nitetrak said:
bamagirl26 said:
nitetrak said:
PurpleSage said:
nitetrak said:
PurpleSage said:
That is a frightening overreach, and I am truly sorry to read this.
How exactly is customs overstepping when it's enforcing a law that falls under its own jurisdiction?
Anyone who orders peps without the correct documentation is doing precisely this.
Thinking about it more, complaining about this is like calling it overreach when someone loses their driver's license after a DUI. Moving goods across borders without a license or Rx is against the law, and not knowing the law doesn't get you off the hook.
Your comparison to DUI makes sense to me. What I hadn't realized was that "not FDA approved" could also carry the meaning "illegal". I'll keep looking into the gray area and adjust my choices based on what I find.
The real problem here isn't really that something is "not FDA approved"... Any pep that does carry FDA approval sits on a controlled schedule. Don't mix that up with the serious stuff — every prescription item, even something small like an antibiotic, falls under US control and needs either a script or the kind of paperwork that medical businesses are required to hold.
The same rule covers carrying peps or meds into or out of the US, whether you fly or drive over the border.
If you get searched, the customs agent will go through your meds and MAY bring up the question of a prescription.
They do have the discretion to look the other way when everything appears legitimate and the amount stays under a 90 day supply, since they seem reluctant to strip someone of necessary medication right in front of them — but they are legally allowed to do it, because it is a law.
In Austrailia, medications have to be declared. Skip that box, get searched, and they can take the meds and fine you regardless of whether there's an Rx. I watched exactly that play out on a customs docu-tv show.
So your GE can be pulled over something as minor as ordering antibiotics or high mg tylenol from another country, or crossing the border with them and no proper paperwork. A lot rides on whether the customs officer happens to feel sorry for you.
Most people never read what we call the fine print, or the laws, before they unknowingly commit their crimes — no matter how petty they look, a law is still being broken.
Would bringing your lyophilized research experiment across a border land you in legal trouble? On that border show I watch, folks are constantly getting detained over seriously illegal drugs, but I figure they wouldn't be too pleased to find white powder inside vials—whether it's research or not.
The core problem is bringing items in without the right documents.
Traveling with it isn't what's illegal — bringing it in without correct documentation is.
Calling it "for research use only" won't protect you; that phrase carries no legal weight whatsoever.
Purchasing research grade pharmaceuticals without the necessary paperwork is not permitted.
Domestic travel raises no problems.
If you cross an international border carrying any medication, you are importing it into that country, and their laws apply — whether you ship it, carry it as a plane passenger, or drive or walk across a border.
Nearly every country controls the import of both prescription and non-prescription drugs; peptides appear on a "scheduled" list and need an Rx or some form of medical documentation.
Whether to enforce the law rests with the customs officer's discretion. Many of them, I believe, hesitate to take away "required" medication from travelers, yet the laws remain on the books.
Upon entering Australia you must declare it on the form, otherwise they may confiscate it, fine you and/or deny entry if customs searches you, Rx or not. At the very least they will try to frighten you with their options should they choose to permit it.
Why would anyone assume it won't be seized while traveling with you, when seizures happen constantly during shipping? Importing in person and importing by shipping are no different. No paperwork, no joy.
...and naturally, ignorance of the law is no excuse.