Switzerland mulls prescribing cocaine for addicts

Switzerland is considering experiments with controlled cocaine distribution to help treat crack addicts. Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here. A growing number of experts have called for a rethink on drug addiction policy since a significant increase in crack consumption was observed in Geneva in the last three years. The Federal Commission for Addiction and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (EKSN) has been spurred into action. + Switzerland's alarming crack epidemic “People who consume crack several times a day get caught in a vicious circle of procurement and consumption,” EKSN vice-president Christian Schneider told Swiss public broadcaster SRF. Strategic analysis by Zurich Cantonal Police shows a need for additional and easily accessible places – contact points and places of retreat – for addicts who hardly sleep, eat, drink and become neglected – or who then sleep exhausted for 24 hours straight. More cities affected Geneva was the first to be ...