Medicinal products and narcotics

Legal basis

The provisions governing the movement of medicinal products can be found in the German Medicinal Products Act (Arzneimittelgesetz - AMG).

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 to 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 permitted to dispatch medicinal products to Germany from another EU-Member State?

German pharmaceutical legislation bans any dispatch of medicines by post from another EU Member State to private individuals.

An exception is the non-commercial dispatch by a private individual. Medicines that have been purchased legally in another EU Member State and that you dispatch from an EU Member State without any commercial or professional intermediary, may be sent by mail.

Other regulations that must be observed

Medicinal products that come within the scope of the Narcotic Drugs Act

Any mailing of narcotics is banned under the Universal Postal Agreement and/or Universal Postal Union agreements. There are no exceptions.

Legal basis

The provisions governing the transport of narcotics can be found in the Narcotics 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).