Possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis is not a punishable offence in Switzerland, regardless of whether you are a minor or an adult, the Federal Court has confirmed.
In publishing its precedent decision on Thursday, the Federal Court in Lausanne cleared up any lingering confusion around differences in treatment between adults and minors – no distinction should be made, judges ruled.
Referring to the case of a 16-year-old collared in Winterthur with 1.4 grams of cannabis, the court dismissed the appeal of the canton Zurich public prosecutor for minors, who wanted the reinstatement of a punishment initially handed down.
However, the court said that possession of a “minimum quantity”, defined as less than 10 grams and for personal usage, was not punishable for adults in Switzerland, and that there was no reason a youth should be treated otherwise.
Growing, consuming and dealing cannabis are all forbidden in Switzerland. But since 2013 anyone caught in possession of up to ten grams of cannabis will receive a fixed CHF100 ($101) fine and not have it put on their criminal record.
The court said that while the protection of minors was a key component of the narcotics law, imposing heftier fines on youths was not the solution. Rather, judges said, prevention, therapy, and larger punishments for dealers was a better strategy.
The decision will lead to changed practices among Zurich authorities, who from now on will only punish youths with large amounts of cannabis, or those with the intention to sell.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
The citizenship obstacle course facing spouses of Swiss Abroad
Automated driving on Swiss motorways is theoretically possible from March
This content was published on
It will be theoretically possible to hand over the steering wheel to technology but no such system has been submitted for official approval yet.
Heated atmosphere at Swiss rally against AfD politician Alice Weidel
This content was published on
Around 250 people demonstrated "against the right" and the German AfD politician Alice Weidel on Saturday afternoon in Einsiedeln.
This content was published on
The Ethos Foundation recommends that shareholders vote against all compensation-related items at the Annual General Meeting on March 7.
Top Swiss firms close to reaching gender quota in boards
This content was published on
The proportion of women on the boards of directors of the fifty largest listed companies in Switzerland currently stands at 28%.
Swiss committee wants to end government resignations during legislative term
This content was published on
Members of the Federal Council should no longer be able to leave office before the end of their term, according to a House of Representatives committee.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss police want more clarity on cannabis
This content was published on
Fines for possession of cannabis have not been uniform throughout the country due to lack of clarity in the implementation of the law.
This content was published on
In Switzerland, 15% of 15-year-old boys and 9% of girls said they had used cannabis in the past 30 days, according to the WHO studyExternal link, based on data from 42 countries from 2014. Switzerland was pipped by young stoners from France (16% of boys) and was level with Italy (15% of boys). In addition,…
‘In three years, medical cannabis could be sold in Swiss pharmacies’
This content was published on
Tens of thousands of patients in Switzerland regularly use cannabis to relieve pain and discomfort. Most of them do so illegally, however.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.