Previously patients were required to receive authorization for cannabis-based medicines from the Federal Office of Public Health. The new regulation will make it easier for people with chronic illnesses and pain to receive timely treatment, without having to go through tiring administrative procedures. Although, the authorities have not found sufficient evidence to reimburse cannabis-based medicines through the compulsory healthcare insurance, allowing their reimbursements only in exceptional cases.
The cultivation and production of cannabis for medical purposes will be controlled by the state's medical watchdog, Swissmedic, which will act in accordance with the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961.
Any use or selling of cannabis for non-medical purposes is still prohibited in the country.