Swiss To Vote For Allowing Residents To Grow Marijuana Legally In Their Backyard

November 30, 2008 9:28 a.m. EST

Zurich, Switzerland (AHN) - Swiss voters will got to the polls on Sunday in a series of referendum votes to decide on a law allowing the country to continue with its policy on illegal drugs.

Switzerland voters are expected to vote on a ballot to approve the controversial plan to decriminalize cannabis and to continue distributing heroin to "hard-core addicts."

Marijuana is Europe's most widely used illegal drug, following the "Hemp Initiative" that would allow residents of the country to use and grow cannabis for their own use.

The proposal was initiated by supporters who gathered as many as 100,000 signatures, a required number to force the government to put it on ballot for 7.6 million people to vote.

The initiative was supported by the Free Democrats and the Social Democrats. Once the ballot is approved, Switzerland will be another country following Netherlands to have the most liberal drug laws in Europe.

The local reports suggest that the plan to have heroin prescription as a permanent Swiss health policy is likely to be approved, but it most of the people are divided over the proposal to decriminalize cannabis.

The country's ruling coalition parties are also divided on the proposal. The opponents of the plan to decriminalize cannabis are concerned of increasing "cannabis tourism."

For more than a decade, the country has had an experimental heroin prescription program, which has shown positive results. The local reports said that more than 60 percent of the Swiss voters have supported the program, which will expire next year.