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:

• The patient receiving the diacetylmorphine-assisted treatment;
• The non-specialist institution where the patient wishing to continue the diacetylmorphine-assisted treatment is staying;
• The physician prescribing the diacetylmorphine;
• The institution providing the diacetylmorphine-assisted treatment.

Documents

Information on requests and licences (in French) (PDF, 204 kB, 11.04.2023)

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 information

Last modification 06.08.2021