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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Switzerland: Cannabis clampdown yields results
Swissinfo.org Friday 19 Sep 2003 A major police crackdown on the production and sale of cannabis in Italian-speaking Ticino has resulted in the closure of almost all the canton's hemp shops. The campaign was launched earlier this year to stamp out a flourishing trade in the canton. Shops selling cannabis proliferated in Ticino after the first store opened in 1996. By the end of 2002 there were 75 outlets. Premises tended to congregate in the border area between Chiasso and Lugano where customers from neighbouring Italy guaranteed a lucrative trade. During the same period, the cultivation of cannabis increased - particularly in the Magadino area - with the warm southern climate proving ideal for the plants. At the same time there was a parallel increase in the indoor cultivation of marijuana, with artificial light stimulating the growth of high-strength 'grass'. While all this was going on, the police appeared to be turning a blind eye. Police strike But the situation changed dramatically in spring 2003 when the Ticino authorities finally cracked down on the illegal trade. Dozens of cannabis plantations were sealed off, plants and funds confiscated and dealers taken into custody. 'There are no more indoor plantations in Ticino anymore,' public prosecutor Antonio Perugini confirmed, while conceding that in all probability crops were still being cultivated outdoors. The police crackdown has seen the number of hemp shops fall from 75 to just two. Around 250 people are being investigated for infringing the law on narcotics and a number are in custody. In all, SFr60 million ($43.5 million) worth of cannabis has been confiscated or destroyed. Mixed response The local population has generally welcomed the police action, although some have criticised the authorities for waiting too long. 'The government looked on for years and even helped give this trade a veneer of legitimacy,' said Locarno lawyer Marco Broggini. He questioned how anyone could know that hemp shops were illegal, when there were dozens of them in the canton. Local employment agencies even dispatched job seekers to help gather in hemp harvests, said Broggini. Hemp shop owner Roberto Zanotta has complained about the contradictory actions of the police. He said local police visited him and gave him advice about selling his plants, but later arrested him and held him in custody for 52 days. The public prosecutors office has defended the police, saying both the cannabis growers and the shop owners knew what they were doing and had gone to some lengths to try to cover up their activities. Out of control Luigi Pedrazzini, Ticino's police and justice director, has admitted that the canton only decided to act once the cannabis trade had already spiralled out of control. He said police operations over the last few months were intended to send out a clear signal that marijuana consumption was illegal. The tougher line on cannabis appears to have gone down well with the local population. Rossano Bervini, a former Social Democrat member of the Ticino government, said the authoritiesearlier tolerance of the drug had concealed a long-standing fear of taking action. The lack of a clear policy meant that no one really knew any more what was legal and what was not, said Bervini. The cantonal government has now changed its stance on soft drugs: whereas a majority of government members used to favour the liberalisation of cannabis, now it is only a minority. Faced with increased consumption of marijuana in Ticino schools, the education director has now announced the start of a 'zero tolerance' campaign. Meanwhile, the trade in cannabis appears to have moved underground and the price has doubled to SFr16 ($11.6) per gram. swissinfo, based on an article previously published in NZZ Key Facts - The first hemp shop opened in Ticino in 1996. - By the end of 2002 there were 75 shops selling hemp products. - All but two shops have now been closed. - Police have confiscated or destroyed SFr60 million worth of cannabis in Ticino since the launch of their campaign earlier this year. - Some 250 people are under investigation for narcotics law violations. In Brief Parliament is due to resume debate next week on whether to decriminalise cannabis. The Senate has already come out in favour of liberalising cannabis consumption. Under the proposals, possession and production of cannabis for personal use would be allowed, as well as limited trade in the drug. But it would remain illegal to import or export cannabis, and advertising would be banned.
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