Can a pharmacy send prescribed narcotics by post?

Mail order needs a cantonal licence

The Therapeutic Products Act prohibits mail order (Versandhandel) of medicinal products in principle. A canton may grant a licence only if these conditions are met (Art. 27 HMG):

• A medical prescription exists.
• No safety requirements stand in the way.
• Appropriate advice is ensured.
• Adequate medical supervision is ensured.

For products with at least 1.0 percent THC, Swissmedic lists dispensing and mail order as a matter for the cantons that requires a cantonal mail-order licence (Swissmedic factsheet MU105_00_809, Appendix 2). In any case, pharmacies may dispense narcotics to the public only on a medical prescription (Art. 13 BetmG).

The Association of Cantonal Pharmacists (KAV) distinguishes licensed mail order from occasional follow-up shipping (Nachversand) and from home delivery services (Hauslieferdienst) for existing customers (KAV position paper 0018). Who grants licences and supervises pharmacies is explained under who supervises prescriptions and pharmacies.

What pharmacies say about themselves

Our list of pharmacies repeats what each pharmacy states on its own website. It is neither a recommendation nor a ranking, and it says nothing about licences. Whether a pharmacy dispatches medicines, and on what legal basis, is for the pharmacy to answer.

Private persons may not send narcotics

The licensing rules concern pharmacies. A separate rule applies to you as a private person:

What this means for journeys abroad is explained in our article on travelling with prescribed medication.

Our practice

We are a medical practice, not a pharmacy. We do not store, sell or send medicines, and we have no contracts with any pharmacy. According to the cantonal pharmacists, medical practices, including those that dispense medicines themselves, may in principle not offer home delivery services (KAV position paper 0018). You choose the pharmacy freely (Art. 26 HMG); see choosing a pharmacy.

What can travel by post is the prescription itself. According to the cantonal pharmacists, the original paper narcotics prescription (Betäubungsmittelrezept) must be physically present at the pharmacy when the medicine is dispensed, and it may not be sent to you by e-mail, messenger service or fax. If a prescription is issued, which happens only where medically indicated, the original can be sent to you by post or, with your documented consent, directly to the pharmacy of your choice (KAV position paper 0025). The details are under how the prescription reaches the pharmacy. There is no entitlement to a prescription; the physician decides on the basis of the medical assessment.