In Germany, several laws govern drugs (both recreational and pharmaceutical).

• Betäubungsmittelgesetz (BtMG), regulates narcotics and contains explicit lists of those covered: Anlage I (authorized scientific use only), Anlage II (authorized trade only, not prescriptible) and Anlage III (special prescription form required). The lists contain some exceptions for lower doses.

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)