Is Cannabis / THC legal in Switzerland?

Also known as: weed, marijuana

Legal status

Controlled, and split by purpose. BetmVV-EDI carries medical cannabis in list a, while cannabis and cannabis products for non medical purposes sit in list d, the entry reading „Cannabis; Cannabisprodukte... zu nicht-medizinischen Zwecken“. Article 1(2) extends that entry to preparations, so a product is classified by what it contains and what it is for rather than by its trade name. The one federal quantity figure in the whole Swiss regime attaches here: BetmG article 19b(2) fixes 10 g of cannabis as a negligible quantity, and the Federal Supreme Court held in 6B_1273/2016 that sole possession of up to 10 g for one's own consumption is a nonpunishable preparatory act. BGE 149 IV 307, judgment 6B_911/2021 of 19 June 2023, held that such cannabis cannot be confiscated where no offence exists. Consumption itself remains punishable under article 19a.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Switzerland has no death penalty and the Betäubungsmittelgesetz authorises no life term either, so the ceiling is 20 years: BetmG article 19(2) defines the aggravated forms of the offence and StGB article 40 supplies that maximum precisely because the drug act does not reach beyond it. What brings street conduct inside article 19 at all is the schedule placement: BetmVV-EDI carries medical cannabis in list a, while cannabis for non medical purposes sits in list d at the entry „Cannabis; Cannabisprodukte... zu nicht-medizinischen Zwecken“. Below the trafficking articles the position is unusually precise for Switzerland: article 19b(2) makes 10 g a negligible quantity as a matter of federal law rather than cantonal tolerance, sole possession of that amount for own use is nonpunishable on the authority of 6B_1273/2016, and BGE 149 IV 307 bars confiscation where no offence exists. Cantonal police and prosecutors administer the rule and enforcement practice has historically differed between them, but a canton cannot replace the federal figure. Actual consumption stays punishable under BetmG article 19a and, for an adult in the statutory conditions, may be dealt with by the CHF 100 fixed fine. This is one of the reasons Switzerland fits none of the three threshold models cleanly: a statutory figure for one substance sits alongside court set thresholds for the aggravated serious case.

If prescribed or medical

Cannabis is the single substance for which the Swiss personal use rule states a figure, and that figure is the country level rule this dossier establishes. BetmG article 19b(2) fixes 10 g as the negligible quantity, article 19b makes preparation of that quantity for one's own consumption nonpunishable along with qualifying free sharing for simultaneous joint consumption, and article 19a leaves consumption itself punishable, with a CHF 100 fixed fine available against an adult. Because the medical product sits in list a and the non medical product in list d, the purpose of the article decides which side of the ordinance it falls on. No traveller certificate route for bringing prescribed cannabis into Switzerland was established in this dossier, so the 10 g rule must not be read as an import allowance.

Documentation

Carry no more than the federal negligible quantity of 10 g if you carry cannabis at all, keep it to your own consumption, and carry a prescribed cannabis medicine in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription, because the list a medical entry and the list d non medical entry are separated by purpose and the packaging is what shows which one applies. The provenance is BetmVV-EDI lists a and d in the German consolidation dated 13 March 2026, read at Fedlex on 18 September 2026, together with BetmG articles 19, 19a and 19b, Federal Supreme Court judgment 6B_1273/2016 and BGE 149 IV 307, judgment 6B_911/2021 of 19 June 2023.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Switzerland’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.