The Swiss government has approved a plan to legalize the sale and consumption of cannabis in Zurich with a study aimed at assessing the social and economic benefits of regulating the drug, CNBC reports.

Starting this summer, a test group of 2,100 Zurich residents will be allowed to buy regulated doses of the drug for personal use at pharmacies, special dispensaries and social centers in the city.

Participants will be required to answer a questionnaire every six months about their consumption habits and health effects as part of a study conducted in collaboration with the University of Zurich.

The study aims to determine the conditions under which the legalization of cannabis in Switzerland can be compatible with “promoting individual and public health and safety”, the study leaders said.

The results of the study are planned to be published gradually, starting next year. “The idea is to get robust real-world evidence to inform policy on new rules [naţionale] regarding cannabis,” said Barbara Burri, project manager at the Zurich Municipal Health Authority.

Residents of Zurich interested in participating in the study are invited to register, provided they are active cannabis users of legal age, have no underlying medical conditions and are not currently working as professional drivers.

According to public health research, about a third of adults in Switzerland have tried cannabis. In Zurich, the country’s most populous city with more than 420,000 residents, an estimated 13,000 residents are regular users. Additional studies are planned in the coming months with government and university sponsors in Basel, Bern, Lausanne, Geneva, Biel, Thun, Olten and Winterthur.

h: Marijuana policies are loosening in many countries around the world

The initiative comes as other parts of Europe review their marijuana regulations in response to broader changes in drug policy around the world.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is expected to introduce a bill on the consumption and sale of cannabis in the coming weeks, making it the first EU country to allow the commercial sale of the drug nationwide.

Luxembourg and the Czech Republic have already proposed plans to legalize cannabis for adult consumption, while possession of small amounts of the drug for personal use is no longer a crime in Austria, Italy and Spain.

Malta, the EU’s smallest member state, in 2021 became the bloc’s first country to legalize personal possession of the drug and allow private “cannabis clubs” where members can grow and share the drug.

Elsewhere in the world, Canada, Uruguay and, more recently, Thailand, have legalized drugs in the last decade. (News.ro)