Legislation Introduced to Ban Prohormones

**gunner27** · 10-10-2002, 01:53 PM

More bad news in the War on Drugs...

http://espn.go.com/gen/news/2002/1009/1443414.html

Congressmen introduce anti-andro bill

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By Luke Cyphers
ESPN The Magazine

Congress may send the Mark McGwire pill to the showers.

Two Republican congressmen, including former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, on Wednesday introduced a bill in Washington to reclassify androstenedione and other steroid pre-cursors as controlled substances, effectively taking them off the market.

"Andro," as it came to be known in sports circles, gained notoriety when it was revealed that McGwire used it during his record-breaking 70-home run season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998. The news set off the explosion in popularity of the substance, which is sold over-the-counter as a dietary supplement.

Rep. John E. Sweeney, R-N.Y., introduced the bill, calling substances such as andro and other pre-hormonal supplements "a serious public health issue" with an adverse effect on the integrity of professional and amateur athletic competition.

Andro and other so-called "pro-hormones" have been marketed as supplements that, when ingested, convert to testosterone in the human body and build muscle. In effect, andro has been sold as a legal way to gain the benefits of using anabolic steroids , which are controlled substances.

Many scientists disagree that andro works as an anabolic steroid, saying that it is more likely to convert to the female hormone estrogen and produce breast tissue in males rather than muscle mass.

But when McGwire admitted during the 1998 baseball season to using andro to help him recover from workouts, sales soared -- especially among teenagers, who can buy it at nutrition stores and on the Internet.

Elite athletes in sports such as track and field and the NFL, where andro use is banned, also have taken the substance. Sports officials in several countries say the use of dietary supplements containing such steroid precursors has caused dozens of athletes to test positive for steroids.

The bill has the support of the U.S. Antidoping Agency, the group charged with ferreting out drug cheats in Olympic sports. On hand at Wednesday's news conference in Washington was Frank Shorter, the USADA chairman, as well as U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Lloyd Ward and Olympic speedskating gold medalist Christine Witty. The NCAA and NFL have also expressed support for the bill.

"I think it's great. People were definitely taking supplements they thought were safe, and hidden in there were health risks," Witty said. "Everybody believes supplements are safe and they're taking this stuff even going beyond the recommended dosage on the label. You're talking about using an awful lot of what is a serious drug."

"The message of this bill is clear and pretty simple," Shorter said. "There was a loophole in the law when it was written and when people weren't aware of these steroid precursors. This just closes that loophole."

The bill's language does not enter the debate over whether andro and related substances such as 19-norandrostenedione are effective as muscle-builders. It simply calls for classifying as a controlled substance "the immediate precursor of a scheduled anabolic steroid, without regard to … the requirement that the substance promote muscle growth."

Andro has been legal thanks to liberalization of the United States' dietary supplement laws in 1994. Substances sold as dietary supplements aren't subject to the same regulatory scrutiny as those classified as drugs and can be introduced on the market without prior testing for safety or effectiveness.

Steroids have long been known to have harmful side effects, including heart, liver and kidney damage, as well as acne and, in heavy users, breast tissue growth in males.

"If your body were a factory, andro and these other precursors would be a controlled substance, because they get converted in the body into testosterone," Shorter said. "The body is just the last step in the production line, so there's no reason they can't be regulated the same way steroids are.

"People need to remember that andro was developed by East Germans to get steroids into teenage girl swimmers as efficiently as possible," he said. "We've seen with these women's health problems and sex changes and the birth defects of their children what these substances can do."

The bill is the second major action against andro producers this year. In July, a class action suit was filed against several manufacturers of andro and other prohormones, accusing them of fraudulent marketing and selling ineffective and dangerous products.

"You have to do this step by step," Shorter said. "You take your easiest problem, and your easiest is precursors. It can be explained why this is a problem in three sentences."

Vincent Lynch, an attorney for the Tampa law firm of Trenam, Kemker, and filer of the suit, applauded the proposed change in the law. He says studies he is presenting in the lawsuit show "no increase in testosterone or muscle enhancement" from andro use, but that taking the stuff can lead to adverse reactions, especially in children.

"The bottom line is andro has all the negative side effects of steroid use ," Lynch says, "and none of the benefits."

**dansteelman** · 10-10-2002, 02:03 PM

Good, Pro hormones Blow dogs for quarters!

**Big Rush** · 10-10-2002, 02:11 PM

Originally posted by dansteelman
Good, Pro hormones Blow dogs for quarters!

My sentiments exactly..lol

**ichabodcrane** · 10-10-2002, 03:42 PM

Well these idiots might as well schedule cholesterol and all foods tht contain cholesterol, especially eggs. I bet they never thought this stuff could be converted into testosterone . Did they ever stop to think that their 10 year old daughter was going through puberty so early because of her diet? Probably not. They are fucking idiots!!!!!!!

