BERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) Swiss who grow hallucinogenic plants to make
beer or other legal products cannot be prosecuted under drug laws,
Switzerland's highest court has ruled.

A Federal Court decision handed down Monday said an investigating
magistrate in the canton of Valais had jumped the gun last year by seizing
8.5 tons of Indian hemp from a commune that grew the weed, the Swiss SDA
news agency reported.

The commune twice asked in vain to get the crop back, arguing it was only
filling industrial orders, including one for 1,100 pounds of dried hemp
blossoms from a brewery that specializes in hemp beer.

The judges ruled the magistrate should have considered that the blossoms
could be used to make an entirely legal product.

The fragrant flowers can now be released to the brewery provided it
confirms it ordered them and gives assurances that the crop will be used
only for brewing.