Are Barbiturates legal in Germany?

Also known as: barbs

Legal status

Listed member by member in Anlage III of the Betäubungsmittelgesetz, so there is no class answer. Germany's schedule names individual barbiturates, so this is a finding rather than a deferral, and the specific barbiturate has to be identified before any answer is given. The member-by-member check against Anlage III of the Betäubungsmittelgesetz shows five printed entries: „Allobarbital | - | 5,5-Diallylbarbitursäure“; „Amobarbital | - | 5-Ethyl-5-isopentylbarbitursäure“; „Pentobarbital | - | (RS)-5-Ethyl-5-(pentan-2-yl)barbitursäure“; „Phenobarbital | - | 5-Ethyl-5-phenylbarbitursäure“; „Secobarbital | - | 5-Allyl-5-(pentan-2-yl)barbitursäure“. Each is its own line with its own chemical identity, and preparation exceptions also run per active substance. Name the member, find its line, and check whether the product falls inside that member's own exception.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The dossier's penalty column records that no death-penalty regime applies. The penal provisions are BtMG §§ 29 bis 30a and the dossier gives the ceiling: not less than five years under § 30a Abs. 1, with StGB § 38 Abs. 2 capping a determinate sentence at fifteen years. No ordinary band is recorded, so none is stated. The material qualification is that the exposure differs between the named members, because the placement and any preparation exception attach to the individual substance rather than to the group, and a product built on one of the five may be outside the schedule where an equivalent product built on another is inside it.

If prescribed or medical

Phenobarbital, the only barbiturate still marketed in Germany, is prescribed as an Anlage III antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine) on a narcotics prescription (BtM-Rezept) above the exemption threshold; pentobarbital/secobarbital are no longer available as human hypnotics.

Documentation

Within the Schengen area carry the Article 75 CISA certificate; domestically carry the narcotics prescription.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Germany’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.