New Psychoactive Substances Act
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | New Psychoactive Substances Act |
| Abbreviation: | NpSG |
| Type: | Federal law |
| Scope: | Federal Republic of Germany |
| Legal matter: | Special administrative law , ancillary criminal law |
| References : | 2121-6-28 |
| Issued on: | November 21, 2016 |
| Entry into force on: | November 26, 2016, Federal Law Gazette I p. 2615 |
| Last change by: |
Art. 1 G of 3 July 2020 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1555 ) |
| Effective date of the last change: |
July 9, 2020 (Art. 2 G of July 3, 2020) |
| Weblink: | Text of the law |
| Please note the note on the applicable legal version. | |
The New psychoactive substances Act (NPSG) is a German law which falls outside the scope of the narcotics and the Medicines Act dealing with new psychoactive substances prohibits (NPS) and the breach partly also punishable. The NpSG was promulgated as Article 1 of the Act to Combat the Spread of New Psychoactive Substances .
There are similar laws in Austria and Switzerland . See the article New Psychoactive Substances .
Need for regulation
With the appearance and spread of ever new chemical variants of known narcotics and psychoactive substances, which, according to a judgment of the European Court of Justice, do not fall under the term “medicinal product” and the Medicines Act, a regulatory and criminal liability loophole arose for NPS, the individual substances of which were also not included in the facilities of the Narcotics Act (BtMG) had been included. In contrast to the BtMG, the NpSG therefore covers entire groups of substances : initially only the group of 2-phenethylamines and synthetic cannabinoids , and since the change in the law in July 2019, other groups as well.
Scope of regulation
Except for the use for commercial, industrial or scientific purposes recognized according to the current state of science and technology , the trade, the placing on the market , the administration and, for the purpose of placing on the market, the production and the placing of a new psychoactive substance are in accordance with § 4 para. 1 NpSG Punished with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine in the scope of the law in the basic offense , qualifications according to § 4 Para. 3 NpSG with imprisonment of one year to ten years.
The attempt and the negligent inspection are also punishable. Furthermore, it is forbidden to bring, manufacture, acquire or possess a new psychoactive substance in, from or through the area of application of the law. Commercial or gang trading in NPS justifies telecommunications surveillance as a serious criminal offense, even without the knowledge of the person concerned ( Section 100a, Paragraph 2, No. 9a StPO) and remand detention in the event of a risk of recurrence ( Section 112a, Paragraph 1, No. 2 StPO). Possession or acquisition of NPS are based on § 4 not prosecuted NPSG, but are by § 3 prohibited NPSG and are independent of a criminal case, the administrative seizure and destruction in accordance with §§ 47 to 50 of the Federal Police Act and the regulations of the police laws of Countries.
Substance groups regulated by law
The law includes representatives of the substance groups listed below, whereby the substance group definitions also include the possible charged forms and salts of a substance. The substance groups are contained in an annex to the law.
Any substance groups or sub-groups are defined by core structures and the positions for the binding sites as well as the possible structures for R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , ..., and X marked substituents .
Compounds derived from 2-phenethylamine
In the group of 2-phenethylamines, around 2,000 substances are described which have a pharmacological effect and which, according to previous knowledge, can be assumed to be misused for intoxicating purposes. These are amphetamines and cathinones , but also other ethylamines, which can be derived from the following structure, where A is a ring system:
R 1 and R 2 can be hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, benzyl, alkenyl, alkylcarbonyl, hydroxy and amino groups (organic groups up to and including six carbon atoms). The nitrogen can also be part of a cyclic system, for example pyrrolidinyl, piperidinyl, be. Also included are ring systems that include parts of structural element B. Compounds in which the nitrogen atom is directly integrated into a cyclic system that is fused onto ring system A are excluded. The substituents R 1 and R 2 can furthermore be substituted with any chemically possible combinations of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine. The substituents created in this way may have a continuous chain length of a maximum of ten atoms, without counting hydrogen atoms. Atoms of ring structures are not included in the count.
R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can be hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, alkyl, cycloalkyl, benzyl, phenyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, hydroxy, alkoxy, alkylsulfanyl, alkyloxycarbonyl groups (Organic groups up to and including ten carbon atoms), including compounds in which substitutions are linked to the ring system A. The groups listed can also be substituted with any chemically possible combinations of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine. The substituents created in this way may have a continuous chain length of a maximum of ten atoms, without counting hydrogen atoms. Atoms of ring structures are not included in the count.
Also included are compounds such as cathinones in which the β-carbon has a keto group.
