Is Phenibut legal in Singapore?

Legal status

Not a controlled drug and not a psychoactive substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973. Phenibut is named in no Part of the First Schedule. It is a poison: the Poisons Act 1938 list names "β-phenyl-γ-aminobutyric acid", which is phenibut, "4-amino-3-phenylbutanoic acid", listed by PubChem under the synonym "beta-Phenyl-gamma-aminobutyric acid" (CID 14113), and section 3(1) of that Act provides that "The substances specified in the Poisons List shall be deemed to be poisons within the meaning of this Act". The Misuse of Drugs Act's Fifth Schedule, Part 1 (Excluded Substances) names "Any poison" at item 11, and its Part 2 gives poison "the meaning given by section 2 of the Poisons Act 1938", which takes it outside the Part 2A psychoactive substance offences. Control comes from the Poisons Act 1938, not from the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Consequences if caught

Second Schedule reach: none. The Second Schedule carries 20 rows imposing "Death" and they name exactly eight terms: opium, morphine, diamorphine, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis mixture, cannabis resin and methamphetamine. Phenibut is none of those eight, is not a controlled drug, and is an excluded substance for the psychoactive substance regime, so the Misuse of Drugs Act reaches it with no penalty at all, capital or otherwise. Under section 22A a person who asserts that a substance is excluded "bears the burden of proving that assertion on a balance of probabilities". The Poisons Act 1938 governs it instead. Section 5 provides that "No person shall without a licence from a licensing officer import, possess for sale, sell or offer for sale any poison", so bringing it into Singapore without a licence is an offence; section 16(1) preserves the exemptions in sections 7 and 8, and none of them describes importing. Section 9(1) provides that no person, "whether licensed under this Act or not", shall "knowingly keep or have in his possession or under his control any poison" otherwise than in the manufacturer's unbroken package or in a receptacle "distinctly labelled with the name of the substance contained therein and bearing some distinction or mark indicating that it contains poison", and section 9(2) deems possession knowing "unless the contrary is proved by him". Section 16(1) makes any contravention punishable by "a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both", and under section 18(2) the accused bears "the burden of proving that any poison found in the possession of the accused was not kept for sale".

If prescribed or medical

Section 7 of the Poisons Act 1938 exempts a medicine supplied by a medical practitioner, dentist, veterinary surgeon or licensed pharmacist from the sale rules in section 6. No approved medicine containing phenibut was searched for, and the Health Products Act 2007 and the Medicines Act 1975 were not read. Do not rely on a foreign prescription without checking with the Health Sciences Authority before travelling.

Documentation

VERIFIED against the instrument for the question asked. Instruments: Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (Singapore), First Schedule, all three Parts, searched and absent, and Fifth Schedule, Part 1, item 11 and Part 2; Poisons Act 1938 (Singapore), sections 2, 3(1), 5, 7, 8, 9, 16(1) and 18(2) and the Poisons list entry "β-phenyl-γ-aminobutyric acid". URLs: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/MDA1973 and https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/PA1938, both fetched 3 October 2026, current version as at 03 Oct 2026. Searched this run in English, the language of the instrument, against the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 current as at 03 Oct 2026, with hyphen variants normalised because the text prints U+2011 non-breaking hyphens: "phenibut" 0 hits, "amino-3-phenyl" 0, "aminobutyr" 0; "phenylbut" 3 hits, 4-Cyano-2-dimethylamino-4,4-diphenylbutane, N-ethylbuphedrone and buphedrone, each a different molecule, rejected. In the Poisons list "phenibut" returns 0 hits and "aminobutyr" 1, the entry relied on. The Poisons list was read from its first entry, Abacavir, to its last, Zuclopenthixol, at the version current as at 03 Oct 2026. Structure: PubChem CID 14113. Fifth Schedule item 11 is enough on its own, so items 6, 9, 10, 13 and 13A were not tested. What is not established here: the position under the Health Products Act 2007 and the Medicines Act 1975, and any rules made under section 20 of the Poisons Act 1938, none of which was read.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Singapore’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.