**Jdawg50** · 10-10-2002, 04:25 PM

Fine with me I wont use em

**Mastiff** · 10-10-2002, 04:48 PM

I tried prohormones years ago. They were a total waste of money. I won't buy them. But what bothers me is the mindset of these people. I am an adult. I should be able to make my own decisions, and these yahoo's think they know what is best for me, and what I should be prohibited from doing,"for my own good". This is just more of the same invasion of freedom I've come to expect from our gov't. They utilize scare tactics, misleading information, and specious reasoning. Sorry, but this just pisses me off.

**ichabodcrane** · 10-10-2002, 05:01 PM

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From:
To: [email protected]
Date: Thursday - October 10, 2002 4:32 PM
Subject: regarding prohormones!

Dear Republican Sweeney, I just came across some information regarding your attempted bill to schedule prohormones. I would like to better understand your stance and reasoning for this. You quoted these substances as being "a serious public health issue". Sure there may be health risks in regards to these supplements, but aren't there health risks with many things we put in our bodies. Would you ever consider banning cholesterol and foods that contain cholesterol because they ultimately convert into testosterone in the body. Did you ever stop to think that maybe these 10 year girls are going through puberty too early because the foods they eat contain high amounts of cholesterol? If you criminalize prohormones where does that leave us (people interested in building better physiques, becoming better atheletes etc.)? The marketing of prohormones is a step towards developing more effective and safer supplements (or yes drugs) to aid in athletic performance/enhancement. Criminalizing them for the sake of preventing better athleticism is an anomaly. Why do you think these substances can't be taken responsibly keeping health issues in mind for the individual? Would you rather have athletes resorting to the illegal alternative (Anabolic Androgenic Steroids ), which are proven effective? You would let your teenage daughter take hormones at supraphysiological amounts to prevent her from getting pregnant. It is ok to undergo dangerous surgery for obese people too lasy to exercise to improve their physique, yet when the tables are turned it is not ok to "work" for your physique while using supplements to aid in the ultimate goal. You may question my credibility as would I. I will be graduating from pharmD. school next year. No I do not know everything, but I do have a good idea about the body and how drugs/supplements act in the body. You also may not realize that the majority of the people that use these supplements put alot of time into researching them and their risk/benefit ratio. If you want to criminalize something, go after tobacco or alcohol because we all know too well these substances pose substantialy greater health risks than prohormones. I do understand that our government makes way too much money from tobacco and alcohol taxation to ever consider banning these substances, even though they kill more people in one year compared to people having health related problems from prohormones since their existence.
I strongly urge to reconsider your actions. We as Americans should have the right to put into our bodies responsibly whatever we please. Criminalizing prohormones is not the answer, proper education is.
Regards, edited!

**ichabodcrane** · 10-10-2002, 05:06 PM

Now don't get me wrong. I know as well as the rest of you most prohormones are worthless, but criminalizing them is NOT a step in the right direction. These politicians will stop at nothing to boost their campaign. This is not right and I let him know it. I doubt he will reply, but if he does I will definately keep you guys updated.

**Lattman** · 10-11-2002, 07:03 AM

Well one thing's for sure, Andro does convert into estrogen as I almost got bitch tits from Animal Stacks, good things I started my cycle right after with Arimidex to the rescue...

**landshark** · 10-11-2002, 07:14 AM

Very impressive ich, this probably won't make any difference but it will let him know that people are aware of his actions and are scrutinizing his intelligence and/or his motives.
MORE PEOPLE SHOULD DO THIS.
As a matter of fact, I think this guy is going to get a letter from me to. Like I said, it probably won't do a damn thing, but its better than just sitting around complaining about it.

**Ryanhallmark** · 10-11-2002, 11:30 AM

bump did he ever reply?

**AnabolLecter75** · 10-11-2002, 11:53 AM

Originally posted by Mastiff
I tried prohormones years ago. They were a total waste of money. I won't buy them. But what bothers me is the mindset of these people. I am an adult. I should be able to make my own decisions, and these yahoo's think they know what is best for me, and what I should be prohibited from doing,"for my own good". This is just more of the same invasion of freedom I've come to expect from our gov't. They utilize scare tactics, misleading information, and specious reasoning. Sorry, but this just pisses me off.

I totally agree with Mastiff on this one. I tried them as well, didn't really do anything, then I crossed over to the dark side and totally forgot about PH's. I am just sick of the decline of personal responsibility in this country. The decisions we make for ourselves are just that: for us. As long as the actions we take do not infringe on the rights of others we don't need big brother to protect us from ouselves. Another thing about this that pisses me off is these politicians do no in depth research into the things they want to ban. They read headlines and only use half assed studies to back up their claims. Instead of wasting time with pidling crap like PH's, maybe they should find out how to stop American children from going to bed with nothing to eat, or something else that may actually improve the quality of life.

**gunner27** · 10-11-2002, 01:07 PM

I personally have no interest in prohormones either, but I don't like the trend it establishes. What will they go after next--Creatine? Milk thistle? It may seem far-fetched right now that these things would ever be banned, but look at what happened in many places with drug paraphenalia for recreational drugs. I worry that some politician trying to make a name for himself will start crusading to ban more supplements that the public doesn't know much about and that are seen as being tied in with steroids .