Kratom and German law in 2026: narcotics, novel food and the Cologne case

The short answer

In Germany, kratom is not a controlled narcotic. Neither the plant nor its principal alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, appear in the schedules of the Narcotics Act (Betäubungsmittelgesetz, BtMG) or in the New Psychoactive Substances Act (NpSG). Possession is not a criminal offence.

Now the second half: kratom is also not authorised as a food in Germany. That is not a footnote. It is the point where everything has moved over the past two years, while the narcotics question has stood still. Anyone who knows only the first half knows half the picture.

Why kratom is not on the list

German narcotics law works like a guest list. The BtMG operates through named substance schedules. What is listed is covered. What is not listed is not covered – regardless of how a substance is otherwise judged.

Mitragyna speciosa is not listed. That is not an oversight but a question deliberately left open: the expert committee under § 1(2) BtMG considered the plant at its 35th session on 3 May 2010 and postponed a decision on scheduling. Nothing has happened there since.

The NpSG does not catch it either. That act was written against so-called legal highs and works with defined chemical families – phenethylamines, cannabimimetics, benzodiazepines, tryptamines and others. The indole alkaloids of Mitragyna belong to none of them. The most recent NpSG extension, which Germany notified to the European Commission in September 2024, covers nitrous oxide, GBL and 1,4-butanediol. Kratom is not in it.

The Cologne decision of 2015 – and what it does not say

Almost every English-language page on this topic mentions a court decision from Cologne, usually as „the ruling“ that settled the matter once and for all. Neither the label nor the reach is accurate.

Here are the exact details so you can look it up yourself: it is a Beschluss – a reasoned order, not a judgment – of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, 1st Criminal Division, dated 11 September 2015, case numbers 1 RVs 131/15 and 1 RVs 136/15. The distinction between an order and a judgment is a real one in German procedure, and it is a quick way to tell who has read the source and who has copied a summary.

On the substance: two traders had been convicted by the Amtsgericht Düren of placing questionable medicinal products on the market under § 95 of the Medicines Act (Arzneimittelgesetz), and the appeal court had upheld it. The Cologne court set the conviction aside and acquitted them. The reasoning turned on the definition of a medicinal product: the division relied expressly on the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 10 July 2014 in joined cases C-358/13 and C-181/14, and concluded that kratom is not a medicinal product by function.

Now the part most summaries leave out – and it is decisive for where things stand today.

First: the decision concerned the Medicines Act and the Food and Feed Code. It had nothing to do with narcotics law, where kratom was never listed in the first place.

Second: the court rejected criminal liability under the Food and Feed Code on the basis of the certainty principle in Article 103(2) of the German Basic Law – the rule that a criminal provision must be clear enough for anyone to know what is forbidden. That is a criminal-law argument. It is expressly not a statement that selling kratom is permissible under food law. Criminal law and administrative law are two separate layers, and this order moves only on the first.

Third: it dates from 2015. Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods, which everything now turns on, has only applied since 1 January 2018.

So the decision is real, it is relevant, and it is routinely stretched beyond what it holds. Citing it as proof that trading kratom is unproblematic means citing a criminal case about a legal question that is no longer the decisive one.

What changed in 2025

For ten years little happened. In 2025, three things did – and most older articles miss all of them.

The BfArM statement of 1 July 2025

The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices published a press release on kratom on 1 July 2025 (No. 09/25). For the legal picture the important part is this: it is an authority statement, not a ban. A federal institute commenting on a substance does not change the law. It does tell you how one authority sees the matter.

The BfR statement of 4 September 2025

Two months later the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment issued its own statement (No. 032/2025). Again: a risk assessment, not a legal act.

Seven RASFF notifications

The least visible item is the one with the most practical bite. During 2025 there were seven notifications in the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, classifying kratom as an unauthorised novel ingredient. RASFF is neither legislation nor a consumer warning – it is the wire over which member states’ food control authorities inform one another. Notifications there mean checks are happening and consignments are being stopped.

In parallel, the subject has been on the agenda of the Joint Expert Commission of the BVL and BfArM – the body that assesses the borderline between medicinal products and foods – since March 2022. There is still no conclusion.

The real sticking point: novel food

This is the answer most articles on the subject simply do not contain.

Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 governs novel foods. Its principle is simple and strict: a food that was not consumed to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997 counts as novel. Novel foods require authorisation before being placed on the market – not afterwards, not by assertion, but beforehand.

For kratom, no such history of consumption in Europe can be demonstrated. It is therefore novel within the meaning of the regulation. An application for authorisation has never been filed. No application, no authorisation; no authorisation, no lawful placing on the market as a food or food ingredient.

That is the logic the RASFF notifications rest on. And it is a European rule, not a German peculiarity – which is why the same reasoning turns up in the Netherlands, in Austria and anywhere else in the single market.

