Is Phenibut Legal in New Zealand?
If you’ve stumbled across this post, you’re likely wondering the legality of Phenibut in New Zealand.
Whether your concerns stem from importing, consuming or even just possessing Phenibut, it’s important for you to know the legal environment. Especially since Phenibut is now banned in Australia, it’s more important than ever that you know what you are getting yourself into with Phenibut.
Especially given how powerful this supplement is.
But luckily for you, New Zealand doesn’t like to be overshadowed by the bigger country.
Nestled away near the end of the earth, this beautiful country is home to some of the most beautiful beaches and valleys in the world. As such, it’s fast becoming a popular escape among those who are simply looking to “get away”.
However, sadly, what this gorgeous country is not an escape from is Phenibut legislation.
Only here things get a little tricky. Not only is the legality not as clean cut as it’s neighbor to the northwest, how to effectively get the supplement into the country is shrouded in mystery as well.
Fortunately for you, by the time you finish this post, you will have everything you need to know regarding Phenibut legislation in New Zealand. Not only that, you will also know the best place to get Phenibut if you so choose.
But we are getting a little ahead of ourselves here.
Let’s first start with the bad news.
New Zealand’s Food Act
When you talk dietary supplement regulation in New Zealand, what you are really talking is the Food Act. This is due largely in part because dietary supplements in New Zealand can’t contain anything that would not be allowed in food.
Strange how a supplement falls under the same jurisdiction as everyday food, but in this case try to think of it as something similar to the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) back in the states.
So now that you know the role that the Food Act plays for supplements in New Zealand, lets get into what exactly this means for you.
Under the Food Act, Phenibut is considered a “novel food”. And that’s important for one major reason…
No novel foods are granted legal status unless specifically appointed by the MPI. And at this point in time, the MPI has not granted such status to Phenibut.
So as far as the Food Act goes, Phenibut is a no go.
Light at The End of the Tunnel
If you shouted “f**k” at the top of your lungs (even mentally) you are certainly not alone. Hell, that was my first reaction too. As I travel a lot for business, I find myself in Australia and New Zealand more than a few times a year. As an avid lover of Phenibut myself, I tend to play close attention to Phenibut regulations.
But there is no reason to fret just yet. What you read next will definitely surprise you.
Thanks to the savior that is the Dietary Supplement Regulation of 1985 (reprinted as of 1 March 2016), things aren’t so clear regarding the legality of Phenibut.
Specifically included in these regulations is the following clause regarding what classifies as a “dietary supplement”.
Meaning of dietary supplement
In these regulations, dietary supplement means something to which classes two to six apply.
(2)
It is an amino acid, edible substance, herb, mineral, synthetic nutrient, or vitamin.
(3)
It is sold individually or in a compound.
(4)
It is sold and administered in a controlled dosage form as a liquid, powder, or capsule (which might be classified on the label as a cachet, tablet, lozenge, or pastille instead of as a capsule).
(5)
It is intended to be taken via the mouth.
(6)
It is intended to fortify the amount of the amino acid, edible compound, herb, mineral, synthetic nutrient, or vitamin normally found in food.
As luck would have it, under this classification, Phenibut is a dietary supplement.
Now here’s the Good News….
Under the Dietary Supplement Regulation of 1985 (See Reprint 1 March 2016), Dietary Supplements in New Zealand do not have a pre-approval process. This means that it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure that each supplement is manufactured in accordance with local labeling and therapeutic claims law (Source: New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority.)
Given this classification, Phenibut would appear to be legal.
However, another important fact must be taken into consideration.
Under this same clause, it also states that “All dietary supplements fall under the Food Act 2014.” This clause simply means that all “foods” (now including dietary supplements) must be made available for sale through a registered food importer in New Zealand.
This falls under the responsibility of the manufacturer to sort out so you don’t have to worry about anything here.
However, one fact remains….
The Final Nail in the Coffin?
Unfortunately, this rabbit hole continues on…
Regarding the personal use of Phenibut, the supplement is prohibited under Schedule 1 of the Customs and excise Act. This, yet again, brings us outside the law with Phenibut.
What This Means for You
You may think that all of this is utterly confusing. Let me tell you my friend, you are certainly not alone. This long and arduous research process I went through had me pulling out my hair.
So, when you get down to it, technically the use and import of Phenibut is illegal under the Food Act.
But technical is all it is….
It turns out that the gentlemen responsible for classifying imports as legal or not are the fine young lads of New Zealand’s customs department. And, being government workers, they are not exactly “motivated” to brush up on their import law.
So when it comes to importing Pheinbut in New Zealand, the reality is that Phenbiut is deemed legal or not based on the particular customs worker’s interpretation of the law.
As you know by now, this is outrageously confusing.
That’s why you may have heard (or read) several stories where some people were successfully able to get Phenibut shipped them overseas.
Why overseas? Well it turns out that the manufacture of Phenibut in New Zealand is illegal (no wiggle room here) so all our lovely New Zealand residents have to get their fix from outside the country.
Me personally? I have a perfect record getting Phenibut in. I don’t necessarily know why, whether by luck or the supplier I use, but nonetheless I am undefeated versus the customs department.
So Where Do You Buy Your Phenibut In New Zealand?
Easy.
I have always ordered all my Phenibut from here. They ship fast and are cleared to do business internationally. But more importantly I go with them for one major reason….
When I tried to get Phenibut in Australia is was a crap shoot. And this was even before the ban.
Sometimes my shipments would get stopped at customs and sent back. Sometimes it would get held, inspected, then sent to me. Other times it went through without a hitch.
But for the times when it did get rejected, the company refunded my purchase in full and even paid for the return shipping. This was the ideal choice for me given that I didn’t know whether my shipment would get through or not.
So if you are looking for a risk free way to get Phenibut in New Zealand, check these guys out.
If it gets through, great. If it gets rejected, you get a full refund and another chance to try again. There’s no downside for you here.
Buy Phenibut in New Zealand Here
Anyway, hope this post was useful for you.