A NEW plan to legalise cannabis has launched in Switzerland, marking the country's second push for the change within a decade.

The new initiative proposes that both cannabis production and consumption for personal use should be made legal. It recommends that its sale should be regulated and taxed by the government.

A referendum in 2008 aiming to make the drug legal for everyone failed, but those proposals did not suggest the government would be able to collect tax on it.

The new plan also stipulates that the cannabis would remain illegal for minors, whereas the old proposals did not include such restrictions.

Nine Forrer from the Legalize It group told Swiss paper Tages Anzeiger: "The ban on cannabis is wrong from a social perspective, wrong from a legal point of view and simply stupid from an economic point of view."

The group argued the change would put an end to the black market for the drug.

Plans to trial the state-controlled sale of cannabis in four cities in the country are already in motion, although the project is awaiting governmental permission.

There is also a plan to trial the sale of cannabis in pharmacies in the Swiss capital.