Initiative: For the protection of youth - against drug criminality
Initial political climate
On June 14, 2004, the large house (Nationalrat) of Swiss parliament rejected the amendments to the drug legislation that has been in effect since 1951, against the will of both the government (Bundesrat) and the small house of parliament. Despite all the warnings from doctors, parent organizations and prevention groups, the Nationalrat decided by a slim majority not to pass the bill.
- www.projugendschutz.ch
Just after this decision, the committee "For the Protection of youth against drug criminality" began to lobby parliamentary advocates to participate in the legislative committee known as the "People’s initiative for a rational hemp policy with effective youth protection", which took a lot of convincing. After two and a half weeks, the text of the ballot initiative, along with the signatures of 27 influential people, was submitted to the Chambers of Government (Bundeskanzlei). This legislative committee includes well-known legislators from the large political parties. Other members include physicians, scientists, prevention professionals, business leaders, as well as law enforcement and hemp industry representatives. Clearly, the initiative enjoys a broad base of support. On July 20 2004, the starting gun sounded for the collection of the 100,000 signatures needed to hold a referendum. These signatures must be gathered within 18 months. The 60,000 signatures collected in the first eight weeks alone show that we are on the right track, and that part of the Nationalrat has obviously chosen to bypass the will of the people in favor of its own agendas.
Costly political tool
The Swiss way of translating political sentiment into law with a referendum is unique in the world. It allows small organizations with a minimal budget and lots of volunteers to collect the required 100,000 signatures, though in the end the approval of the signatures, and the fight for the referendum, cost a lot of money. Each collected signature must be presented to the local authorities, who confirms that the undersigned person’s signature is valid. Only the signatures of Swiss citizens of voting age are valid. Judging from the experience of other ballot initiatives, the financial burden imposed by the collection and approval of each signature is about 1 Euro, meaning that the minimum budget for the collection of referendum signatures is 100,000-150,000 Euro. Referendum campaigns will become much more costly in two to four years: Experts estimate the future cost of a successful referendum at about one million Euro.
Recognition
The outrage of the people at the parliamentary refusal to discuss the issue allowed us to mobilize volunteers to collect signatures. These willing helpers are uniformly equipped with orange T-shirts and bags made of hemp to give the campaign a recognizable image that will stick in the minds of those who witness it. The lasting media interest in hemp also helps keep the pace of signature collection high, and to spread our message. The faster we get signatures, and the more we get, the better we are able to press our agenda.
Goals and Milestones
The chief concerns of this people’s initiative are:
1. That the consumption, possession and purchase of cannabis, as well as its cultivation for personal use, cease to be punishable offenses.
2. That the Bundesrat (government) pass laws governing the cultivation, trade, as well as import and export of cannabis.
3. That prevention and youth protection be ensured by taking the proper measures.
It typically takes two to four years until a ballot initiative can be brought up for referendum vote. During this time, various intermediate goals can be set up and striven for. For instance, there could be a push in parliament to reach transitional solutions that would defuse what is a volatile situation for both consumers and the hemp industry. In addition, as a federalist state, Switzerland grants the cantons a relatively large amount of leeway. Thus it is completely plausible the more liberal cantons stop prosecuting consumers even before passage of the referendum.
Steering Committee, Expert Advisory Board and Patrons
Why should other countries support Swiss hemp policy iniatiatives?
Switzerland stands to become the first country in the world to decriminalize the purchase, possession and consumption through legislation. In countries with more prohibitive hemp laws, our reform may help to raise awareness and combat prejudice.
Switzerland has shown that pragmatic drug policies are possible, not least by its distribution of Heroin to addicts. This led to the disappearance of the public drug scene, pictures of whose misery circulated the globe at the start of the 1990’s. The same policy is now being applied to some extent in other countries.
This clearly demonstrates that such reform is easier to bring about in Switzerland, which is not hemmed in by EU regulations.
Because a successful signature collection drive and a successful referendum will send a strong message to the rest of Europe, we ask you all to lend us what financial support you can.
