No punishment for minors with small amounts of cannabis
The Federal Court cleared up any lingering confusion around differences in treatment between adults and minors
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis is not a punishable offence in Switzerland, regardless of whether you are a minor or an adult, the Federal Court has confirmed. In publishing its precedent decision, the Federal Court in Lausanne cleared up any lingering confusion around differences in treatment between adults and minors – no distinction should be made, judges ruled. The court said that while the protection of minors was a key component of the narcotics law, imposing heftier fines on youths was not the solution. Rather, judges said, prevention, therapy, and larger punishments for dealers was a better strategy.