Swiss police face confusion about hard drug rules

Cocaine consumption in Swiss cities is above the European average. Keystone / Christian Charisius

A recent court decision about the right to possess a certain amount of cannabis for private use has also raised questions about harder drugs, the Sunday press writes.

Last month the Federal Court ruled that police have no right to confiscate cannabis if it amounts to less than 10 grams, is destined for personal use, and if the user in question is not caught in the act of smoking it publicly.

+ More on the recent verdict by the country’s highest court

According to the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, that decision could also now set a precedent for other drugs.

Two prominent legal experts told the paper that the principle also applies to harder drugs like heroin, cocaine – a popular drug in Swiss cities – and crack, which is currently causing problems particularly in Geneva.

Justice authorities are concerned about this, the paper writes: it quotes police in St Gallen and in Zurich who want the concrete implications of the recent decision to be spelled out at the national level rather than left open for interpretation.

One major question is related to the amount of each drug deemed acceptable to be held for private use: only the 10 grams for cannabis is specifically defined by law.

+ Read more: Geneva struggles with crack cocaine epidemic

For other drugs, experts say “personal use” amounts are what a user would go through in a week. In St Gallen, for example, authorities set this as 2 grammes of cocaine: that is, some 25 lines, which would have a street value of around CHF200.