Possible ring systems A can be the following groups, including their substituted derivatives:
| Five rings | Six rings | Bicycles | Tricyclics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cyclopentyl |
 Cyclohexyl |
 Indanyl |
 Tetralinyl |
||||||
 Phenyl |
 Indenyl |
 Naphthyl |
|||||||
 Furanyl |
 Dihydrobenzofuranyl |
(1,3)dioxole_200.svg) Methylenedioxyphenyl |
 Ethylenedioxyphenyl |
 2,3,5,6-tetrahydrobenzodifuranyl |
 2,3,6,7-tetrahydrobenzodifuranyl |
 3,4,6,7-tetrahydrobenzodipyranyl |
 3,4,8,9-tetrahydrobenzodipyranyl |
||
 Benzofuranyl |
difuran.svg) Benzo [1,2- b ; 5,4- b ′] difuranyl |
difuran.svg) Benzo [1,2- b : 4,5- b '] difuranyl |
|||||||
 Pyrrolyl |
 Pyridyl |
||||||||
 Thienyl |
|||||||||
These ring systems can be substituted at any position with hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, alkoxy, carboxy, alkylsulfanyl and nitro groups, organic substituents not exceeding six carbon atoms. The groups can also be substituted with any chemically possible combinations of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine. The substituents created in this way may have a continuous chain length of a maximum of eight atoms, not counting hydrogen atoms. Atoms of ring structures are not included in the count.
Cannabimimetics / synthetic cannabinoids
The substance group of cannabinoid mimetics / synthetic cannabinoids includes
- compounds derived from indole , pyrazole and 4-quinolone
- compounds derived from 3-sulfonylamidobenzoic acid
Benzodiazepines
The group of benzodiazepines comprises 1,4- and 1,5-benzodiazepines and their triazolo and imidazolo derivatives as well as some specially substituted subgroups derived from loprazolam , ketazolam , oxazolam and chlordiazepoxide . The maximum molecular mass is 600 g · mol −1 in each case . They develop psychotropic effects through their binding to GABA receptors . 2,3-Benzodiazepines are not included because they have a different mechanism of action and a pronounced addiction potential is not to be expected.
Compounds derived from N - (2-aminocyclohexyl) amide
The group contains derivatives of N - (2-aminocyclohexyl) amide with a certain basic structure defined in the appendix to the NpSG and a maximum molecular weight of 500 g · mol −1 . These act as full agonists primarily on opioid receptors of the μ type. The effects and side effects are comparable to those of morphine . They are misused as “substitutes” or “supplements” for the classic opiates morphine and heroin .
Tryptamine Derived Compounds
This group of substances is further subdivided into:
- Indol-3-alkylamines ( derivatives of 2- (indol-3-yl) -ethylamine )
- Δ 9.10 - Ergolene (e.g. LSD derivatives).
They are primarily psychedelic or hallucinogenic . In the comments on the draft law, it is stated in the background that substances of this group can lead not only to self-harm but also to others if uncontrollable actions occur during the course of intoxication due to hallucinogenic states.
criticism
It is doubtful whether the NpSG is superior to the applicable law, especially the BtMG and the Basic Substance Monitoring Act (GÜG), both in terms of regulation and with regard to drug prevention. According to the Munich Public Prosecutor Susanne Wosylus, the NpS law causes “great difficulties in practical application” , since Section 4 (1) NpSG only deals with the trading, placing on the market and administering, but not the possession , acquisition or consumption of new psychoactive substances Criminalises substances.
In January 2017, the Federal Ministry of Health announced an evaluation of the effects of the NpSG.
Web links
- The Federal Government's Drug Commissioner : New Psychoactive Substances (accessed on 23 August 2020)
- Health experts welcome the planned ban on new psychoactive substances, Ärzteblatt , July 7, 2016
- Trade in psychoactive substances has not yet been stopped Ärzteblatt, April 26, 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ ECJ, judgment of 10 July 2014 - C ‑ 358/13 and C ‑ 181/14 - .
- ↑ BR-printed matter 231/16 of 6 May 2016th
- ↑ Jörn Patzak: Finally an end to the “legal highs” !? - The New Psychoactive Substances Act (NpSG) came into force yesterday on November 27, 2016.
- ↑ Matthias Wallenfels: Herbal Mixtures: New Law Sharpens Weapons Against Legal Highs Ärztezeitung , November 28, 2016.
- ^ A b Uwe Hellmann : Commercial criminal law . Kohlhammer Verlag , October 30, 2018, ISBN 978-3-17-031444-3 , p. 250.
- ↑ BR-Drucksache 231/16 from May 6, 2016, p. 22.
- ↑ Referent draft of the Federal Ministry of Health - Ordinance amending the Annex to the New Psychoactive Substances Act and Annexes to the Narcotics Act , dated March 14, 2019 ( PDF ).
- ^ Statement by the German Medical Association on the draft law to combat the spread of new psychoactive substances (New Psychoactive Substances Act - NpSG) December 7, 2015.
- ↑ Jan Fährmann, Tibor Harrach, Heiko Kohl, Sonja C. Ott, Marcel Schega, Rüdiger Schmolke, Bernd Werse: How to deal with NpS in the future? Criticism of the draft bill for the New Psychoactive Substances Act (NpSG) 3rd Alternative Drugs and Addiction Report 2016, pp. 18–29.
- ↑ Thomas Schmidt: Public prosecutors warn of the fatal consequences of "legal highs". In: sueddeutsche.de . October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017 .
- ↑ Evaluation of the effects of the law to combat the spread of new psychoactive substances (NpSG) ( Memento from February 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) bund.de - Verwaltung Online, accessed on February 11, 2017.
- ↑ Public announcement by the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) on the subject of "Evaluation of the Effects of the Act to Combat the Spread of New Psychoactive Substances (NpSG)" January 17, 2017.
