The Swiss capital is exploring a pilot project to allow the sale of cocaine for recreational use – a radical approach to the war on drugs that is unlikely to have been tried elsewhere.
The parliament in Bern has backed the idea, which still needs to overcome opposition from the city council and will also require a change in national legislation.
Drug policies around the world are evolving, with the US state of Oregon, for example, decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cocaine in 2021 in favor of drug treatment.
Many European countries, including Spain, Italy and Portugal, no longer have prison sentences for possession of drugs, including cocaine, although nowhere has the proposal gone as far as the one being discussed in Bern.
Switzerland is reviewing its position on the drug after some politicians and experts criticized full bans as ineffective. The proposal is currently in its early stages and follows studies now underway to enable the legal sale of cannabis.
“The war on drugs has failed and we need to look at new ideas,” said Eva Chen, a Bern council member of the Alternative Left Party and co-sponsor of the proposal.
Police display some of the six tonnes of cocaine, cash and other materials seized during a drug bust on an industrial estate near police headquarters in Malaga, Spain
'Control and legalization can be better than mere repression.'
Wealthy Switzerland has one of the highest levels of cocaine use in Europe, according to levels of illicit drugs and their metabolites measured in wastewater, with Zurich, Basel and Geneva all in the top 10 cities in Europe.
Swiss cities including Bern are also showing increasing use, while cocaine prices have halved in the past five years, according to Addiction Switzerland, a non-governmental organization.
“We have a lot of cocaine in Switzerland right now, at the cheapest prices and highest quality we have ever seen,” said Frank Zobel, deputy director at Addiction Switzerland.
'Nowadays you can get a dose of cocaine for about 10 francs, not much more than the price of a beer.'
Bern's Directorate of Education, Social Affairs and Sports is preparing a report on a possible cocaine test, although this does not mean that it will definitely take place.
'Cocaine can be life-threatening for both new and long-term users. The consequences of an overdose, as well as individual intolerance to even the smallest quantities, can lead to death,” the Bern government said.
Bern MP Chen said it was too early to say how a pilot project would develop, including where the drug would be sold or how it would be extracted.
“We are still far from possible legalization, but we need to look at new approaches,” Chen said. 'That is why we advocate a scientifically guided pilot.'
For a trial to take place, parliament would have to change the law banning the recreational use of the drug.
The decision could come within years, or sooner if current cannabis programs – where the drug is available for sale in pharmacies – produce successful results, political experts say.
Any legalization would come with quality controls and information campaigns, Chen said, adding the approach would also reduce a lucrative criminal market.
The parliament in Bern has backed the idea, which still needs to overcome opposition from the city council and will also require a change in national legislation (file image)
Experts are divided, and even those in favor of the process are concerned about the potential dangers.
“Cocaine is one of the most addictive substances known,” says Boris Quednow, group leader at the University of Zurich's Center for Psychiatric Research.
He said its risks were on a completely different level to those of alcohol or cannabis, citing links to heart damage, stroke, depression and anxiety.
On the other hand, Thilo Beck, from the Arud Zentrum for Addiction Medicine, the largest center for addiction medicine in Switzerland, said it was time for a more “mature” policy on cocaine.
“Cocaine is not healthy, but the reality is people are using it,” Beck said. “We can't change that, so we have to try to make sure people use it in the safest and least harmful way.”
Leo, a cocaine user from Geneva, said legalizing the drug would make treatment easier and reduce violence and crime linked to the supply. It would also make it easier to monitor the quality of the drugs sold.
“Banning medicines does not bring good results in terms of health policy and prevention,” Leo told Reuters. 'On the contrary, it appears that countries that have chosen to legalize drugs or depenalize drugs are achieving better results in prevention and global health policy.
“Switzerland has been brave in its policies towards other drugs, so I think the next phase should be the legalization of cocaine.”