The route to a prescription · Switzerland
Cannabis on prescription in Switzerland
Since 1 August 2022 no exceptional licence from the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) is needed — the doctor prescribes directly. Almost everything is paid for by the patient.
The licensing requirement is gone, the cost problem has stayed: basic insurance covers cannabis medicines only case by case, and the Federal Council most recently rejected including them in the mandatory benefits on 2 September 2026.
What changed in 2022
Any doctor holding a federal licence to practise — since 1 August 2022 without an exceptional licence from the BAG.
Changed by the federal act of 19 March 2021 (AS 2022 385): Art. 8 Abs. 1 lit. d BetmG exempts medical use from the ban. An exceptional licence is now needed only for research.
The steps
Document the history
Previous therapies, how long, what effect, what side effects. In Switzerland this matters twice over, because a confirmation of cost coverage — if you are seeking one — runs solely through this documentation.
A doctor holding a federal licence
No specialty is required. There is no directory of the doctors who actually prescribe — no Swiss register holds that attribute. Why we therefore publish no list.
The Betäubungsmittelrezept
A Betäubungsmittelrezept, valid for one month, issued for at most one month's supply — up to three months where justified.
Art. 46 and 47 BetmKV.
Pharmacy and Magistralrezeptur
Through pharmacies holding a narcotics authorisation; most products are made up as a Magistralrezeptur in the pharmacy itself.
63 pharmacies and hospital pharmacies holding a federal narcotics authorisation, filterable by canton, are listed in our directory — with a plain statement of what that authorisation does not mean.
Confirmation of cost coverage — or paying yourself
Not a mandatory benefit. Reimbursement only case by case under Art. 71a–71d KVV, with the health insurer's prior confirmation of cost coverage.
A parliamentary document from 2026 speaks of around 70 people whose costs are covered, out of some 10,000 affected; the Federal Council rejected postulate 26.3958 on 2 September 2026.
Costs in Switzerland explains the route through Art. 71a–71d KVV and what can realistically be expected.
What your doctor reports about you
Switzerland tied the end of the licensing requirement to a time-limited data collection: doctors report treatments with cannabis medicines to the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG). The report is pseudonymised, the data are kept for ten years, and the arrangement is limited until 31 July 2029. It is worth knowing that beforehand — no provider in the Swiss search results mentions it.
How well that works the BAG says itself: in the first year 724 reports came in from 384 doctors, and the office describes the reporting behaviour as selective. For patients that means above all: the numbers in circulation are not a count.
Telemedicine: the unresolved question
Legally blurred: Art. 46 Abs. 1 BetmKV requires the prescribing doctor to have examined the patient in person. No official interpretation for video consultations exists.
We put it that plainly because the Swiss search results are dominated by platforms selling exactly this model.
Further reading
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