On Tuesday, a pilot project was approved by Switzerland's authorities, allowing a few hundred people in the city of Basel to buy cannabis from pharmacies for recreational purposes.
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According to the Federal Office of Public Health, the purpose of the pilot project is to implement better “alternative regulatory forms,” including the sales of cannabis to official vendors. Despite the public health authority in Switzerland knowing that drug consumption is widespread, the growth and sale of cannabis are banned in the country.
Public Health Office highlighted the existence of a substantial black market for the drug. It is data collected that indicates that most Swiss are in favor of remodeling the country's policy on cannabis. The project is expected to start in late summer this year and involves the local government, Basel University, and the city's University Psychiatric Clinics.
The consumer of cannabis, residents of Basel who are over 18-years-old will be allowed to apply, although the application process has not yet opened. About 400 participants should be able to obtain a selection of cannabis products at the designated pharmacies.
The trial will regularly control the participants, making questionaries in a period of two and a half years study intended to find out the effects of the substance's consumption on their mental and physical health.
Swiss authorities had allowed Swiss supplier Pure Production to produce the cannabis that will be used in the trials for research purposes. The Federal Office of Public Health warned that anyone caught passing on or selling cannabis would be penalized and removed from the project.