LA takes aim at phenibut, an unregulated 'gas station drug' that is growing in popularity

Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times on Aug 25, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is looking to regulate another "gas station drug" on commercial shelves.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the L.A. City Council instructed the City Attorney to draft new regulations for phenibut, a Cold War-era drug that is said to have been used by Soviet cosmonauts, but abused now as a central nervous system depressant.

Regulations will include restricting sales to people under 21, banning sales near schools and daycare centers and the creation of labels warning against its use, according to the motion.

The full council must vote again on ordinance language before the regulations become law.

"Phenibut is a powerful, unregulated substance that has been sold openly to kids at gas stations and convenience stores across our city, with no age restrictions and little warning of its risks. That ends now," said Councilmember Heather Hutt, who authored the motion.

Nina Paquette, a Marlborough High School senior, brought the existence of the drug and its dangers to Hutt's attention.

"The drug is often marketed directly to children, who are able to purchase it easily without any age restrictions," Hutt said. "Our young people are at extreme risk of developing a severe dependence on this easily accessible substance."

Phenibut is not federally regulated and cannot be legally sold as a dietary supplement. Despite that, Hutt said, it's easily available in L.A. convenience stores.

Paquette, a former intern for state Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena), said phenibut pills are often marketed as "smart drugs" or "brain boosters" on social media.

"Teenagers can buy it at gas stations with no idea it can cause addiction, seizures, hallucinations, psychosis and coma," Paquette said.

In Russia, phenibut is a prescription drug used to treat anxiety, insomnia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments. It functions much like Valium or Xanax by depressing the central nervous system, and has been banned in several countries and Utah.

According to some studies, phenibut can be addictive and cause withdrawal symptoms. Studies looking into poison control reports found it can lead to trouble breathing, coma or death. Researchers warn that it is an up-and-coming drug that western medicine knows little about.

It's not the first time an unregulated gas station drug has come under fire in L.A.

The Southeast Asian plant kratom and its alternate powerful synthetic alkaloid 7-OH, another drug that escaped federal regulation for years and regularly sold in gas stations and smoke shops, was linked to six overdose deaths across L.A. County last year.

Kratom was temporarily deemed a scheduled substance by the FDA and has been pulled from shelves across California, according to Governor Gavin Newsom.