LSD is an unlikely subject for a 100th birthday party. Yet the Swiss chemist who discovered the mind-altering drug and was its first human guinea pig is celebrating his centenary today, in good health and with plans to attend an international seminar on the hallucinogenic. "I had wonderful visions," Albert Hofmann said in Geneva, recalling his first accidental consumption of the drug. "I sat down at home on the divan and started to dream," he said. "What I was thinking appeared in colours and in pictures. It lasted for a couple of hours and then it disappeared." For decades after LSD was banned in the late 1960s, Hofmann defended his invention. "I produced the substance as a medicine," he said. "It's not my fault if people abused it." [end]
BURG, Switzerland - Albert Hofmann, the father of LSD, walked slowly across the small corner office of his modernist home on a grassy Alpine hilltop here, hoping to show a visitor the vista that sweeps before him on clear days. But outside there was only a white blanket of fog hanging just beyond the crest of the hill. He picked up a photograph of the view on his desk instead, left there perhaps to convince visitors of what really lies beyond the window. [continues 968 words]
BURG, Switzerland - ALBERT Hofmann, the father of LSD, walked slowly across the small corner office of his modernist home on a grassy Alpine hilltop here, hoping to show a visitor the vista that sweeps before him on clear days. But outside there was only a white blanket of fog hanging just beyond the crest of the hill. He picked up a photograph of the view on his desk instead, left there perhaps to convince visitors of what really lies beyond the windowpane. [continues 1140 words]
Scientist Calls Drug 'Medicine for the Soul' BURG, Switzerland -- Albert Hofmann, the father of LSD, walked slowly across the small corner office of his modernist home on a grassy Alpine hilltop here, hoping to show a visitor the vista that sweeps before him on clear days. But outside there was only a white blanket of fog. He picked up a photograph of the view on his desk instead, left there perhaps to convince visitors of what really lies beyond the window. [continues 819 words]
Low doses of the main active ingredient in marijuana slowed the progression of hardening of the arteries in mice, suggesting a hint for developing a new therapy in people. Experts stressed that the finding does not mean people should smoke marijuana in hopes of getting the same benefit. "To extrapolate this to, 'A joint a day will keep the doctor away,' I think is premature," said Dr. Peter Libby, chief of cardiovascular medicine at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. [continues 380 words]
The Active Ingredient in Cannabis Protects Arteries Against Harmful Changes That Lead to Strokes and Heart Attacks, New Research Suggests THE active ingredient in cannabis protects arteries against harmful changes that lead to strokes and heart attacks, new research suggests. THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is known to affect the brain and make cannabis-users "high". The new research shows that it also has an influence on blood vessels. A study of mice revealed that the compound blocks the process of inflammation, which is largely responsible for the narrowing of arteries. [continues 418 words]
The active ingredient of cannabis can prevent blood vessels from becoming blocked by atherosclerosis, the inflammation that is the primary cause of heart disease and stroke. The disease is halted when mice are given low doses of the substance, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, according to a study published today in the journal Nature by Prof Francois Mach and colleagues at the Geneva University Hospital. Atherosclerosis occurs when the build-up of immune cells in blood vessels causes narrowing of the arteries. THC, seems to prevents the recruitment of immune cells called leukocytes by binding to proteins called CB2 receptors on the surface of cells in the vessels. [continues 118 words]
Swiss teenagers smoke more cannabis than their peers in more than 30 other European countries, according to a survey. The findings, published on Thursday, revealed that one in three Swiss 15-year-olds has lit up a joint within the past year. [end]
Nearly a million techno music fans have attended Zurich's 13th annual Street Parade, almost breaking last year's record crowd numbers. Over 30 "love mobiles" wound their way through the city streets, pumping out electronic music for mostly young spectators. This year, groups from Russia, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium, as well as Switzerland and Germany were manning the love mobiles. Besides exotic rhythms, this year's parade also offered spectators a chance for the first time to quench their thirst with alcohol. [continues 411 words]
A nationwide clampdown on shops selling cannabis risks driving pot smokers into the arms of dealers pushing hard drugs, warn health officials. They say drug dealers could be the main beneficiaries of parliament's decision not to decriminalise cannabis. In many parts of Switzerland, police have cracked down on hemp shops selling cannabis and related products. In Ticino, of the 75 outlets operating in 2002, only two remained in business in 2003. "We are concerned about it, because in the shops we knew they could buy cannabis and products made with cannabis, and that was all," said Sandra Meier, spokeswoman for the Federal Health Office. [continues 378 words]
Smoking a joint will remain illegal in Switzerland after parliament threw out government proposals to decriminalise cannabis. The House of Representatives refused by 102 votes to 92 to debate amendments to the drug law -- the second time it has dismissed the proposal. It was the fourth attempt since December 2001 to vote on a government proposal aimed at decriminalising the production and consumption of cannabis for personal use. The other parliamentary chamber, the Senate, has twice come out in favour of a more liberal drugs policy. [continues 525 words]
