Preface and acknowledgements

In the course of its initial meetings, the Federal Commission for Drug Issues (EKDF) mandated by the Swiss Federal Council in early 1997 drew up an assessment of the situation regarding drugs in Switzerland and of the current need for action. Its predecessor (the Subcommission for Drug Issues attached to the Federal Narcotics Commission which was disbanded in 1996) had always assumed the view all illegal drugs were equivalent, as the basis for its discussions and reports; however, the marked changes that had taken place in the drug scene subsequently called for a more differentiated view of the questions raised by cannabis consumption. The focus on these questions led to a Decision in June 1998 to compile all the information on cannabis relevant to Switzerland in a report which would be submitted to the Federal Council together with recommendations for the future treatment of cannabis during the revision of the Swiss Narcotics Act. This decision by the Commission coincided with the interest expressed by the Federal Department of the Interior in an expert opinion on the same subject. Although a wide range of disciplines are represented on the EKDF (a list of the Commission's members appears at the end of this report), this extensive project could not have been completed without the involvement of additional experts. The Commission would like to extend special thanks to the many individuals in the Federal Administration who contributed to the specialist sections of the report, the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems (SFA/ SIPA), Lausanne), and Professors Martin Killias (Lausanne University), Jakob Tanner (Zurich University) and Ambros Uchtenhagen (Institute for Addiction Research, Zurich). They have all added aspects to the report which go beyond the scope of the usual discussions of cannabis, and have helped to place the problem in a wider context. With this in mind, the Commission also hopes that readers of the report will not focus solely on the conclusions but will also give due attention to the chapters intended more to provide background information, and will in this way contribute to a more objective approach to the discussion.

List of members of the Swiss Federal Commission for Drug Issues (EKDF)

van der Linde, François, Dr. med. MPH, Cantonal Physician for Preventive Medicine and Head of the Health Prevention Office, St Gallen, Chairman

Cassis, Ignazio, Cantonal Physician for the Canton of Ticino, Bellinzona

Dubois- Arber, Françoise, Dr. med. Msc, University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne

Egli, Dominik, Dr. rer. pol., Swiss National Bank, Zurich Bis

Huber, Christian , Dr. jur., President of the Jury (Geschworenengericht) of the Canton of Zurich, Zurich (until the end of October 1998)

Jenny, Guido, Prof. Dr. jur., Institute for Penal Law and Criminology, Berne University, Berne

Kessler, Thomas, Ing. agr., Delegate for migration and integration affairs, Department of Police and Military Affairs, Canton of Basel- Stadt, Basel

Menétrey, Anne- Catherine, psychologist, Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Other Addictions (ISPA), Lausanne

Monney, Christian, Dr. med., FMH psychiatrist, Deputy Director, Psychiatric Institutions of French- speaking Valais, Martigny

Osterwalder, Josef, Dr. med. MPH, Senior Physician at the Central Emergency Admissions Unit, St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen

Rechsteiner, Urs, lic. jur., Head of the Security Police, Geneva

Roelli, Claire, Social Worker, Swiss Coordination Office for In- patient Therapy in the Drug Sector (KOSTE), Berne

Schreiber, Hans Peter, Prof. Dr. phil., Ethics Office of the ETH Zurich, Zurich

Waldvogel, Rosann, HFS Social Worker, Head of Out- patient Drug Services, Zurich



Secretariat:

Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Section for Policy and Research, Drug Policy coordination

Ueli Minder, Scientific Officer