The new federal
steroid law has been passed! On October 22, 2004, President Bush
signed into law the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004,
scheduled to take effect 90 days later. The law adds 26
compounds to the existing 1990 list of steroids that are
classified as Schedule III controlled substances. Possession of
a single andro or other prohormone tablet, for example, will be
a federal crime punishable by up to one year in jail;
distributing will be a felony punishable by up to five years in
prison for a first offense.
The 26 newly added compounds are androstanediol; androstanedione;
androstenediol; androstenedione;
bolasterone; calusterone;
*1-dihydrotestosterone (a.k.a. “1-testosterone”);
furazabol;
13b-ethyl-17a-hydroxygon-4-en-3-one; 4-hydroxytestosterone;
4-hydroxy-19-nortestosterone; mestanolone;
17a-methyl-3b,17b-dihydroxy-5a-androstane;
17a-methyl-3a,17b-dihydroxy-5a-androstane;
17a-methyl-3b,17b-dihydroxyandrost-4-ene;
17a-methyl-4-hydroxynandrolone; methyldienolone;
methyltrienolone; 17a-methyl-*1-dihydrotestosterone (a.k.a.
“17-a-methyl-1-testosterone”); norandrostenediol;
norandrostenedione; norbolethone; norclostebol; normethandrolone;
stenbolone; and
tetrahydrogestrinone. Some of these substances
have been marketed as dietary supplements. Others are actually
old pharmaceutical steroids that were missed in the original
federal law. The law permits the continued sale of DHEA as a
dietary supplement.
The law changes the required elements of an anabolic steroid.
The “promotes muscle growth” language is now removed from the
statute, simplifying the process by which a newly created
“designer” steroidal compound may be scheduled by the Attorney
General under 21 U.S.C. § 811. No longer must the Attorney
General prove that the compound is anabolic. The law also fixes
some of the mistakes in the 1990 law (although at least one new
typographical error appears). Among other quirks in the new law,
the word “isomer” has been removed from the catch-all provision,
replaced by “ether.” Instead, the law includes specific isomers
of selected compounds.
What can we expect from the new law? The politicians behind it
apparently believe that it will curtail steroid use in
athletics. While their hopes are well-intentioned, if past
experience serves, such hopes seem doubtful. The original 1990
law was pitched to the public as a solution to steroids in
sports. However, not only has steroid use by athletes continued,
but judging from the unprecedented frenzy over the issue this
past year the problem appears much bigger than ever.
Here’s what we can expect: the law will put an end to most legal
steroidal dietary supplements, leaving black market steroids as
the predominant option. Don’t be surprised if we see a dramatic
rise in the use of illegal steroids. In response, expect a newly
invigorated anti-steroid enforcement crusade by the DEA. [Even
before the President signed the new law, DEA was sounding a war
cry. “We are now focused on steroid trafficking and abuse as
never before,” warned Michele Leonhart, deputy administrator
with DEA, at an October steroids summit in Los Angeles]. Expect
individual states to review their own codes in an effort to
harmonize their steroid laws with the new federal statute. Once
new state laws are enacted, expect state and local police to
boost their enforcement efforts against steroid users. As
steroid usage is driven further underground, expect the health
risks to be compounded as fewer users than ever seek physician
monitoring. Finally, expect confusion by consumers and law
enforcement authorities alike, because not all
prohormone
products fall under the new law, nor do all conceivable anabolic
steroids.
The backers of this bill say it’s about “values.” But neither
the Declaration of Independence nor the U.S. Constitution says
anything at all about preserving the “purity” of athletes’
urine. There were alternative means to protect our teens and to
prevent sports doping without criminalizing mature,
health-conscious American consumers and bringing the War on
(Some) Drugs into health food stores. Freedom of choice and
personal liberty are the values this nation was founded upon,
and don’t let them tell you otherwise.
Suspected steroid users, most specifically adult bodybuilders,
have become prime targets for criminal investigation and arrest.
But the many thousands of dollars needed in the course of
sending federal agents across the country, of conducting
interrogations, of serving subpoenas and summonses, of convening
grand juries, and of dragging dozens of hapless bodybuilders to
testify before those grand juries is a terribly misguided
allocation of our hard-earned -- and limited -- tax dollars.
Gee, shouldn't the government be dedicating its available
resources to finding Osama?"
© 2004, Rick Collins, J.D.
