Facts
The present case concerns the criminality of consumption activities in connection with narcotics. The appellant X. was charged by the Canton of Zurich for violations of the Narcotics Act. The lower court had subsumed all the alleged acts under the old Narcotics Act of 1951, as it was of the opinion that the "consumption activities" receded into the background compared to drug trafficking, and the appellant would be better off overall under the old law.
Considerations
However, the Federal Supreme Court's Court of Cassation came to a different conclusion. It stated that the new Narcotics Act of 1975 criminalizes the consumption of narcotics itself, which was not the case in the old law. Thus, the new law is not milder in this respect than the old one.
However, it is different with the preparatory or procurement activities that precede consumption. These were subject to more severe penalties under the old law than under the new law. The new law only punishes such acts, insofar as they serve personal consumption and involve small quantities, as misdemeanors and…