The consumption of hard drugs, particularly heroin, hit the headlines in Switzerland in the 1980s. The open drug scene in Zürich gained international notoriety, especially its "needle park" which was forcibly closed in 1992 after years of toleration. The Zurich drugs scene then moved to the area of the abandoned Letten railway station, to be closed down by the police in 1995.

Switzerland's current drugs policy is based on "prevention, therapy, harm reduction and law enforcement." The authorities have introduced a programme of supplying heroin addicts with the substitute, methadone, administered under controlled conditions. Critics of the programme point out that methadone is also addictive, but supporters say it has not only cut deaths from overdoses, but also helped prevent the spread of HIV from infected needles.

The spread of techno in the 90s brought with it so-called designer drugs of which the best known is Ecstasy. Such drugs are often produced in private laboratories, and may be mixtures of a wide range of ingredients. Dealers themselves often do not know what is in the pills they are selling. Also popular at techno parties are speed, LSD and cocaine. Drugs experts say the greatest problems arise when party goers mix different types.

The number of hard drug addicts in Switzerland is put at 30,000. The UN's International Narcotics Control Board said in its annual report issued in March 2005 that Switzerland was one of the few European countries where abuse of cocaine and amphetamines was increasing.

According to the Federal Office of Police there were 211 drug-related deaths in 2005, up from 182 in 2004. The average for the first five years of the decade was 189, with a low of 167 in 2002. The trend had been generally falling since the mid-1990s, after reaching a record of 419 in 1992.