In the United States under the orders of legislation originating from the Steroid Control Acts of 1990 and 2004 the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) a division of the United States Department of Justice is the primary force of enforcement of all drug related issues including those surrounding anabolic androgenic steroids. The mission regarding anabolic steroids as it pertains to the DEA is fairly simple but as we will see it remains far reaching. The DEA, while a U.S. based law enforcement agency stretches its arm far outside the U.S. especially when anabolic steroids are of a concern; when you compare this to recreational narcotics it is almost a bit of an anomaly.
The DEA has three points of interest, three objective goals that are quite clear and of a very simple nature when it comes to anabolic steroids. From the DEA website where steroids are discussed they list their three primary goals as follows:
The first thing many will notice is the involvement the DEA plays within the steroid world on foreign soil; while many may indeed have a problem with this and it is worthy of discussion and debate it is not our primary focus here. However, with the amount of money being spent on destroying foreign steroid rings you can easily see how serious the DEA takes steroids and steroid investigations.
As the DEA is the primary enforcer of the federal steroid laws it has done so in a very interesting manner that is often ignored and rarely spoken of today. When the original Steroid Control Act was passed the DEA along with four other national entities of health and drug related protocol vehemently opposed the scheduling of anabolic steroids in any way stating there was no viable medical reason to classify them as such; as it pertains to the DEA, since there was again no evidence of severe physical or mental damage even when abused and dependency was not a factor there was no reason to schedule the substances. While the DEA remained firm in its stance along with such entities as the AMA and FDA all testimonies were ignored and considered of very little consequence.
This is of a worthy interesting note as since that time the DEA has begun to take a very different stance on the issue of anabolic steroids. Although they originally disagreed with the legislation they are entrusted with enforcing it regardless and as enforcement is mandatory the supposed opinion has changed; be it by their own free will or a harshly persuaded means of change is unclear; more than likely it is a mixture of both.
In December of 2005, the DEA completed and enforced the largest steroid bust in U.S. history called Operation Gear Grinder; a 21 month long investigation that led to the downfall of eight prominent anabolic steroid manufactures as well as distributors. While we can argue all day long on the legitimacy of such enforcement in the end as the old saying goes they were simply doing their job; they were enforcing the law based on the legislation passed by congress and dealt to them; however, it was in their statements that lead to the most disturbing factors.
In regards to Operation Gear Grinder the DEA stated Steroid traffickers market their product by luring young people with promises of enhanced performance and appearance, and according to the official statement by DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy but what they dont say is the illicit use of these harmful drugs can destroy the very bodies that they are supposed to improve. Drug traffickers prey on the belief that steroids enhance ability, but steroids only rob that ability, as we have seen so often from the affected lives of too many youth and professional athletes.
The obvious question is twofold; why is this important and wherein lies the basis for the statement? We have a law enforcement agency that opposed scheduling anabolic steroids based on the opposite of the above statement and since that time every study based on neutrality has supported the opposite of above such claims. One only need to look at the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) or the writings and findings of Dr. Norm Foss to see the misguided nature of such DEA statements or simply look at the history of use and its positive versus negative effects in athletes over the course of the last one-hundred years.
From the DEA website page displaying the dangers of anabolic steroids three distinct statements are found that contradict both logic and reason backed by nothing; raising the question, how much truth does a statement hold without backing validity?
The drugs are commonly injected, resulting in a risk of transmission of HIV among needle sharers.
Ask any performance enhancer if he shares a needle and he will emphatically state no; while there may indeed be an idiot here or there this is not a factor of the anabolic steroid world. Since the inception and enforcement of the Steroid Control Act(s) the federal government has done all it could to insinuate anabolic steroid users lived in the same light as heroin addicts. Make no mistake, factual data has shown there is no physical addiction or dependency derived from the use of anabolic steroids; even the DEA has stated this, only to change its position on the basis of force by congress and the Justice Department.
Anabolic steroid use increases risk of heart disease, liver cancer, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, stunted growth, eating disorders, and increased hostility and aggression.
It is true, like all medications anabolic androgenic steroids do carry with them the possibility of negative and adverse side-effects. It is important to keep in mind possible side-effects do not mean guaranteed, they simply mean possible and study after study has shown that through responsible use in healthy adult men side-effects are of little to no concern.
Roid rage, outbursts of anger and violence, may result among users of any age.
An often smoking gun used by law enforcement as one of the top factors insinuated by congress Roid Rage as it is commonly known has been proven to be scientifically false; in-fact, in a ten week study of high dose steroid therapy the NEJM determined the differentials in behavior while on anabolic steroids were insignificant. An often smoking gun used by law enforcement as one of the top factors insinuated by congress Roid Rage as it is commonly known has been proven to be scientifically false; in-fact, in a ten week study of high dose steroid therapy the NEJM determined the differentials in behavior while on anabolic steroids were insignificant.
When it comes to the DEA and anabolic steroids we have today the modern equivalent of the prohibition officer; an officer bound by the law of the land based on a law borne of emotion rather than fact. As emotion often runs with more power than any other aspect of human thought the fire the DEA holds against the feet of anabolic steroids continues to burn higher and brighter, inflicting a burning pain on a potential six-million U.S. adult citizens who supplement with anabolic steroids.