The United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has sharply criticised aspects of Switzerland's drugs policy. The INCB said plans to decriminalise cannabis and the provision of injection rooms for heroin addicts were steps in the wrong direction. The criticism was contained in the INCB's annual report, which monitors the ways in which countries around the world are upholding international conventions on drugs control. The most important of these, the convention of 1961, says drugs should be used for medical and scientific purposes only. [continues 611 words]
GENEVA -- Philippe, 36, works for that abiding symbol of Swiss respectability -- a bank. He also likes to relax with a joint of marijuana after work. Until very recently, it looked as though his habit might soon cease to be a crime. But then Parliament killed government-backed legislation that would have decriminalized cannabis consumption. Last month's narrow 96-89 vote was ironic, because it leaves Switzerland -- a pioneer in drug liberalization -- on the "no" side in a gradual European trend toward softening marijuana laws. [continues 297 words]
GENEVA - Philippe, 36, works for that abiding symbol of Swiss respectability - a bank. He also likes to relax with a joint of marijuana after work. Until very recently it looked as though his habit might soon cease to be a crime. But then Parliament killed government-backed legislation that would have decriminalized cannabis consumption. Last month's narrow 96-89 vote was ironic, because it leaves Switzerland - a pioneer in drug liberalization - on the "no" side in a gradual European trend toward softening the marijuana laws. [continues 742 words]
In what would have been considered a surprise move up until recent weeks, the Swiss House of Representatives refused to pass a government-sponsored drug bill that would have legalized marijuana consumption and sales and set up a permanent framework for legally prescribed heroin. On September 25, the Swiss parliament's lower house voted 96-89 to take no action on the bill after an emotional debate. The bill will now go back to parliament's upper chamber, the Council of State, which approved it in December 2001 (http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/177/swissdecrim.shtml). The Council of State can revise the bill or simply send it back to the House for reconsideration in a future session -- after the pending elections, which some blame for making it more difficult to pass the bill. [continues 802 words]
GENEVA -- Philippe, 36, works for that abiding symbol of Swiss respectability - a bank. He also likes to relax with a joint of marijuana after work. Until very recently it looked as though his habit might soon cease to be a crime. But then Parliament killed government-backed legislation that would have decriminalized cannabis consumption. Last month's narrow 96-89 vote was ironic, because it leaves Switzerland - a pioneer in drug liberalization - on the "no" side in a gradual European trend toward softening the marijuana laws. [continues 742 words]
BERN, Switzerland -- Ignoring the appeals of its health minister, the Swiss parliament Thursday blocked government moves to decriminalize cannabis and put state prescription of heroin on a permanent legal footing. After an emotional debate, the National Council voted 96-89 to take no action on the government's proposed narcotics law revision. This means the legislation will be kicked back to the Council of States, the upper house, which approved it in December 2001. Plans to decriminalize consumption and, under certain conditions, production and sale of cannabis - which in Switzerland refers to marijuana and other soft drugs - lay at the heart of the legislation. [continues 337 words]
Government plans to decriminalise dope smoking have been thrown out by the House of Representatives. The Senate had already approved legislation that would allow possession and production of cannabis for personal use, as well as limited trade in the drug. The bill will now have to go back to the Senate. The proposal, which would have left Switzerland with one of the most liberal policies on cannabis in Europe, has aroused passions on both sides of the debate. Luzi Stamm, a Swiss People's Party parliamentarian, told swissinfo that even if it makes it through parliament, Swiss voters should have the final decision on the matter. [continues 326 words]
Opponents of moves to decriminalise cannabis have scored a victory, with the House of Representatives throwing out the government's proposals. But the Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Addiction told swissinfo the vote exposed a serious lack of courage. On Thursday, the House of Representatives rejected legislation that would have allowed possession and production of cannabis for personal use, as well as limited trade in the drug. The bill, which had already been approved by the Senate, would have resulted in Switzerland having one of the most liberal policies on cannabis in Europe. It won the support of those who believed it was time to bring legislation in line with reality. [continues 563 words]
James started smoking cannabis when he was 12, insisting that it was "normal" among all his friends. Now 14, he's growing his own marijuana plants - his mother discovered them by the gladioli - and has promised to work for better school grades if he's allowed to keep them. "What can I do?" agonizes his mother, Liz. "If I let him grow it at least he will have his own supply. If he has to go and buy it, then he risks meeting older people selling Ecstasy and other nasty pills. And if I don't let him have any money, he will find ways of getting some," she frets, asking that the family name not be used. [continues 439 words]
Inside Switzerland
