The Austrian New Psychoactive Substances Act, known in German as the Neue-Psychoaktive-Substanzen-Gesetz or NPSG, has regulated synthetic “legal highs” and research chemicals since January 2012. It bans the production, import, export, and distribution of substances belonging to listed chemical families when done for profit or for human consumption, with prison sentences of up to two years, or one to ten years if someone is seriously injured or dies. Personal possession is not a criminal offense under the NPSG, though the substance itself can still be seized.
What the Law Covers
The NPSG does not list banned drugs one molecule at a time. Its Annex groups substances by their core chemical structure, so an entire class of related compounds is covered regardless of small molecular variations. The listed groups include synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and phenethylamines, among others.1Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes. Austrian New Psychoactive Substances Act The Austrian Minister for Health can add new chemical families by regulation, without waiting for a parliamentary amendment.2UNODC. Specific NPS Legislation for Austria – Details
A substance falls under the Act if it has the capacity to alter consciousness or perception by acting on the central nervous system.1Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes. Austrian New Psychoactive Substances Act It must also be likely to be misused by parts of the population and pose a potential threat to consumer health.3European Union Drugs Agency. Legal Approaches to Controlling New Psychoactive Substances The focus is on what the substance does to the body. Marketing it as plant food, bath salts, incense, or a research chemical, or stamping it with a “not for human consumption” disclaimer, does not take it outside the law.
What Is Prohibited and What Is Not
The NPSG targets the supply side. It prohibits producing, importing, exporting, and distributing substances that belong to the listed chemical groups.1Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes. Austrian New Psychoactive Substances Act Those prohibitions apply when the person involved intends to profit from the transaction or intends the substance to be consumed for its psychoactive effects.3European Union Drugs Agency. Legal Approaches to Controlling New Psychoactive Substances Transferring the substance to another person is restricted whether or not money changes hands.
Acquiring or possessing a new psychoactive substance for personal use is deliberately left outside criminal liability. This is the main structural difference from Austria’s Narcotic Drugs Act (Suchtmittelgesetz, SMG), under which simple possession of a scheduled narcotic can lead to up to six months in prison, and possession above a threshold quantity can bring up to three years.
The personal-use exemption is narrower than it sounds. It protects you from prosecution, not from losing the substance itself.
Penalties
The penalties under the NPSG rise with the severity of the conduct and its consequences.
- Producing or distributing a listed substance with intent to profit: up to two years in prison.3European Union Drugs Agency. Legal Approaches to Controlling New Psychoactive Substances
- Distribution that causes serious bodily injury or death: between one and ten years in prison.
- Lower-level infractions without clear profit motive or large-scale distribution: handled as administrative violations, with fines that can reach several thousand euros.
Across the board, the NPSG’s criminal penalties are lighter than those the SMG imposes for comparable conduct involving scheduled narcotics.
Seizure Even Without Criminal Charges
Austrian authorities can seize new psychoactive substances even when no prosecution follows. If police encounter a substance matching a listed chemical group, they can confiscate it, document it, and schedule it for destruction. The forfeiture functions as a public health measure, keeping the material out of circulation regardless of whether the person holding it faces any charge.
When a Substance Moves to the Narcotic Drugs Act
The NPSG acts as a holding regime for emerging compounds. Once enough evidence shows that a substance poses risks comparable to established narcotics, the Federal Ministry of Health can classify it as equivalent to narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, moving it under the SMG.4Gesundheit Österreich GmbH. 2017 Report on the Drug Situation At that point the lighter NPSG framework no longer applies. Personal possession becomes a criminal offense, and the full range of narcotics penalties attaches to the substance.
Research and Industrial Exemptions
Not every handling of a listed substance is prohibited. The NPSG exempts legitimate scientific research, industrial processing, and certain commercial activities involving these compounds, which is what allows pharmaceutical researchers and forensic laboratories to study them at all. The conditions and notification requirements are set out in the Act itself, and the specific obligations can vary with the nature and scale of the activity, so entities working with listed substances should confirm their requirements with the relevant Austrian health authorities before proceeding.