In Germany, several laws govern drugs (both recreational and pharmaceutical).
- Betäubungsmittel-Verschreibungsverordnung (BTMVV), regulates the prescription of Anlage III narcotics on the special prescription form
- Arzneimittelgesetz (AMG), covers prescription drugs, pharmacy-only and general sales list drugs.
- Verordnung über die Verschreibungspflicht von Arzneimitteln, also known as Arzneimittelverschreibungsverordnung (AMVV), executive order that explicitly lists prescription drugs. It contains a blanket inclusion for all exceptions from Anlage I, II and III BtMG; thus, a normal prescription is still required for such preparations.
- Verordnung über apothekenpflichtige und freiverkäufliche Arzneimittel, also known as Arzneimittelverkehrs-Rechtsverordnung (AMVerkRV), executive order that explicitly lists pharmacy-only and general sales list drugs.
- Medizinproduktegesetz (MPG)
- Medizinprodukte-Abgabeverordnung (MPAV), covers some substances with medical effects that are not drugs, like disinfectants for medical apparatuses
- Neue-psychoaktive-Stoffe-Gesetz (NpSG)
- Governing chemical groups of research chemicals, allowing to cover multiple variants. Use of covered substances is permitted only for industrial and scientific purposes.
- Grundstoffüberwachungsgesetz (GÜG)
- Covers raw materials that can be used for synthesizing drugs. These are categorized into Kategorie 1 (authorization required), Kategorie 2 (reporting required) and Kategorie 3 (export restrictions)