Switzerland is a country where marijuana, or cannabis, is illegal but the pharmaceutical sector hopes the law will be less tough soon. The most recent time when the government made a certain move to relax the law was in 2013. These days, the debates about selling medical and recreational pot in Swiss drugstores are continuing.
The President of the Pharmacy Association in Zurich, Valeria Dora, says that more and more people in Switzerland are consuming cannabis as a medical pot. the example of other countries like the US and Canada made swiss people fight for their right to have an opportunity to buy medical marijuana legally. Such an approach aimed at the combating criminals profiting on the black market as well, say the vocal supporters of pot’s legalization.
Experts have praised the move, saying that the necessary infrastructure and staff already exists. According to statistics, estimates suggest that state efforts to control cannabis use currently cost up to €883 million annually while the country’s illegal cannabis market could generate 600 million Swiss francs each year.
The pharmacists want to work with specialist departments of the city of Zurich to discuss the next steps. In Switzerland, the experts advocate cannabis being classified as a medicinal product, and therefore active ingredients would have to be clearly indicated on the packaging.
“We must under no circumstances trivialise or propagate consumption,” Valeria Dora told.
