Hamad relates an incident in which he visits Bahrain and buys some protein powder, because it's so much less expensive there than in Saudi Arabia. Apparently supplements are not only cheaper in Bahrain but it is also illegal to bring them back with you into Saudi Arabia.
I've seen this before, and not in Saudi Arabia, either. Last September I was working with some Norwegian colleagues, two of whom were bodybuilders. Within an hour of their arrival, they asked me where they could find a GNC. It wasn't just that they wanted supplements during their stay in El Paso: they wanted to bring quality protein supplements back with them to Norway. The stuff is expensive over there, it seems, but it's legal to bring in a certain amount for personal use. These guys didn't care about any kind of fancy stuff or flavor of the month supplement. Nope, just high-quality protein powders, bars, and pills. I understand that in many European countries it's illegal to purchase DHEA without a prescription.
Not that we don't have the same kind of thing here. Not only are steroids controlled substances, but androstenedione and other prohormones are actually banned. DHEA may be next. And there are supplements such as Methyl 1-P and Superdrol which the FDA has decided to treat as steroids. They're to be banned, too (some dealers no longer carry them). And remember ephedra?
I don't use any sort of ephedra product and I never have, but for a while there, I couldn't have even if I'd wanted to: it was illegal. I sympathize with Hamad, and of course I'm glad that I can purchase any sort of protein powder or amino acid tablets I care to spend my money on. And I've never crossed the river into Juarez and smuggled back any Dianabol or anything like that. I have to wonder how many guys do, though. Or just get a shot of Sustanon before returning to the US.
I guess that, like Hamad, I'm a pissed off bodybuilder, too.