Narcotics Control Ordinance (BetmKV)

The BetmKV (Betäubungsmittelkontrollverordnung, Narcotics Control Ordinance, SR 812.121.1) of 25 May 2011 is the Federal Council ordinance that implements the control system of the Narcotics Act: licences, import and export, rules for travellers, prescription rules, record-keeping and the information system on medical treatments with cannabis medicines (Art. 1 BetmKV). The consolidated version in force on 20 October 2026 is dated 23 January 2023.

Where the rules sit

• Art. 41 and 42: entering and leaving Switzerland with medicines containing controlled substances, including the Schengen certificate.
• Art. 45 (with Art. 10 para. 1 BetmG): the authorisation of physicians to prescribe narcotics.
• Art. 46 and 47: the narcotics prescription (Betäubungsmittelrezept): which substances need the official form, what it must contain, its validity, the maximum quantity and the supply of the forms.
• Art. 51 para. 3: no repeat dispensing of medicines with substances of Verzeichnisse a and d unless the prescribing physician notes otherwise.
• Art. 56: public advertising for controlled substances is prohibited.
• Art. 65a to 65f: the MeCanna information system: pseudonymisation, the data to be recorded, the timing of the recording and how long the data are kept.

Where patients meet it

Patients meet the BetmKV when a narcotic is prescribed for them, which happens only where medically indicated: in the official form, its validity of one month (Art. 47 para. 2 BetmKV; cantonal practice for longer treatment periods varies) and the rule on repeat dispensing (Art. 51 para. 3 BetmKV). Travellers find the rules for entering and leaving Switzerland with prescribed medicines in Art. 41 and 42 BetmKV. Where MeCanna applies, the treating physicians record the data in pseudonymised form (Art. 18f BetmG; Art. 65a BetmKV).