Do you live in Canada and are interested in finding out more on how to get modafinil? If so, then this is the page for you.
Canada has some pretty strict laws when it comes buying and owning prescription drugs, modafinil including. And, as is often the case with laws, there are many gray areas you’re expected to navigate successfully.
This guide was created to help you precisely with that and answers any questions you may have, including where and how to buy modafinil in Canada, whether doing so is legal, and if doing it is worth it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Use of Modafinil in Canada
Just as in the rest of the world, Canadian interest in smart drugs continues to grow. And it’s easy to understand why.
Do you know a single person who would not be interested in boosting their productivity at work? Or one student who wouldn’t want to do better with their studies after taking a single pill?
Performing on very little sleep, all while staying motivated and laser-focused, is a very hot commodity indeed and something modafinil can deliver.
Why Modafinil
There are many smart drugs in the market. But, even though cognitive enhancement is an off-label use of modafinil, few other products are as popular as it.
Whether you’re an overworked student, underappreciated professional, or anywhere in between, the boost to your cognitive abilities (1)(2) and overall advantage modafinil can give you are hard to match.
Here is a short list of effects most people taking modafinil experience (even in sleep-deprived states):
- Improved alertness
- Laser sharp focus
- Increased motivation to complete tasks or stick to goals
- Better memory and executive functions
- Improved verbal and written fluency
- Greater situational awareness
Unlike a few other popular smart drugs, modafinil is also safe and well tolerated. It has very few side effects and, according to research, no addiction or dependence potential (3)(4).
But, despite its many benefits and relative safety, modafinil use is not without its controversies.
In every western country, Canada included, modafinil is classified as a prescription drug. It’s meant to be a treatment for conditions like narcolepsy (5), sleep apnea (6) and shift work disorder (7), and little else.
As such, the law around buying and owning modafinil in Canada is quite restrictive.
Anyone looking to get modafinil while on Canadian soil technically requires to have a doctor’s prescription. Armed with one, you’re free to buy your modafinil at Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, or whatever neighborhood pharmacy is most convenient.
If, however, you don’t have a prescription and are looking to use the drug for cognitive enhancement, your choice is limited to buying modafinil online.
Getting it online is trickier and requires navigating those grey areas in the laws mentioned above. But, that’s what every Canadian resident who uses modafinil as a smart drug does. You just need to know where and how to do it (both of which will be covered shortly).
Canadian Modafinil Brand Names
If your doctor does write you a prescription for modafinil, you can pick it up at any pharmacy. Shoppers Drug Mart, London Drugs, Rexall, Superstore, they all sell it.
Canadian pharmacies sell modafinil with the brand names Alertec or Provigil. Teva Pharmaceuticals, a giant pharmaceutical company based out of Israel, makes both.
Generic Modafinil and Armodafinil in Canada
When you try to buy modafinil in Canada online, you’ll be looking at generic versions of the drug. Don’t let that put you off. Generic drugs work just as well as their brand name counterparts.
The companies which produce generics need to undergo international certification and must guarantee their products are the same as the originals from every perspective. Generic modafinil has the same chemical composition, the same required dosage, and works the same once taken.
There’s really just one significant difference between brand and generic drugs. The latter are much cheaper.
The most commonly found generic modafinil brands are listed below. Also listed is the information for armodafinil, which is a slightly stronger version of modafinil some people prefer to use.
| Manufacturer | ||
| Centurian Labs | ||
| HAB Pharmaceuticals | ||
| Healing Pharmaceuticals | ||
| Sun Pharmaceuticals | ||
| Sunrise Pharmaceuticals |
Of all the generics listed above, Modalert and Waklert are what most people use.
Is Modafinil Legal in Canada
How drugs and medications are classified in Canada is a little complicated. Countries like the US, UK, Australia, Germany, and even Mexico or Singapore make things much more straightforward.
It all begins with Health Canada. That’s the organization which first has to approve the sale of any drug in the Canadian market.
Once approved, the drug moves on to the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA). Their job is drug scheduling. Based on any number of factors, the NARPA determines whether any medicinal ingredient needs a prescription to be sold.
