Medical cannabis

This adopted amendment to the Narcotics Act provides that cannabis medicinal products can be prescribed by doctors in the future without an exemption permit from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

Status: The Federal Council has adapted the ordinances for the amendment of the law and submitted them as a draft for consultation at the end of August 2021. This will run until November 24. Subsequently, the amendment to the law with the (possibly still adjusted) ordinances can enter into force (probably 2022).

The FOPH's overview page contains the draft amendments to the ordinances and the explanatory reports on them.

Then an exciting seven-year phase will begin in which these new possibilities will be explored and evaluated. However, as long as health insurers do not pay for such cannabis medicines (this will be discussed further in the coming years), few sick people will be able to afford these preparations.

• The final vote took place on 19 March 2021: The National Council adopted the amendment by 136 votes to 52 with 7 abstentions, and the Council of States was unanimously in favour by 44 votes to 0.
• On 8 March 2021, the Council of States unanimously followed the National Council's variant.
• On January 27, 2021, the Council of States Committee approved the bill by a vote of 10 to 0 with one abstention.
• On 8 December 2020, the National Council clearly approved the bill by 143 votes to 33 with 15 abstentions. All minority motions were rejected.
• Winter 20/21: Consultations on medicinal hemp have begun
• In October 2020, the Committee for Social Security and Health of the National Council (SGK-N) was the first commission to discuss the facilitation of cannabis medicinal products and approved this amendment to the NarcA very clearly with 22:3.
• The discussion about easier access for sick people to products containing THC has been going on for several years. The Federal Council has adopted the dispatch on this amendment to the Narcotics Law and now the parliamentary discussions are beginning.
• 2020: Start of the debate on medical hemp use
• Watson article, summer 2020: problems with medical consumption
• 2019: A second step towards the normalisation of hemp as medicine

• A first advanced training in medical cannabis: Cannabis as a medicine
• We have provided a detailed assessment of this bill here published.
• Business 20.060 on parlament.ch
• Overview page from the BAG
• MEDCAN - Medical Cannabis Association Switzerland
• Current legal situation: THC & Law > Medicine