How to Join a Swiss Cannabis Pilot Trial: City by City

Your address decides everything. A trial in Zurich will not take someone from Winterthur, and Geneva's Cannabinothèque serves Geneva residents only. The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) does not run any trial itself: it authorizes them, and each operator handles its own recruitment, so there is no national sign-up form.

The rules every trial shares

Pilot trials rest on Article 8a of the Narcotics Act and the Pilot Trials Ordinance (BetmPV), in force since May 15, 2021 and limited to ten years, until May 14, 2031. The BAG's FAQ and its evaluators list the common rules:

Age

Adults with capacity to consent

Cannabis use

Must already use cannabis (verified)

Residence

In the city, municipality or canton of the trial

Excluded

Pregnant or breastfeeding people; medical contraindications

Trial size

Max 5,000 participants per trial

Duration

5 years per trial, extendable by 2

Product

Swiss-grown cannabis, organic where possible, quality-tested

Obligations

Surveys; no public use; no passing cannabis on; monthly purchase cap

City by city: who runs what, and is it open?

Participant numbers are from the BAG-commissioned evaluation (status June 2025, SCRIPT end of 2024); recruitment status is what each trial's own site said in September 2026.

Zurich: two trials, different doors

Zurich has two separate studies. Züri Can, led by the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich with the city, is for residents of the city itself; its registration page sets out a fixed sequence.

1. Check eligibility
   Adult, not pregnant or breastfeeding, using cannabis regularly for more than a year, living in the City of Zurich, not a professional driver, good German.
2. Pick one outlet
   Choose a pharmacy, the DIZ or a social club and book an assessment by phone or email. You cannot switch outlets later, and free places change constantly.
3. Assessment on site
   You sign the study consent, the outlet checks eligibility and a legally required urine test confirms use and rules out pregnancy.
4. Online questionnaire
   Complete it within six weeks of receiving the link.
5. Study ID appointment
   Bring a Swiss ID or residence permit, an original residence certificate from the city no older than two months, and the signed consent form.

Züri Can's purchase phase was extended by two years to October 2028 after the city council funded it in March 2026. The canton-wide Cannabis Research study uses commercial shops and is a separate application.

Basel region and the Lake Geneva trials

• Basel-Stadt (Weedcare): pharmacy sales, now extended from August 1, 2025 to January 31, 2027, with around ten products including flower, hash, vapes and a spray. Contact the study team at the University Hospital Basel for current intake.
• Basel-Landschaft (Grashaus Projects): shops at Baslerstrasse 198 in Allschwil and Rheinstrasse 10 in Liestal; sign-up runs through an online self-test, an info video and an appointment. An Aargau trial is announced as coming soon.
• Lausanne (Cann-L): for Lausanne residents; registration open online, shop open since December 11, 2023, selling flower, resin, oils and e-liquids.
• Geneva (La Cannabinothèque): run by the ChanGE association in Vernier for adults living in Geneva; nearly 1,500 people registered, with a waiting list and registration by email.

Bern, Biel, Lucerne and St. Gallen

SCRIPT, the pharmacy trial of the universities of Bern and Lucerne, is no longer recruiting: its registration window closed on March 17, 2025. It has been extended to the end of 2029, with purchases possible until October 2028; first results were presented in September 2026 (our report).

The newest trial is CanLeg in the canton of St. Gallen, a randomized study by ETH Zurich's KOF institute and the University of Zurich that tests specialty stores, pharmacies and online delivery. The BAG lists a planned 5,000 participants from five municipalities between May 2026 and May 2031 (background).

What you commit to when you sign

• Regular surveys — every trial is research; skipping questionnaires can end participation.
• No public use — consuming study cannabis in public is banned under the trial rules.
• No sharing — passing study cannabis to anyone else is prohibited.
• One trial only — the trials cross-check registrations and flag double sign-ups, so plan on one at a time.
• Purchase cap — each trial sets a monthly maximum; the product stays for your own use.
• Health monitoring — each trial has a study doctor, and some tests or check-ins are mandatory.

Not in a trial city? CBD below 1% THC is legal everywhere in Switzerland; see our Swiss CBD guide. Whether trials will turn into a national market depends on parliament: read our explainer on the legalization bill and the Switzerland hub. Recruitment changes often, so confirm with the operator before you travel to an appointment.