Once scheduling occurs, the smaller details of how drugs should be sold and distributed happen at the provincial and territorial levels.
Schedule I Drugs
The NAPRA classifies modafinil as Schedule I. All medication on that list require a doctor’s prescription to purchase.
There are over 1500 other Schedule I substances. Others including codeine, morphine, and opium.
The Sale of Schedule I Drugs
NAPRA’s responsibility is not only to determine whether a drug should be prescription or non-prescription. It’s also charged with keeping tabs on how drugs are sold and distributed.
The NAPRA keeps a database with the details of every pharmacy and pharmacist in Canada that can sell Schedule I substances. Those pharmacies then report back to NAPRA, detailing quantities of each drug sold and who they were sold to.
At the time of this writing, there were over just over 42,000 licensed pharmacists and over 11,000 pharmacies in the database. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of them are based out of either Ontario or Quebec.
If you’re not licensed, it’s illegal for you to sell modafinil on Canadian soil (which is why many online vendors set up shop in other countries where such restrictions don’t exist).
Similarly, if you don’t have a doctor’s prescription, it’s not legal for you to purchase the drug. However, that only applies to buying it, not owning it.
Possession of Controlled Substances in Canada
Canada has something called the Controlled Drug Substances Act. It includes a list of substances that anyone in Canada is prohibited from possessing. On that list are numerous Schedule I, II, and III drugs.
The act is enforced by every level of provincial and federal Canadian law enforcement, including the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
There are two caveats you should be aware of.
One, you’re only in trouble if you’re caught possessing any drug listed by the Controlled Drug Substances Act and don’t have a prescription for it.
Two, even though modafinil is classified as a Schedule I drug, the Controlled Drug Substances Act does not list it. This is what makes Canadian laws around modafinil a little muddy.
What it basically means is that, once you have it, it’s not illegal for you to own modafinil.
How to Get a Modafinil Prescription in Canada
If you want to buy modafinil in Canada legally, you have to get it prescribed. There simply is no other way. And if you’re not suffering from a condition for which modafinil prescriptions are written out, you will have to stretch the truth with your doctor to get one.
That’s not something anyone involved with this site recommends you do, nor is it necessarily an easy task.
If you choose to proceed anyway, there is one of three conditions for which modafinil is prescribed in Canada that you will have to convince your physician you’re suffering from.
Narcolepsy is the first such condition. More often than not, modafinil is used to treat it. But, unless you actually find yourself falling asleep at random time through the day (which is what narcolepsy is), it’s next to impossible to prove you have it.
The second condition is sleep apnea. It’s easy enough to talk your doctor into believing you suffer from it. The difficulty is most doctors will want you to undergo a sleep study before recommending you use modafinil. The results of any such test are difficult to manipulate.
Your final option is shift work sleep disorder. Of the three, this is by far the easiest to pretend you have.
All you need to do is convince your doctor you’ve been working long nights (whether it’s actual shift work or otherwise shouldn’t matter), and that it’s adversely affecting your sleep schedule. Then, keep your fingers crossed modafinil is prescribed.
Being dishonest with your doctor, however, is rarely a good thing. And, once again, no one on this site recommends you do it. It’s also far from being a full proof solution.
If you can’t get a modafinil prescription, your only other option to get it in Canada is to do so online.
Buying Modafinil Online in Canada
Whether you have a doctor’s prescription or not, buying modafinil online in Canada is not legal. The main reason for this is the NAPRA can’t keep tabs on online sellers as well as they can with brick-and-mortar pharmacies. Therefore, the government blanket bans all online drug sales.
Yet, somehow, just about every Canadian who uses modafinil for cognitive enhancement does get it on the internet.
Modafinil and Canadian Customs
Because it’s illegal for companies to sell modafinil online in Canada, the ones that do operate from abroad. In many (but not all) cases they will be based in countries like India or Singapore.
That means your package containing modafinil needs to cross the border. As it does, it is subject to random inspection by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
If the CBSA does find modafinil in a shipment, they will destroy it. As grim as that may sound, things are nowhere near as bad as they seem.
