Movement for decriminalization of Steroids
Movement for decriminalization of Steroids
Anabolic steroids are Schedule III controlled substances in the United States and are strictly regulated in some other countries. (It is perhaps worth noting that anabolic steroids are readily available without a prescription in some other countries such as Mexico, Germany, and Thailand.) However, since the U.S. Congress passed the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990, a small movement has arisen that is highly critical of current laws concerning anabolic steroids. On June 21, 2005 Real Sports aired a segment discussing the legality and prohibition of anabolic steroids in America.[61] The show featured Gary I. Wadler, M.D., chairman of the U.S. Anti- Doping Agency and a prominent anti-steroid activist. When pressed for scientific evidence by correspondent Armen Keteyian that anabolic steroids are as ‘highly fatal’ as he claims, Wadler admitted there was no evidence. Gumbel concluded the ‘hoopla’ concerning the dangers of anabolic steroids in the media was ‘all smoke and no fire.’ The show also featured John Romano, a pro-steroid activist who authors ‘The Romano Factor,’ a pro-steroid column for bodybuilding magazine Muscular Development.[62]
In July 2005 Philip Sweitzer, an Attorney and Author, published an open letter to the Members of the House Committee on Government Reform, and the Senate Committee on Commerce et al. In it he criticized lawmakers’ actions in scheduling anabolic steroids, as well as criticized their ‘disregard of scientific reality for symbolic effect.’ He also pleaded for the consideration of the decriminalization of anabolic steroids and asked for a new policy direction.[63] Several other legal reviewers have criticized controlled substance status for anabolic steroids, including lawyer Rick Collins whose book, Legal Muscle, is one of the most detailed published resources on anabolic steroids and the law. Collins opposes non-medical teen steroid use or steroid use to cheat in sports, but advocates wider discretion for physicians in the case of mature adults. In 2006 he argued at “PUMPED” a steroid seminar in Manhattan the risks associated with anabolic steroids in the media are overtly bias as well as incredibly misinformed. He also argues that anabolic steroid criminalization increases the risks associated with anabolic steroids due to impurities in the black market.[64][65] However, the U.S. government’s position since the late 1980s has been and continues to be that the risks of steroid use are ‘too great’ to allow them to be decriminalized or unregulated.
