Germany’s Narcotics Act (Betäubungsmittelgesetz, BtMG) punishes the unauthorized handling of controlled substances with penalties that range from fines to 15 years in prison, depending on the drug, the quantity, and whether aggravating factors like weapons, gang involvement, or supply to minors are present. Since April 1, 2024, cannabis has been removed from the BtMG and is regulated separately under the Consumer Cannabis Act (KCanG), so BtMG penalties now cover substances like heroin, cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines, and prescription narcotics, but no longer cannabis.1Federal Ministry of Health. Frequently Asked Questions on the Cannabis Act
The Three Schedules That Trigger BtMG Penalties
The BtMG groups controlled substances into three schedules based on danger, dependence potential, and medical usefulness.2Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). Federal Opium Agency – Narcotic Drugs Schedule I lists substances that are completely prohibited and cannot be prescribed or traded, including heroin, LSD, and MDMA. Schedule II covers substances that can be traded for scientific or commercial purposes but not prescribed to patients. Schedule III includes drugs physicians can prescribe under tightly controlled conditions, such as morphine, fentanyl, and methadone.
Handling any of these substances without authorization is what puts a person inside the penalty framework below.
Basic Penalty Under Section 29
Section 29 sets the baseline. Cultivating, producing, trading, importing, exporting, purchasing, or possessing a scheduled drug without a license carries a fine or up to five years in prison.3Federal Ministry of Health. Narcotic Drugs Act (English Translation) Attempts are punishable in the same range.
Fines under German criminal law use a daily-rate system tied to the defendant’s income, so two people convicted of the same conduct can pay very different sums. Where prosecutors classify the circumstances as “particularly serious,” such as commercial dealing, the minimum sentence rises to one year.
When Prosecutors Can Drop Small-Amount Cases
Section 31a allows prosecutors to drop a case involving a small amount of a controlled substance intended solely for personal use. Three conditions must all be met: minor guilt, no public interest in prosecution, and the drugs were for the individual’s own consumption.4Gesetze im Internet. Betaeubungsmittelgesetz – 31a Absehen von der Verfolgung
The federal statute doesn’t fix a gram figure. Each of Germany’s 16 states writes its own guidelines, and for hard drugs like heroin and cocaine the thresholds generally sit between one and three grams. A dismissal is never automatic. Prior offenses, involvement of minors, or possession near a school will typically push prosecutors to charge regardless of weight.5Deutscher Bundestag. WD 3-196-19 – Einstellung von Ermittlungsverfahren nach 31a Betaeubungsmittelgesetz
The “Non-Small Amount” Threshold and Section 29a
Penalties escalate sharply once a case involves a “non-small amount” (nicht geringe Menge). This threshold is measured by the weight of the active ingredient, not the gross weight of the seized material. The Federal Court of Justice has fixed the limits for the most commonly prosecuted substances:
- Heroin: approximately 1.5 grams of heroin hydrochloride
- Cocaine: approximately 5 grams of cocaine hydrochloride
- Amphetamine: approximately 10 grams of amphetamine base
- Methamphetamine: approximately 5 grams of methamphetamine base
- MDMA: approximately 30 grams of MDMA base
Forensic laboratories determine purity through chemical analysis, then calculate the absolute weight of the active substance. Someone caught with 30 grams of cocaine powder at 20 percent purity holds 6 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, which crosses the 5-gram threshold. Once the line is crossed, Section 29a applies and the mandatory minimum becomes one year in prison.6Gesetze im Internet. Betaeubungsmittelgesetz – BtMG 29a
Supplying Narcotics to Minors
Section 29a also captures supply to minors. Anyone over 21 who provides a controlled substance to a person under 18 faces a minimum of one year in prison.3Federal Ministry of Health. Narcotic Drugs Act (English Translation) The provision covers handing drugs to a minor, administering them, or making them available for immediate use. Where the offender acts with intent and the minor’s physical or mental development is seriously endangered, the minimum rises to two years.
Commercial Dealing, Gangs, and Weapons
Section 30 imposes a minimum of two years for anyone who traffics drugs on a commercial basis or takes part as a gang member in repeated narcotics offenses.3Federal Ministry of Health. Narcotic Drugs Act (English Translation) The same minimum applies to unauthorized import of non-small amounts and to recklessly causing death by supplying drugs.
Section 30a raises the floor to five years when gang members handle non-small amounts. This section also targets anyone over 21 who recruits a minor into the drug trade, and anyone who carries a firearm or other weapon during a drug transaction involving non-small amounts.7Gesetze im Internet. Betaeubungsmittelgesetz – 30a Straftaten The weapon does not have to be used. Carrying it during the offense is enough. Germany’s general criminal code caps fixed-term prison sentences at 15 years, which sets the outer ceiling for the most severe BtMG cases.
The “Less Serious Case” Downgrade
Courts can treat any aggravated offense as a “less serious case” if the circumstances warrant it. When they do, the sentencing range for Section 30a drops to six months to ten years, and for Sections 29a and 30 it drops to three months to five years.3Federal Ministry of Health. Narcotic Drugs Act (English Translation) Defense attorneys fight for this downgrade because it eliminates the mandatory minimum entirely.
Cannabis Is No Longer a BtMG Offense
On April 1, 2024, cannabis was removed from the BtMG schedules. Recreational use now falls under the Consumer Cannabis Act (Konsumcannabisgesetz, KCanG) and medical use under the Medical Cannabis Act (MedCanG).1Federal Ministry of Health. Frequently Asked Questions on the Cannabis Act The criminal provisions of the BtMG no longer apply to cannabis. The old Section 31a small-amount discretion still governs every other scheduled drug, but cannabis is fully outside that framework.
Under Section 34 of the KCanG, exceeding the legal cannabis limits or engaging in unauthorized commercial activity carries up to three years in prison or a fine, with a range of three months to five years in particularly serious cases.8Library of Congress. Germany: Federal Court of Justice Sets Limit of THC for Aggravated Cases in New Cannabis Act A case counts as particularly serious when it involves more than 30 grams of cannabis outside the home, more than 60 grams in total, more than three living plants, or more than 7.5 grams of THC measured by active ingredient.
The 7.5-gram THC figure carried over from BtMG case law. The Federal Court of Justice set it as the “non-small amount” line for cannabis in a 1984 ruling, and in 2024 confirmed the same threshold as the benchmark for aggravated cases under the KCanG.8Library of Congress. Germany: Federal Court of Justice Sets Limit of THC for Aggravated Cases in New Cannabis Act Someone holding 50 grams of cannabis at 15 percent THC has 7.5 grams of active ingredient and lands in the aggravated range, while 100 grams at 5 percent THC totals only 5 grams and stays below the line.
The KCanG raised penalties for offenses involving minors. Anyone over 21 who recruits a minor into cannabis trafficking faces a minimum of two years, and the same floor applies to commercial supply to minors, gang-related offenses involving non-small amounts, and dealing while armed.1Federal Ministry of Health. Frequently Asked Questions on the Cannabis Act
Amnesty for Past Cannabis Convictions
Because conduct that was punishable under the old BtMG may now be legal under the KCanG, the reform included amnesty provisions in Articles 316p and 313 of the Introductory Act to the Criminal Code (EGStGB). Where a past conviction rested entirely on conduct that is no longer punishable, such as possession of a small amount for personal use, the sentence is remitted by operation of law. No application is required from the convicted person.9Berlin.de. Cannabis Law: Remission of Sentence in Just Under 180 Cases
Cases that mix now-legal conduct with still-criminal conduct are more complicated. If someone was convicted for both personal possession and dealing, the sentencing court must re-examine the case and issue a new sentence covering only the conduct that remains illegal. Where the underlying offense is still criminal under both the BtMG and the KCanG, such as large-scale trafficking, there is no basis for a reduction simply because the KCanG sets lower penalties.
The review has moved slowly in practice. Berlin reported roughly 5,400 cannabis-related proceedings requiring review, but by March 2025 only 249 cases had been examined and 71 sentences reassessed.9Berlin.de. Cannabis Law: Remission of Sentence in Just Under 180 Cases The amnesty mainly reaches ongoing proceedings where fines remain unpaid or prison sentences have not been served. Sentences that were fully served before the reform took effect do not qualify for retroactive relief on the same terms, though entries in the Federal Central Criminal Register may still be affected.