Barbituric acid
Listed in the Consolidated Schedules as “Barbituric acid and its derivatives”
Background
Listing
- Schedules
- Schedule 5, conditions apply
- Exceptions reach
- Schedule 3
- Cross-referenced to
- Schedule 6
- Source
- Consolidated Schedules 06 July 2026
Registered medicines
The ingredient index links no registered medicine to Barbituric acid (register of 13 September 2026).
Counted through the register's ingredient index, which does not reach every record.
Regulatory status
Where S5 sits on the scale
Prescription-only, with tighter controls on repeats.
Schedule 5 medicines need a prescription, and repeat dispensing is capped at six months in total; the prescriber must state upfront how many times, and at what intervals, it may be repeated. Extra limits apply to some uses: if it is being used for its anxiolytic, antidepressant, tranquillising or analgesic properties, it cannot be prescribed for longer than six months without a further consultation. Its price, name, pack size and strength can still be told to the public, as long as nothing links it to what it treats.
Schedule S5, as the Consolidated Schedules list it.
Who may supply: A pharmacist dispensing against a written or verbal prescription from an authorised prescriber; a veterinarian, who may also prescribe, compound or dispense it directly; a medical practitioner or dentist, who may prescribe it and may compound or dispense it directly only if licensed under section 22C(1)(a); manufacturers and wholesalers may supply people who may lawfully possess it.
Consolidated Schedules listings for Barbituric acid
S5: Barbituric acid
- except unless listed in another Schedule, excluding- amobarbital, cyclobarbital, pentobarbital and secobarbital (S6), and preparations and mixtures containing not more than 90 milligrams of phenobarbital** per minimum recommended or prescribed dose when intended for continued use in epilepsy. (S3)
Consolidated Schedules 06 July 2026, lines 9230 to 9233
This is an informational summary of the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 and its 2017 General Regulations. It is not medical advice and not legal advice. Always check the medicine's label, which carries the schedule number inside a square border, or ask a pharmacist if you are unsure.