Are Nootropics Legal?
The legality of Nootropics is often a confusing one. Since it affects how human brain works and process, the question of whether it is a legal substance or not is common among the Nootropics online community. There are virtually hundreds of these smart drugs or cognitive enhancers currently available that promise benefits such as enhancing cognition, alertness, mood and memory. Certainly, if a specific substance alter our cognitive processes, one will have a good reason to be suspicious about its legal implications.
History of Nootropics
Nootropics is a term coined by Romanian biochemist, Dr. Corneliu Giurgea, the man behind the development of Piracetam, the first synthesized smart drug, in 1964. Back then he was working for a Belgium-based international pharmaceutical company called UCB. Dr. Giurgea was astounded at Piracetam’s cognitive enhancing properties, he then refer to these kinds of substances as Nootropic. In addition, for compounds and substances to be characterized as Nootropics, he set the abilities and standards for them. According to Dr. Giurgea, the properties of Nootropics should include the following:
- Improves learning abilities and memory functions.
- Capability to protect human brains from injury.
- It’s not toxic and have no side effects that can harm an individual.
- Ability to protect learned abilities and encoded memories against the conditions that affect them adversely.
- It does not have psychotropic effects of any kind.
So is it legal?
If we are to base on the standards above, it is safe to say that Nootropics should therefore be legal if it will follow and measure up to the standards set forth by Dr. Giurgea. But, there are distributors and manufacturers who used the term indiscriminately to refer stimulants, amphetamines and any other type of substances and compounds that are potentially toxic, have a high probability for abuse and very harmful.
As most of us know, each country has its own sets of laws and the definition of Nootropic varies from country to country as well. Furthermore, there are regulatory agencies in a country which do not even use the term Nootropic.
Here at Nootrostax, we define these cognitive enhancing drugs as specialized compounds which include various vitamins, minerals and amino acids designed to improve cognitive function and mental performance. There are also smart drugs like Modafinil, Adderall and Ritalin which are stimulants used in treating narcolepsy, ADHD and other medical conditions which usually requires a doctor’s prescription to obtain.
Nootropic’s legality in numerous countries like the UK fall in what we can call a gray area. In the US, selling Nootropics are not as restricted and most are sold legally as dietary supplements. An individual can purchase or possess Nootrostax Smart without requiring a prescription. While there are Nootropics that may be legal in some countries, customs mays sometimes decide that they are not fit for import. There are times when small quantities are allowed for import as long as it is intended for personal use.
In conclusion, the legality of Nootropics is highly dependent on your country of origin, even in free trade zones or unions like the EU. In countries like the UAE, a lot of medications for ADHD are illegal and in Australia they consider Piracetam as poisonous. If you’re planning on ordering Nootropics online, make sure to do your research regarding your custom’s food and drugs policy.