Cannabis - The Big Sale
Swiss cities experiment with legal cannabis
As the legalisation and decriminalisation of cannabis continues to be implemented in Switzerland, the problem of black-market sales and addictive properties persist. This RTS report follows the projects attempting to make in-store, controlled sales legal – and more importantly, safe.
Projects like Cann-L and other initiatives in Switzerland aim to block the black-market sale of cannabis and find out more about the consumption modes and the health of users. This is now possible, thanks to 100% organic production kept secret and under strict supervision. Visiting one of the first production sites for legal recreational cannabis, we see the plants chosen to supply Geneva and Lausanne. Cedric Heeb, the chosen supplier states, "we have 20,000 plants here," understandably, security is high: "we have an access record and security system equivalent to banks." These secretive projects work closely with addiction research projects to recentre public health, with many looking to this development with excitement. Yacine, who has been smoking for over 20 years for his psychological and physical health, is relieved at the prospect of avoiding social stigma, and the dangers of the black market, reflecting that “this offers an escape from marginality.”
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