The first thing to keep in mind is that, as mentioned, package inspections by the CBSA are random. They simply wouldn’t be able to handle the volume otherwise. That means the odds of yours being picked are quite slim.
Also, be aware that just because modafinil is found in a package addressed to you, doesn’t mean you’re in trouble. This is especially true if the amount contained is clearly intended for personal use.
If getting law enforcement to come after someone was as easy as sending them a bit of modafinil, you can bet there would be plenty of shipments going around. Anyone from a disliked co-worker to that annoying neighbor would be a target.
So, assuming you do draw the short straw and your package is inspected and destroyed. What can you expect to happen then?
From the customs side, nothing. Your order simply vanishes, never to be heard of again.
From your side, you’re likely out the cost of your order. Unless, of course, you get your modafinil from the right source.
Where to Get Modafinil Online in Canada
Typically, when you buy modafinil online, the seller guarantees the shipment. If anything happens to it on the way, you can get a free re-ship or a full refund. That, at least, is how shipments to the rest of the world work.
Because it’s much harder to get modafinil into Canada than it is to most countries, not only are there but a small handful of sellers that will send it there, but just one guarantees the shipment.
That seller is US owned and operated BuyModa.
Most modafinil vendors fulfill their orders in Asia. Those packages are looked at with a lot more scrutiny than anything coming into Canada from the US.
By shipping from the US, BuyModa is much more successful in making sure your package arrives at your doorstep than any other store. They’re so confident in their delivery success rate that they guarantee it.
In other words, BuyModa either delivers the order to the Canadian address of your choosing, or they re-send your product for free.
If in the very unlikely event that the re-shipment also doesn’t make it through either, you get a full refund. And with quick 24/7 email and live chat support, someone is always there for you.
Besides guaranteeing Canadian orders, BuyModa happens to have some of the best modafinil prices too. They also offer several excellent deals:
- If your order comes out to over $99, you get an additional 30 pills for free
- If you pay with Bitcoin, you get 20% off your order
- If you’re a returning customer, you get 20% off your order
The three discounts above can be stacked too.
If you were to live somewhere else in the world, you’d have other vendor choices. In Canada, however, BuyModa is your best (and only guaranteed) option to buy modafinil online.
Summary
Whether you’re a sleep-deprived student, or a hard-working and overworked professional (or anyone in between), you can benefit from the many cognitive enhancement benefits modafinil brings to the table.
Unfortunately, no Canadian doctor will give you a prescription for that purpose, and every pharmacy requires one.
For off-label use, your only choice to get modafinil in Canada is to buy it online. Doing so is technically not legal, but it is the only option and how everyone does it.
As long as the amounts you get are clearly for personal use and you order from a seller guaranteeing shipments into Canada (BuyModa is currently the only such store), you can buy your modafinil as risk-free and inexpensively as it gets.
references
- Battleday RM, Brem AK. Modafinil for cognitive neuroenhancement in healthy non-sleep-deprived subjects: A systematic review. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2015 Nov; 25(11): 1865-81.
- Turner DC, et al. Cognitive enhancing effects of modafinil in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2003 Jan; 165(3): 260-9.
- Deroche-Gamonet V, et al. Study of the addictive potential of modafinil in naive and cocaine-experienced rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2002 Jun; 161(4): 387-95.
- Krishnan R, Chary KV. A rare case modafinil dependence. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2015 Jan-Mar; 6(1): 49–50.
- Vivien C Abad, Christian Guilleminault. New developments in the management of narcolepsy. Nat Sci Sleep. 2017; 9: 39–57.
- Chapman JL, et al. Modafinil/armodafinil in obstructive sleep apnoea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Respir J. 2016 May; 47(5): 1420-8.
- Milton K. Erman, et al. Modafinil for Excessive Sleepiness Associated With Chronic Shift Work Sleep Disorder: Effects on Patient Functioning and Health-Related Quality of Life. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2007; 9(3): 188–194.
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