Peptide laws in Canada
Last updated: October 3, 2026 · 5 min read · By the Grey Peptides Editorial Board
- Health Canada says injectable peptides are regulated as prescription drugs, and that selling unauthorized health products is illegal.
- It has seized unauthorized injectable peptides, including BPC-157 and MOTS-c, from online sellers, a wellness centre and a gym.
- Approved peptide drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide are authorised and prescription-only; most research peptides have no authorised product.
- Statuses were read from Health Canada's advisories and Drug Product Database on October 3, 2026.
How Canada regulates peptides
In Canada, drugs are authorised by Health Canada under the Food and Drugs Act, and an authorised product appears in the Drug Product Database with an identification number. Health Canada's public advisories on peptides set out its position plainly: peptide drugs affect the body's functions, injectable peptides are regulated as prescription drugs in Canada, and selling unauthorized drugs is illegal 1. Several advisories phrase it as most synthetic injectable peptides being regulated as prescription drugs that require a prescription from a licensed health care professional 1.
Which peptide drugs are authorised
Our regulatory tracker checks each peptide against Health Canada's Drug Product Database. The table below is generated from that tracker, so it changes when the tracker does.
| Peptide | Status | What the register shows |
|---|---|---|
| Semaglutide | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: OZEMPIC, RYBELSUS, SEMAGLUTIDE INJECTION, WEGOVY. |
| Tirzepatide | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: MOUNJARO, MOUNJARO KWIKPEN, ZEPBOUND. |
| Liraglutide | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: SAXENDA, VICTOZA. |
| Dulaglutide | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: TRULICITY. |
| Exenatide | Authorised in the past; all products cancelled | Products in the Drug Product Database, all cancelled. |
| Somatropin | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: GENOTROPIN, OMNITROPE, SAIZEN, SEROSTIM. |
| Teriparatide | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: APO-TERIPARATIDE INJECTION, OSNUVO, TEVA-TERIPARATIDE INJECTION, YORVIPATH. |
| Octreotide | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: OCTREOTIDE ACETATE OMEGA, OCTREOTIDE DEPOT, OCTREOTIDE INJECTION, SANDOSTATIN, SANDOSTATIN LAR. |
| Leuprolide | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: ELIGARD, LUPRON DEPOT, ZEULIDE DEPOT. |
| Tesamorelin | Authorised in the past; all products cancelled | Products in the Drug Product Database, all cancelled. |
| IGF-1 (mecasermin) | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: INCRELEX. |
| hCG | Authorised and marketed | Authorised and marketed in Canada: CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN FOR INJECTION, USP, CHORULON, OVIDREL, P.G. 600, P.G. 600 - 5D. |
The other 32 peptides in our regulatory tracker had no authorised product in the same source when read (latest read 2026-10-03): BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTS-c, Emideltide (DSIP), Semax, Epitalon, GHK-Cu (injectable), Melanotan II, Cathelicidin (LL-37), Dihexa, PEG-MGF, Orforglipron, Bremelanotide (PT-141), SS-31 (elamipretide), Retatrutide, CagriSema, Survodutide, Selank, Noopept, Cerebrolysin, Thymosin α-1, Thymopentin, GHRP-2 (pralmorelin), CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, Sermorelin, GHRP-6, Hexarelin, MK-677 (ibutamoren), AOD-9604, Tesofensine. Our Legal Status Checker shows each one with its source link.
Health Canada's advisories add that semaglutide is available by prescription only in Canada, as an injection or an oral tablet 1.
Enforcement against unauthorized peptides
Health Canada has issued a series of public advisories about unauthorized injectable peptides. They describe seizures from online sellers, from a wellness centre where people were given injections, and from a gym that also sold online; products named across these advisories include BPC-157, MOTS-c and blends combining BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu and KPV 1. In each case it asked or ordered the company to stop advertising and selling unauthorized health products, and in one it said it was working with the Canada Border Services Agency to help prevent their importation 1. One advisory about a pharmacy's unauthorized injectables described a recall of injectable glutathione after reports of endotoxin poisoning, which Health Canada's testing confirmed 1.
We do not name the companies here; the advisories are on Health Canada's recalls and safety alerts site. What matters for readers is the pattern: Canada treats unauthorized injectable peptides as illegal drugs to sell, whether the seller is a website, a clinic or a gym.
What 'research use only' means in Canada
Many sellers label peptides 'for research use only, not for human consumption'. Health Canada's advisories treat the products themselves as unauthorized drugs when they are injectable peptides offered to the public, and its advice to consumers is direct: do not buy or use unauthorized drugs, only buy prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies, and read labels to confirm a product has been authorized for sale 1. Our guide to what 'research use only' means covers the same question in the US.
Importing and travelling
Health Canada works with the Canada Border Services Agency to stop unauthorized health products at the border 1. For travel with a prescribed medicine, carrying it in its labelled original packaging with the prescription is the safe default; our travel guide covers airport security and storage. Rules for bringing medicines into Canada are set by Health Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency, and are worth checking directly before a trip.
If you have used an unauthorized peptide
Health Canada advises anyone who has used an unauthorized injectable peptide and has health concerns to consult a physician, nurse practitioner or pharmacist, and to report side effects or complaints about health products to Health Canada 1. Our guide to injection-site reactions covers warning signs.
Sport
Athletes in Canada follow the WADA Prohibited List through the national anti-doping programme. BPC-157 is prohibited under S0, and growth hormone secretagogues such as ipamorelin and CJC-1295 are named under S2.2.4 2. Our WADA hub lists each peptide.
Questions to check
- Does the product have a Drug Identification Number in Health Canada's Drug Product Database?
- Is it supplied by a licensed pharmacy on a prescription?
- Has Health Canada issued an advisory about the product or seller?
- Am I subject to anti-doping rules?
The bottom line
In Canada, injectable peptides are prescription drugs, and selling unauthorized ones is illegal, whatever the label says. Health Canada has seized them from websites, a clinic and a gym. Approved peptides such as semaglutide and tirzepatide are available on prescription; most research peptides have no authorised product at all.
Frequently asked questions
Are peptides legal in Canada?
Authorised peptide drugs are legal on prescription. Health Canada says injectable peptides are regulated as prescription drugs and that selling unauthorized ones is illegal.
Is BPC-157 legal in Canada?
It has no authorised product in Health Canada's Drug Product Database, and Health Canada has seized it as an unauthorized injectable peptide drug.
Does 'research use only' make peptides legal in Canada?
Health Canada has treated injectable peptides sold this way as unauthorized drugs and advises consumers not to buy or use them.
Is semaglutide prescription-only in Canada?
Yes. Health Canada says semaglutide is available by prescription only, as an injection or oral tablet.
Related on Grey Peptides
Sources
- Health Canada. Public advisories on unauthorized injectable peptide drugs (seizures from online sellers, a Calgary wellness centre and a Vancouver gym; a pharmacy recall for endotoxin), Recalls and Safety Alerts database. Read October 3, 2026.
- Grey Peptides regulatory tracker (Canada: Health Canada Drug Product Database, read October 3, 2026) and WADA hub (2026 Prohibited List). Read October 3, 2026.
Educational information, not medical advice. Each dose in this guide names its source, an approved label or a published study. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose.
New guides and rule changes, by email
One short email when a peptide's legal status moves — an FDA or PCAC decision, a WADA list change, an enforcement action — plus new guides and tools. At most one a week, and none when nothing changes. The newsletter has not started sending yet: your first email will be its first issue.
We keep your email address and the page you signed up from, nothing else. How it works · Privacy · RSS instead