Regular cannabis users given legal access to regulated products through pharmacies are moving away from smoking and towards less harmful ways of taking cannabis, according to interim findings from a randomised trial led by researchers at the University of Bern.

The Safer Cannabis Research in Pharmacies Trial (SCRIPT) followed 1,177 regular cannabis users across Bern, Biel and Lucerne for six months. Researchers randomly split the group, with 588 given immediate access to buy regulated products from participating pharmacies while the remaining 589 carried on sourcing cannabis as they normally would, before gaining pharmacy access themselves at the six-month mark

The results show a significant shift in consumption patterns: In the group with pharmacy access, the proportion smoking cannabis dropped from 78% to 58% over six months. Meanwhile, the control group saw virtually no change, remaining at around 82%.

“The majority of study participants consumed cannabis exclusively by smoking at the start of the study,” the report states. “Over the course of six months, people with access to cannabis products in pharmacies switched more frequently to smoke-free forms of consumption or combined different forms of consumption, whilst hardly any changes were observed in the control group.”

Crucially, the study found no evidence that regulated pharmacy sales increase consumption frequency. Cannabis and tobacco use remained largely stable in both groups, suggesting that regulated access does not drive higher consumption rates.

The SCRIPT scheme is designed to test how cannabis consumers respond to stringent regulation. Participating pharmacies charge prices above illegal market rates, including a simulated tax of CHF 3-4 per gramme – representing 30-50% of the final sale price depending on THC content. This makes SCRIPT’s taxation the highest among Swiss cannabis pilot projects.

Products are sold in plain packaging with standardised health warnings, modelled on Canadian regulations. Monthly purchase limits are capped at 10g of THC, with a maximum of 2g per transaction. All products adhered to a 20% THC limit.

Professor Reto Auer, who led the study, explained that the approach positions SCRIPT on “the more regulated side” of cannabis policy. The study deliberately avoided competing with the illegal market through attractive pricing or marketing, instead focusing on harm reduction within strict regulatory boundaries.

Participating pharmacies reported high satisfaction with the new customers, describing them as “patient, friendly, open and well-informed”. Several pharmacy staff said their preconceptions about cannabis users had changed positively through direct contact.

Study participants also responded favourably to the pharmacy model. After six months, 87% found purchasing cannabis in pharmacies pleasant, 71% were satisfied with staff consultations, and 79% felt sufficient privacy was maintained.

Pharmacists provided counselling on study products and safer consumption methods. Some 71% of participants reported sharing harm reduction information with others in their social circles.

Cannabis flowers accounted for roughly 65% of all sales over the two-year period. E-liquids for vaping made up 21% of purchases, whilst cannabis resin represented 11% and tinctures just 3%.

The study also analysed 127 illegal market cannabis samples provided by participants. Results showed that self-reported THC estimates were wildly inaccurate – only one person correctly assessed their sample’s THC content out of 69 tested. Some participants underestimated by up to 24 percentage points, whilst others overestimated by a similar margin.

Nine samples tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids. Most illegal market cannabis was obtained through friends or known dealers (66%), with 14% from known dealers, 11% home-grown and 9% from unknown sources including street dealers and online.

The pilot continues until 2029, with pharmacy sales extended until 31/10/2028. Researchers plan to analyse long-term effects including changes in tobacco consumption, pneumological risk factors and the prevalence of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome.

Professor Auer emphasised that whilst SCRIPT provides robust evidence about individual-level effects of regulated access, broader societal impacts – such as effects on non-users, youth, consumption norms or the illegal market – require additional data sources, including other Swiss pilot projects and international regulatory experiences.

The findings echo those from other Swiss cannabis trials, such as Zurich’s pharmacy-based pilot, Züri Can, where people reported high satisfaction with harm-reduction advice from sales staff after its first year.

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In a special edition of the Business of Cannabis Podcast, we go from ‘anecdote to evidence’ with Dr Anne Katrin Schlag, Head of Research and Interim CEO at Drug Science, and Graham Woodward, Chief Operating Officer at Releaf.

Together, they explore how the UK can move from anecdotal patient stories to robust, real-world evidence, and why this shift is vital for expanding safe, trusted access to cannabis-based medicines.

One of the key challenges in cannabis-based medicine is how to transition from impactful but anecdotal patient stories, to robust evidence that policymakers, clinicians, and regulators recognise and trust. 

In her role with Drug Science, Anne has played a key role in building the evidence base for medical cannabis, turning lived experience into real-world data, and helping ensure patients’ voices are heard where it matters the most. 

Drug Science’s T21 patient registry (formerly known as Project Twenty21) was the UK’s first observational medical cannabis registry, with around 5,000 patients enrolled over the last five years. Anne and colleagues have now published numerous publications demonstrating the real-world evidence for the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis in a range of conditions, as well as other outcomes such as reductions in the use of opioid medications.

In this conversation, Graham and Anne unpack how clinics like Releaf are investing in quality-of-life surveys and data-driven patient care.

They discuss the importance of using validated and standardised screening tools across clinics in adding to the clinical credibility of this evidence and whether more solid evidence can finally open doors with regulators and the wider healthcare system.

“I’d like to see different providers collect the same data, this would give us a huge database which, for us as researchers, is very exciting,” Anne says. 

The conversation also explores the barriers patients continue to face in accessing medical cannabis, such as cost and a lack of education and awareness among prescribers and the general public, as well as what can be done to address this.  

Graham and Anne discuss how engagement with policy makers and key decision-makers is key to making these medicines more widely available on the NHS, while highlighting the value in combining scientific evidence with patient stories to drive wider acceptance among the general public. 

“In addition to the science, patient stories carry a lot of power to change the narrative,” says Anne.

While RCTs are important, they are not the full picture. Regulators need to recognise patient-reported outcomes and real-world data for medical cannabis as not just anecdotal but scientific evidence that could shape the future of medicine. 

She adds: “If we would have waited for randomised control trials before introducing [penicillin], millions of people would have died.” 

For anyone interested in how data and patient outcomes can unlock the next stage of UK medical cannabis, this is a conversation not to miss. Listen to the full interview here 

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