Published on 13 March 2025

Licences for diacetylmorphine-assisted treatment

Diacetylmorphine-assisted treatment is governed specifically by the Narcotics Act (NarcA; RS 812.121) and is subject to a federal licensing system.

Article 3e, paragraph 1 of the NarcA specifies that the prescription, dispensing and administration of narcotics for purposes of treating persons with an addiction requires a cantonal licence. For diacetylmorphine-assisted treatment, it is necessary to obtain a federal licence in addition to the licence issued by the canton. The federal licence is issued by the FOPH.

Types of licence issued by the FOPH

An FOPH licence is required by:

• patient
• physician
• institution

Further information

• Documents

  • Informationen zu den Gesuchen und Bewilligungen für eine diacetylmorphingestützte Behandlung

    PDF236.27 kB11 April 2023

• Links

  Praticien Addiction Suisse: Substitution-based treatment (TBS) (in French)

• Legislation

  Article 3e, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Federal Act of 3 October 1951 on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (Narcotics Act, NarcA; RS 812.121)

  Articles 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 of the Ordinance on Narcotics Addition and other Addiction Disorders (Narcotics Addiction Ordinance, NarcAO ; RS 812.121.6) (in French, Italian or German)

Further topics