ARUD Zürich

ARUD Zürich (officially Verein Arud, originally ARUD Zürich) is a Swiss non-profit association founded in November 1991 by physicians and addiction specialists as a medical response to the imminent police closure of the Platzspitz park in Zürich, then the world's largest open drug scene. The organisation operates the Arud Zentrum für Suchtmedizin (Arud Centre for Addiction Medicine) and the medical services of Checkpoint Zürich. Its stated mission is to reduce the negative consequences of harmful or dependent use of legal and illegal psychoactive substances. The association treats and supports people with difficulties related to legal and illegal addictive substances. Across four addiction-medicine centres in the greater Zürich area, it provides treatment for opioid — notably heroin — dependence, as well as outpatient counselling and treatment for problems with cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, medications and designer drugs. The centres offer an interdisciplinary, addiction-medicine treatment and counselling programme that combines psychotherapy, medical treatment and support from social workers. Arud is the largest provider of substitution-supported treatment with methadone, buprenorphine, diacetylmorphine and morphine in Switzerland, and in the Canton of Zürich it also contributes to the increasingly important outpatient counselling and treatment services for cocaine, cannabis and designer-drug problems. In total, more than 1,000 patients are cared for. Arud is a registered association (Verein) under the Swiss Civil Code, led by a board (Vorstand) and managed operationally by a five-member executive board (Geschäftsleitung). Its therapeutic concept is based on an accepting approach committed to the principle of harm reduction: realistic goals are developed and implemented together with patients, tailored to individual possibilities, limitations and boundaries. The association runs its own evaluation and research department to examine the effects of its treatments according to scientific criteria, and shares the results through contributions at specialist congresses and articles in scientific journals. It also runs cooperative services with private and public partner institutions, including Checkpoint Zürich, the Zürich Drug Information Centre (DIZ) and the counselling centre for relatives of drug-dependent people (ada-zh). Treatment options include psychiatry and psychotherapy, general-practice medical care (including treatment of hepatitis and HIV, wound care and addiction-medicine assessments), social work, and opioid-agonist therapy (substitution with methadone, sustained-release morphine or buprenorphine, with heroin-assisted treatment also possible). Heroin-assisted treatment for severely dependent patients is available under special conditions: patients receive pharmaceutical heroin in pill form or can inject liquid heroin under supervision at Arud. The medication is marketed under the name Diaphin in three versions — Diaphin 200 mg IR (immediate release), Diaphin 200 mg SR (sustained release) and an injection solution. Transport of Diaphin to dispensing points is subject to the highest security precautions, comparable to a gold transport with armoured vehicles and armed personnel. Today Arud describes itself as one of Switzerland's leading institutions in addiction medicine and credits its work with having decisively shaped Swiss drug policy. Its website lists treatment areas including alcohol, anabolic steroids, cannabis, medications, designer drugs, cocaine, tobacco, heroin, gaming and online gambling, and hepatitis C. The organisation is currently renovating its ground floor until the end of December 2026, which may cause restrictions, noise and changed routes.

The association was founded in November 1991 by physicians and addiction specialists as a medical response to the imminent police closure of the Zürich Platzspitz park, where an open drug scene had formed since the late 1980s. On 30 November, committed physicians and specialists founded the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für risikoarmen Umgang mit Drogen — ARUD (Working Group for Low-Risk Drug Use). The founding took place a few weeks before the Zürich Platzspitz, then the world's largest open drug scene, was hastily closed by the authorities in February 1992. Arud's goal was to counter repressive drug policy with medical measures in order to prevent further impoverishment of those affected. The 1980s and 1990s marked a turning point and new departure in Swiss drug policy: important developments were no longer driven by legislators but by practitioners — among them Arud. In February 1992, the Poliklinik ZokL1 was founded as Switzerland's first low-threshold institution offering methadone-supported treatment for heroin-dependent people (later the Zentrum Aussersihl). At the time, official requirements for methadone dispensing were still extremely restrictive and unsuitable. In December 1993, the Poliklinik ZokL2 followed (later the Zentrum Stampfenbach). There, as part of the Swiss ProVe trials, the first heroin-assisted treatments were carried out from January 1994. Since 1997, Arud has participated in the Swiss heroin prescription programme. Over the decades, Arud continuously expanded and established its services and field of activity. Today it is one of the leading institutions in addiction medicine in Switzerland and has decisively helped shape Swiss drug policy. It operates four addiction-medicine centres in the greater Zürich area: Zentrum Aussersihl (formerly Zokl1), Zentrum Stampfenbach (formerly Zokl2), Zentrum Horgen (formerly DBB) and Zentrum Hauptbahnhof (formerly Gain). The Zentrum Hauptbahnhof has offered substitution-supported treatment with methadone, buprenorphine and morphine since 2011. The association also runs the medical services of Checkpoint Zürich and cooperates with the Drogeninformationszentrum Zürich (DIZ) and the counselling centre for relatives of drug-dependent people (ada-zh). Arud's therapeutic concept is based on an accepting approach committed to the principle of harm reduction. Together with patients, realistic goals are developed and implemented, tailored to individual possibilities, limitations and boundaries. The association maintains its own evaluation and research department to examine the effects of its treatments according to scientific criteria, and disseminates the results through specialist congresses and scientific journals. It is the largest provider of substitution-supported treatment with methadone, buprenorphine, diacetylmorphine and morphine in Switzerland, and cares for more than 1,000 patients. In the Canton of Zürich, it also contributes to the increasingly important outpatient counselling and treatment services for problems with cocaine, cannabis and designer drugs.

• Arud founded by physicians and addiction specialists as Arbeitsgemeinschaft für risikoarmen Umgang mit Drogen, shortly before the Platzspitz closure.

• Platzspitz closed by authorities; Poliklinik ZokL1 (later Zentrum Aussersihl) founded as Switzerland's first low-threshold methadone-supported treatment institution.

• Poliklinik ZokL2 (later Zentrum Stampfenbach) founded.

• First heroin-assisted treatments carried out as part of the Swiss ProVe trials.

• Arud begins participation in the Swiss heroin prescription programme.

• Zentrum Hauptbahnhof (formerly Gain) begins offering substitution-supported treatment with methadone, buprenorphine and morphine.

One of Switzerland's leading addiction-medicine institutions, committed to harm reduction and an accepting, goal-open therapeutic approach; the largest provider of substitution-supported treatment in the country.

• Diaphin 200 mg IR

  Immediate-release pharmaceutical heroin (diacetylmorphine) used in heroin-assisted treatment.

• Diaphin 200 mg SR

  Sustained-release pharmaceutical heroin used in heroin-assisted treatment.

• Diaphin injection solution

  Liquid pharmaceutical heroin for supervised injection at Arud.

• Methadone

  Substitution medication used in opioid agonist therapy.

• Buprenorphine

  Substitution medication used in opioid agonist therapy.

• Morphine (sustained-release)

  Substitution medication used in opioid agonist therapy.

1. 1Arud Zentrum für Suchtmedizinarud.ch
2. 2Geschichte: Seit über 25 Jahren engagiert für Suchtbetroffene.arud.ch
3. 3Team – Im Einsatz für suchtbetroffene Menschenarud.ch
4. 4ARUD Zürich – Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5Arud – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org