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entitled 'Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a Prescription
and Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials' which
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November 3, 2005:
The Honorable Tom Davis:
Chairman:
The Honorable Henry Waxman:
Ranking Minority Member:
Committee on Government Reform:
House of Representatives:
Subject: Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a Prescription
and Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials:
This report responds to your request that we investigate whether
anabolic steroids can be purchased without a prescription and test
whether such purchases are easily made. You also asked us to identify
common sources of illegal anabolic steroids, and significant challenges
law enforcement officials encounter in investigating, prosecuting, and
deterring criminal anabolic steroid traffickers.
To complete this work, we made purchases through the Internet of
anabolic steroids commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders, and had
tests performed on the products purchased by the National Medical
Services, a commercial laboratory, and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). To identify significant challenges law enforcement officials
encounter in the investigation and prosecution of illegal anabolic
steroid traffickers, we interviewed officials of federal agencies that
have responsibility for enforcement of laws relating to anabolic
steroids--FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the
Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
Agency (CBP)---and we visited CBP international mail facilities at two
airports that receive significant quantities of mail containing
anabolic steroids, New York's Kennedy Airport and at the Miami
International Airport. Additionally, to obtain the perspective of state
and local officials on enforcement issues, we interviewed officials of
New York's Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, the only
prosecutorial agency in the country that is exclusively dedicated to
the investigation and prosecution of felony drug offenses. We also
spoke with officials of the United States Sentencing Commission and
researched current and proposed legislation relating to illegal
anabolic steroid activity.
Summary:
Our investigators easily obtained anabolic steroids without a
prescription through the Internet. After conducting Internet searches,
they found hundreds of Web sites offering anabolic steroids commonly
used by athletes and bodybuilders for sale. The investigators then used
an e-mail account in a fictitious name to place 22 orders. From these
orders, we received 10 shipments of anabolic steroids; all were shipped
from foreign countries. We also received 4 shipments from within the
United States but the substances they contained, though marketed as
anabolic steroids or other "muscle building" products, were not
anabolic steroids according to the FDA.[Footnote 1] We are referring
the evidence concerning our purchases to DEA and to FDA for appropriate
action.
The officials we spoke with told us that most anabolic steroids sold
illegally in the United States come from abroad, and that the Internet
is the most widely used means of buying and selling anabolic steroids
illegally. They also reported that, because of the foreign origin of
the steroids and the widespread use of the Internet in steroid
trafficking, extensive time and resources are usually required to
investigate and prosecute steroid cases. Further, the sheer volume of
all types of imports from abroad presents significant challenges in
efforts to prevent anabolic steroids from illegally entering the United
States. Additionally, some officials noted the relatively low sentences
that result from application of the federal sentencing guidelines to
persons convicted of illegal steroid trafficking.
Background:
Anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of the male sex hormone
testosterone that can be taken orally, injected, or rubbed on the skin.
Under U.S. law they cannot be sold without a prescription, and are
dispensed to treat conditions associated with low testosterone levels,
such as delayed puberty or body wasting associated with AIDS. When used
in combination with exercise, training, and a high protein diet,
anabolic steroids can improve endurance and promote increased muscle
size and strength. Because of these effects, they are illicitly used as
performance-enhancing drugs by some athletes, bodybuilders, and others
to improve competitiveness or appearance.
However, steroid abuse can cause devastating side effects, including
liver, kidney, and heart disease; cancer, stroke, and behavioral
changes such as increased aggression and severe depression. The
availability and use of anabolic steroids in sports, particularly among
adolescents, is a growing concern. According to a National Institute of
Health study, use of steroids by American young people underwent a
period of sharp rise in the late 1990s, and continues to be at an all
time high among 12TH graders. Moreover, in a recent study performed by
the University of Michigan, more than 42 percent of 12TH graders
reported that anabolic steroids are easy or fairly easy to obtain
without a prescription.
In 1990, Congress passed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of
1990[Footnote 2] adding anabolic steroids to the federal schedule of
controlled substances.[Footnote 3] The act placed anabolic steroids on
Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act and specifically
identified 27 anabolic steroids. The maximum term of imprisonment for a
Schedule III controlled substance offense is 5 years, or 10 years if
the person has a prior felony drug offense conviction.[Footnote 4] The
Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 added additional anabolic steroids
to Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act.
Purchases of Anabolic Steroids without a Prescription:
Our investigators tested whether it would be easy for anyone who has
access to a computer to locate and make purchases from dealers who sell
anabolic steroids illegally.
To do this, they replicated what any athlete or bodybuilder of any age
can do on a home computer. First, they conducted Internet searches
using the words "anabolic steroids," or the names of specific anabolic
steroids that DEA identified for us as commonly used by athletes and
bodybuilders. As a result, they found hundreds of Web sites offering
anabolic steroids for sale.
The investigators placed a total of 22 orders for anabolic steroids
through 22 of these Web sites that were selected randomly. Using an e-
mail account that they established in a fictitious name, the
investigators completed these orders and paid for them. As a result, we
received 14 shipments. Of that number, 10 were anabolic steroids; the 4
additional shipments contained substances that were not anabolic
steroids.[Footnote 5]
Steroids Received:
The 10 orders of anabolic steroids we received were obtained through
Web sites that openly and boldly offer anabolic steroids for sale. Some
of the Web sites offer a variety of pharmaceutical drugs, while others
sell anabolic steroids exclusively. They typically offer "private and
confidential" sales of "discretely shipped" anabolic steroids that will
"shape your body the way . . . you want it to look." Many sites offer
dozens of anabolic steroids for sale. They promote anabolic steroid use
through claims that they have good affects on the body, touting, for
example, that one product is a "growth-promoting agent."
Other Web sites, including some of those from which we made purchases,
offer packages of different steroids for those who "cycle" or "stack"
their use of anabolic steroids. A cycle is a period of from 6 and 14
weeks of steroid use, followed by a period of abstinence or gradual
reduction in use; stacking is using multiple anabolic steroids
concurrently. The packages offered by the Web sites are designed for a
variety of different users, from "beginning" muscle builders to
advanced "mass" builders, to customers interested in the "ladies lean
stack."
The Web sites do not indicate the country from which the steroids are
shipped, but we later learned from return addresses and postmarks on
the shipments that the anabolic steroids all came from outside the
United States. