complaints from grannies living next to these hemp shops) the police haven't really done anything about these shops - why should they, seeing as though this scheme got rid of a lot of problems they'd been struggling with for years, namely GETTING RID OF THE BLACK MARKET.
Instead, certain Kantons (counties, just smaller) in Switzerland are now seriously considering official de-criminalisition of cannabis.

Not that it would matter, considering that the police have also realised that NOT arresting or even BOTHERING a few harmless smokers gives them a hell of a lot more time to concentrate on more serious issues, for examle the combat of heroin dealers (does *Needle Park* ring a bell with you?) or other *top-level* criminals.

Okay, the disappearance of places like *Needle Park* (that was Zürich) and similar places did have a lot to do with the more or less liberal approach that the Swiss authorities have towards serious drug addiction, but making the consumption of cannabis *socially acceptable* has most certainly helped cutting down on young people FALLING into an addiction to hard drugs, simply by passing by the people who USED TO sell hash as well as harder drugs.

Since moving to England I have smoked (or ingested) cannabis a lot less frequently, seeing as though the quality just
isn't the same (read ahdkaw's opinion on the subject, which mentions the dreadful 'soap bar' - hash with plastic bits in it *cough, cough*).
So I can't be all that addicted to it, seeing as though I could have the substance in a much better quality readily available where I come from.

I am not saying the *Swiss Model* would work in the UK (For a start, the Swiss government doesn't get any tax money out of it!), but it's most certainly a start and a very sneaky way of making the substance available (by-passing the black market) and socially acceptable WITHOUT the government losing their faces by *officially* legalising it!

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