One common misunderstanding while we are here: the European Commission maintains a Novel Food Status Catalogue, which gets quoted as proof in both directions. The Commission itself describes it as a non-binding orientation tool. What binds is the regulation, not the catalogue.

Why a line on the label is not a legal basis

Botanical specimens are traded across Europe with a note that they are not intended for human consumption. We do the same. It is worth knowing what that note achieves – and what it does not.

On 24 June 2025 the Dutch College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven, the highest instance for such proceedings, decided exactly this question (ECLI:NL:CBB:2025:340). A trader had declared kratom as a textile dye, complete with safety data sheets and an explicit note against human consumption, and had traded on that basis for eleven years.

The court did not accept it. What matters, it held, is not only what a product is intended for, but also whether it can reasonably be expected that people will consume it. Kratom was classified as an unauthorised novel food; 1,100 kilograms were refused entry.

That reasoning rests on the European definitions in Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 – not on anything specific to Dutch law. It therefore travels to Germany and to the rest of the union.

Why write this when it argues against our own business model? Because a seller who tells you that a sentence on a label resolves the legal question either has not read the sources or is counting on you not having read them. Either one is a poor basis for doing business together.

Kratom across the EU – a patchwork

There is no EU-wide ban and no EU-wide authorisation. Neither Mitragyna speciosa nor its alkaloids are under international control: they appear in none of the annexes to the two United Nations conventions of 1961 and 1971. Regulation happens nationally, and it varies a great deal.

The plant is prohibited or controlled in, among others, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, France and Italy. Sweden classified the plant itself only as of 11 March 2025 – a good illustration of how quickly these lists change.

The Czech Republic is the most interesting case. Since 12 November 2025 a dedicated category of „psychomodulatory substances“ has been in force there, and kratom was placed in it. Any handling – including internet sales – has required a permit from the Czech Ministry of Health ever since.

Country-level rules move, and older overview tables are frequently out of date. If you are reading from outside Germany, check the rule for your own country at the source rather than in a table from two years ago. We ship only within a short list of countries for exactly this reason.

What this means for you as a collector

After all the legal German, the practical summary:

• Possessing kratom in Germany is not a criminal offence. It is not a controlled narcotic.
• It may not be placed on the market as a food – the novel food authorisation is missing.
• It is not authorised as a medicinal product either.
• Trade therefore takes place in the category of botanical collector’s and research specimen, not intended for human consumption.
• That framing describes the practice. It is not a legal guarantee – see the Dutch decision above.
• The position can change. The subject has been with the Joint Expert Commission since March 2022.

What follows for choosing a supplier: look at origin, harvest, drying, and at a certificate of analysis you can actually verify. A seller who documents the material has usually done the rest of the homework too.

View White Maeng Da with COA

Frequently asked questions

Is kratom legal in Germany in 2026?

Kratom is not a controlled narcotic and appears in neither the BtMG nor the NpSG, so possession is not a criminal offence. As a food it is not marketable, because it lacks authorisation under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283; as a medicinal product it is not authorised.

Does the BfArM statement make kratom illegal?

No. Press release No. 09/25 of 1 July 2025 is an authority statement, not a legal act. No prohibition follows from it.

Did the Cologne court declare the trade lawful?

No. The order of 11 September 2015 (1 RVs 131/15 and 1 RVs 136/15) set aside a criminal conviction under the Medicines Act. It says nothing about classification under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 – that regulation did not yet apply.

Can I order kratom to Germany?

Possession is not a criminal offence. Consignments from abroad are additionally subject to customs and food control rules and may be inspected and held.

Can the legal position change?

Yes. The expert committee under § 1(2) BtMG postponed in 2010; the Joint Expert Commission of the BVL and BfArM has had the subject on its agenda since March 2022. Sweden and the Czech Republic both changed their rules in 2025.

Sources

• OLG Köln, order of 11.09.2015, case nos. 1 RVs 131/15 and 1 RVs 136/15
• CJEU, judgment of 10.07.2014, joined cases C-358/13 and C-181/14
• BfArM, press release No. 09/25 of 01.07.2025
• BfR, statement No. 032/2025 of 04.09.2025
• Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods
• CBb (Netherlands), decision of 24.06.2025, ECLI:NL:CBB:2025:340
• Betäubungsmittelgesetz, schedules I–III; Neue-psychoaktive-Stoffe-Gesetz, annex

Explore further

• How to read a COA properly – what the certificate of analysis actually tells you
• Mitragynine and the other alkaloids – the botanical groundwork
• Red, green, white, gold – what the colour names mean botanically
• Our collection – nine curated specimens with documentation

This article provides legal information and is not legal advice. All items we offer are botanical specimens for collection, herbarium and research purposes and are not intended for human consumption. Sold only to persons aged 18 and over.