Medicinal products and narcotics

Legal basis

To protect the public from health risks and damage there are strict regulations under the German Medicinal Products Act (Arzneimittelgesetz - AMG) that control the movement of medicinal products.

What are medicinal products?

Medicinal products are substances or preparations of substances which

• are intended for use in or on the human or animal body, and which are intended to be agents with properties that heal, palliate, or prevent human or animal diseases or pathological complaints (known as medicinal products by presentation, because they are seen as such by the consumer solely by reason of their presentation, for example their packaging or packaging leaflet), or

• can be used in or on the human or animal body, or can be administered to humans or animals, in order to either
   

  1. restore, correct, or influence physiological functions through a pharmacological, an immunological, or a metabolic effect, or
  2. to make a medical diagnosis

  (known as medicinal products by function which are medicines solely on the basis of their objective characteristic, independently of their presentation).

Are you allowed to send medicinal products to Germany from abroad?

German medicinal products legislation does not permit any dispatch of medicinal products to Germany from abroad by post.

In this connection you should be aware that products that are freely traded in your own country such as food supplements, vitamin preparations, or purely vegetable natural medicines, may be treated as medicinal products in Germany, and therefore fall within the scope of the Medicinal Products Act, particularly where they are presented as agents for the treatment of illnesses. The provisions of the medicinal products legislation of the country in which such preparation is being offered or sold are not of relevance here.

Furthermore, preparations which contain certain vegetable or animal substances may also be subject to the provisions on the protection of species.

More information about the provisions on the protection of species

Other regulations that must be observed

Medicinal products that fall under the Narcotic Drugs Act

The Universal Postal Agreement and/or Universal Postal Union treaties invariably prohibit the dispatch of any narcotics by post.

Legal basis

The regulations governing the transport of narcotics can be found in the Narcotic Drugs Act (Betäubungsmittelgesetz - BtMG) and in the Ordinance concerning the Foreign Trade in Narcotics (Betäubungsmittel-Außenhandelsverordnung - BtMAHV).

What are narcotics?

Narcotics are the substances and preparations listed in Annexes I to III of the Narcotic Drugs Act (BtMG). Medicinal products that contain substances listed in these annexes are also considered to be narcotics.