Regulated access to marijuana through pharmacies appears to encourage existing consumers to shift toward potentially lower-risk methods of consumption without increasing how often they use marijuana, according to new interim results from a randomized controlled trial led by the University of Bern.
The Safer Cannabis Research in Pharmacies randomized controlled Trial (SCRIPT) involves 1,177 adults in the Swiss cities of Bern, Biel and Lucerne who were already regular marijuana consumers. Researchers randomly assigned 588 participants to immediately purchase regulated marijuana products from participating pharmacies, while 589 remained in a control group that continued obtaining marijuana outside the study for six months before receiving pharmacy access. Participants with pharmacy access could purchase flower, hash, THC e-liquids and tinctures while receiving harm-reduction counseling from trained staff.
At the beginning of the study, 78% of participants given immediate pharmacy access reported exclusively smoking marijuana, compared with 82% of the control group. After six months, the share exclusively smoking marijuana in the pharmacy group fell to 58%, with more participants instead using non-smoked products or combining smoking with methods such as vaporization or oral consumption. Researchers said the control group saw little change over the same period.
Despite the shift in consumption methods, researchers found no evidence that regulated access caused participants to use marijuana more frequently. Marijuana consumption frequency changed only slightly over the six-month period, with little difference between the pharmacy and control groups. Tobacco use also remained largely stable.
The pharmacy model was generally well received. After six months, 87% of those with pharmacy access described purchasing marijuana there as pleasant, 71% were satisfied with the counseling they received and 79% said the process provided adequate privacy. Among 546 participants surveyed on harm-reduction information, 71% said they had passed information received at the pharmacies along to people in their social circles.
The findings also show substantial interest in alternatives to smoking. After six months, 61% of participants with pharmacy access reported having used THC e-liquids provided through the study and 24% had used THC tinctures. During the seven days before their six-month assessment, 27% of the pharmacy group reported vaping or vaporizing marijuana, compared with 11% of the control group, while oral use was reported by 8% and 3%, respectively.
Researchers caution that the findings are preliminary. The September 6 interim report contains the first analyses of the randomized portion of SCRIPT and has not yet undergone peer review. The broader study is continuing, with participants being followed through 2029 and regulated pharmacy sales authorized through October 2028.
