Federal Office of Public Health (BAG)

The Federal Office of Public Health (Bundesamt für Gesundheit, BAG; in English also FOPH) is part of the Federal Department of Home Affairs. According to its own description, it is responsible for the health of the population and Swiss health policy. Under the Narcotics Act, it runs the MeCanna data collection, authorises pilot trials and grants exceptional authorisations for research with cannabis outside the medical field (Art. 8 para. 5, Art. 8a and Art. 8b BetmG).

Its tasks under the Narcotics Act

• MeCanna: the BAG collects data on certain medical treatments with cannabis medicines and runs an information system for this purpose; treating physicians record the data in pseudonymised form, and the data serve the scientific evaluation of the law and statistical analysis (Art. 8b and 18f BetmG). The BAG publishes statistical analyses annually (Art. 18f BetmG; Art. 65e and 65f BetmKV). Details: MeCanna.
• Pilot trials: after consulting the cantons and communes concerned, the BAG may authorise scientific pilot trials with cannabis for non-medical purposes; consumption for medical reasons is not part of the trials (Art. 8a BetmG). Pilot trials are not a route to medical treatment. Details: pilot trial.
• Exceptional authorisations: since 1 August 2022, physicians can prescribe cannabis medicines, where medically indicated, without an exceptional authorisation from the BAG. According to the BAG, such an authorisation is now needed only for research with cannabis outside the medical field, because non-medical cannabis remains prohibited (Art. 8 para. 5 BetmG).

Where patients meet it

Patients meet the BAG mainly through its public information, such as its FAQ on cannabis medicines published on 4 March 2025, and indirectly through MeCanna: where the reporting duty applies, the treating physician records pseudonymised treatment data in the BAG's system (Art. 18f BetmG). How reporting works is explained in reporting to the BAG.