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Neuchâtel dubbed Swiss ‘crystal meth capital’

Police in the western canton of Neuchâtel are reporting a worrying rise in use of the illicit drug crystal meth.

Published: 3 October 2016 11:32 CEST

Neuchâtel dubbed Swiss ‘crystal meth capital’

Crystal meth is cheap but dangerous. Photo: crystalmethaddiction.org

Media reports quoting cantonal police said use of the drug had shot up last year.

“We are reaching a critical point,” Oliver Guéniat, head of the criminal police told Le Matin Dimanche.

“In 1998 there were around 20 methamphetamine addicts in Neuchâtel. Today the figure is over 1,200 and the number is rising by around 100 a year.”

Crystal methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, ice or speed, is a highly addictive white crystalline stimulant that can be smoked, snorted, injected or taken orally and that is associated with serious health conditions.

The reports said a study conducted by the University of Lausanne last year that tested wastewater from a number of Swiss cities found Neuchâtel had the highest level of consumption of crystal meth.

Researchers measured 33.4 milligrams per day per 1,000 people in the western Swiss city.

In Zurich, which came in second place, the measurement was 21.8 mg.

Neuchâtel is not known as a drugs hot spot of Switzerland. Experts believe crystal meth may have been spread through the availability of drugs from Thailand at Thai massage salons opened in the region in the 1990s.

The crystal meth market in Switzerland is reported to be still very small compared to consumption of cannabis, cocaine and heroin.

Switzerland- wide there has only been a small rise in the availability and consumption of the cheap drug, the reports said, quoting an expert report.

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How free are people to protest in Switzerland?

In its recently released 2024 report, Amnesty International criticised Switzerland for imposing restrictions on the right to protest and for dispersing protests violently.

So what’s the problem?

While not an explicit ban on protest, Amnesty International considers the obligation in some Swiss cantons for protest organisers to gain official approval and shoulder potential costs to be a repressive measure—essentially a ‘workaround’ in cooling dissent.

Amnesty International’s criticism comes on the heels of other concerns.

In 2024, Amnesty International joined with the United Nations in criticizing moves by some Swiss cantons and cities to ban protests regarding the Middle East conflict as ‘disproportionate’.

Read More: How ordinary citizens can try to change the law in Switzerland

The organization has also highlighted the continued use of rubber bullets by Swiss police in dispersing protests as a serious area of concern.

Furthermore, any changes to protests are controlled or permitted in Switzerland must be made through individual cantons due to the country’s devolution of specific powers – a process that could take years.

So what restrictions have been introduced in Switzerland?

In early March, the ‘Anti-Chaoten’ initiative put forward by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) youth wing, which would have placed significant legal and financial burdens on protesters, was rejected in a Zurich cantonal referendum. However, a counterproposal by cantonal authorities was accepted at the polls.

The successful counterproposal requires explicit permission from authorities to hold a protest or rally, as well as passing on the cost of the police operation, as well as any intentional damage, to protest organizers. Failure to gain approval for protests can result in charges being laid.

Following the success of the Zurich measure, the Basel SVP intends to introduce a similar proposal to be voted on in August – with the same likely result.

Which protests have been dispersed violently in Switzerland?

Due to global events, protests have become increasingly common in Switzerland over the last five years. Most have been peaceful, but there have been exceptions.

Measures introduced to limit the spread of the coronavirus between 2020 and 2022 led to violent protests being dispersed in Bern, Zurich and Lucerne.

Read More: Switzerland to impose tougher penalties for violent protesters

Climate change protests have also been violently dispersed by police, using pepper spray and rubber bullets – such as in Basel in February 2023.

Amnesty International has also raised serious concerns regarding the police dispersal of an International Women’s Day protest in Basel on March 17th of this year, in which rubber bullets were also used.

Most recently, opponents of the Eritrean regime were dispersed with tear gas and water cannons at a demonstration in Gerlafingen, Aargau, on March 31st.

What right do the Swiss have to protest?

The right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the Swiss federal constitution—Article 16 provides for freedom of expression, while Article 23 protects the right to free association.

Indeed, in 2020, the country successfully introduced a resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling for world governments to protect the right to protest and not use the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to curtail freedoms.

Read More: What foreigners should know about the Swiss constitution

Furthermore, the country is a signatory to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, which could have some bearing on how protests are dispersed.

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