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Anabolic Steroids and Drug Prohibition 

Anabolic steroids are a tricky subject.

On the one hand, they're illegal, and most of you have been told your entire lives that these drugs are harmful if not deadly, that they have no value, and only cheaters would use them.

Like it or not, you've been lied to. About the drugs and what they do, about who uses them, about realistic effects (desirable or otherwise).

You've been lied to by a largely uneducated legislature that has given in to the demands of sport.

This has many obvious issues with the foundation of America itself, in the concept of individual liberty so long as it does not infringe on the rights of another.   

The recent events surrounding the death of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, and the recently-completed DEA drug raid, "Operation Raw Deal", have prompted me to write what will likely be an on-going series of columns on this particular topic.

First and foremost is the legality of this so-called "War on Drugs" to begin with. While it has been justified at the highest levels, and by those with seemingly good intentions, the letter of the law is being using to violate its spirit.

From the issue of states' rights, which are thrown out by drug laws with no Constitutional authority, to 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, the War on Drugs has been an unquestionable war on the American people.

Even the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s required a Constitutional amendment. These days, the DEA operates as a modern Gestapo, in some cases raiding the homes and businesses of those operating under legitimate state law. Although this has bogglingly been rendered legal by the Supreme Court, such blatant disregard for the Federal system and the Constitutional delegation of powers far beyond troubling. 

Secondly, when AAS were scheduled by the Anabolic Control Act of 1990, the AMA, DEA, FDA, and NIDA all opposed this on the grounds that AAS don't meet the criteria.

Thirdly, there is the matter of relevance as criminality. With the events of the world as they stand today, with an unchecked war raging in Iraq, energy problems, and various other pressing social and economic matters, the government is investing considerable time and money to stop people from getting high or trying to look a little better. Further, statistics show that for all their efforts, the impact on illicit drug use has been virtually unchanged since the 1970s. 

Fourth and perhaps most damning, the medical research in itself, the only hard data we truly have on the drugs, was entirely ignored by those making the decision. In its place were emotional pleas, speeches on morality and the sanctity of sport, and tirades about the necessity to protect our children. Instead of intelligent and rational explanation, the people were fed lies and rhetoric. 

At its core, the scheduling and criminalization of AAS was a decision motivated not by intelligent discourse but rather by those seeking to maintain the purity of sport. 

For obvious reasons, many would not consider the regulation of sport to be a legitimate function of our Federal government.   

I want to add more to this topic as I can, but for the time being here are some interesting pieces to look over:

Philip Sweitzer, Esq. - An Open Letter to the Members of the House Committee on Government Reform, and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, on the Recent Hearings and Legislation relating to the use of Anabolic Steroids in Sports

Charlie Francis - Anabolic Athletics: A Brief History of Drugs in Sport

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3.20 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."