AS act of 2004

[Mudge]

For Immediate Release
March 1, 2004



Berman Introduces Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Howard L. Berman, House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wisc.), Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr (D-Mich), Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-NY), and Rep. Tom Osborne (R-Neb.) today introduced the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 which would update the list of illegal dangerous substances being marketed as performance ???enhancers??? and increase the penalties for those who traffic these substances within 1,000 feet of a sports facility.

Recently, the problem of steroid abuse has gotten new attention because there are indications that high profile athletes in professional sports have widely used steroids. Currently, criminal investigations are active in this area. I am hopeful that these criminal investigations will draw attention to the perils of steroid use and discourage the use of steroids in the next generation of athletes.

Sadly, the almost irresistible lure of easy stardom and fast money glamorizes and encourages use of these substances in professional sports. Steroids can seem necessary to compete at the highest levels, and the quick rewards can outweigh the long term consequences to the user???s health. Unfortunately, this ???throw away your future??? message is reaching down to college and high school athletes. Some evidence suggests it is even starting to trickle down to the middle schools. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated in 1999 that 2.7% of 8th and 10th graders and 2.9% of 12th graders had taken anabolic steroids at least once in their lives.

As quickly as we can outlaw one of these substances, the ugly profiteers and phony dream merchants who traffic in these substances have concocted new substances that are not illegal substances but which provide the same effects. I and my colleagues want to protect our young athletes and encourage them to rely on their own abilities rather than on artificial substances. As a result, we must continuously monitor the substances that are being offered to enhance performance.


The legislation introduced today is a product of hard work and cooperation with Reps. Sensenbrenner, Conyers, Sweeney, and Osborne and is a first step in that effort. It updates the list of illegal dangerous substances being marketed as performance ???enhancers??? and increases the potential penalties for those who traffic them within 1000 feet of a sports facility. It will send a clear message to those who would seek to exploit athletes: get out of the sports world now or go to jail.

 

[PreMier]

Soo... Whats the "new" substances on the list look like?

 

[Power Rabbit]

ya saw this on SM last night.


Im pretty sure this is the thing that will ban PH's...im fairly certain 1-t, 1ad, 4ad etc etc will soon become illeagal...

 

[PreMier]

I hope not. But if so, I will be stockpiling them for when I want to start using them lol

 

[ZECH]

Originally posted by Power Rabbit
ya saw this on SM last night.


Im pretty sure this is the thing that will ban PH's...im fairly certain 1-t, 1ad, 4ad etc etc will soon become illeagal...

If Pat Arnold gets his way, 1ad and 4/ad will be the only thing that doesn't get banned. (And I love 4/ad)

 

[SJ69]

Just what we need, a bunch of bozos in Washington looking out for our safety, cause we're to stupid and must rely on the gov't to make decisions for us.
Anyone read Animal Farm?

 

[PreMier]

Animal farm was a good book. Dont remember much of it, because I read it so long ago.

 

[tryintogetbig]

animal farm, that was one of the books i actually read in school

 

[Arnold]

Originally posted by dg806
If Pat Arnold gets his way, 1ad and 4/ad will be the only thing that doesn't get banned. (And I love 4/ad)

guess that is better than nothing.

 

[esm1129]

Here's an update as of 3/11 FYI

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON - The government will crack down on the steroid-like supplement made famous by baseball's Mark McGwire, telling companies Thursday to quit selling androstenedione unless they can prove it's not dangerous.

Commonly called andro, the product is a steroid precursor ??? the body uses it to make testosterone.


That means it poses the same health risks as directly using an anabolic steroid, the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) is expected to say in warnings telling 23 manufacturers to cease their production.


Anabolic steroids, which build muscle, are controlled substances. But andro ??? because it is a precursor, not the steroid itself ??? has long been marketed as a dietary supplement, selling over the counter. U.S. law lets dietary supplements sell with little oversight to ensure they're safe.


But the FDA is citing a seldom-used provision of that law that defines as a dietary supplement natural ingredients that were on the market before 1994 ??? and says manufacturers must prove that any new ingredients are safe before selling them as supplements.


Andro wasn't on the market in 1994 and thus its makers failed to follow the law's safety provision, said a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (news - web sites).


The FDA expects its action to at least temporarily halt andro sales. Meanwhile, Congress is considering legislation sponsored by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., that would permanently end over-the-counter sales of andro, as well as a new steroid named THG, and subject them to the same prescription restrictions as apply to anabolic steroids.


Andro's use skyrocketed after McGwire said he used it in 1998, the year he hit a record-setting 70 home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals. He has said he later quit the supplements.


Medical studies show andro does raise testosterone above normal levels. Side effects of elevated testosterone include acne, baldness, and a drop in the so-called good cholesterol that could lead to heart disease.


Critics are especially concerned about andro's effects if taken by children while they're undergoing puberty.

 

[RCfootball87]

Originally posted by Mudge
Sadly, the almost irresistible lure of easy stardom and fast money glamorizes and encourages use of these substances in professional sports.

Easy stardom, give me a break. All the steroids in the world will not turn a couch potatoe weakling into Bill Romanowski or Ben Johnson. I love the point about animal farm. "1. No animal shall consume thing that hurt them- unless those substances can be heavily taxed....."

 

[Mudge]

Re: Re: AS act of 2004

Originally posted by RCfootball87
All the steroids in the world will not turn a couch potatoe weakling into Bill Romanowski or Ben Johnson.

Fact.

 

[willus72]

well if they make the ph's illegal what would be the purpose of them any more. everyone would just use the real stuff. so in the end there gonna have the same problem they started with except all the people that didnt want to break the law will be breaking it now. whatever, its not like the first law stopped anyone, lol

 

[Just a guy]

ohh lord.. The whole world is going to be juiced... heh

 

[PreMier]

Ban andro?!?! I cant believe this shit....

 

[kbm8795]

I do have a question about this stuff, ya'll.....I only take a few supplements, but ti seems like almost everything I look at has never been tested or approved by the FDA..like it usually is pretty explicit on the label.

Is there a reason a lot of these things aren't approved? I've heard that sometimes it's the FDA that won't test the product, and other times a company won't send it to be approved because the regulations involving ingredients don't require approval for the market. I'm just wondering if this is..well, like a train that could get way out of control - you know, banning everything that isn't..well, like broccoli-based or something.

 

[Power Rabbit]

If anything...that will be the main arguement against it...Im sure the big players fighting it are argueing that we have the right and freedom to choose what we put in our body

 

[Pittbull7]

Just another knee jerk reaction to the baseball issue

 

[Mudge]

Originally posted by kbm8795
I do have a question about this stuff, ya'll.....I only take a few supplements, but ti seems like almost everything I look at has never been tested or approved by the FDA..like it usually is pretty explicit on the label.

Because they are marketed as SUPPLEMENTS not DRUGS and not FOOD.

Now if the manufacturer of the item makes drug like claims the FDA can step in and pull it off the shelves, and start testing it until it becomes a prescription DRUG.

 

[camarosuper6]

Critics are especially concerned about andro's effects if taken by children while they're undergoing puberty.

Well then make them show ID you bunch of morons. Parents are worried about their kids getting their hands on alochol and tobacco, but that SUREEEEEE doesnt stop the parents from getting them.


People are absofuqinnlootly stooppid!

 

[Mudge]

Well its a shame that the only way to get rid of something is to not make it at all (prohibition), then again someone will always make it, it just makes it more expensive and harder to obtain.

Parents aren't concerned enough about alcohol or "smokes" enough to be lobbying heavily to get rid of them, a few groups but certainly not the majority of the populus.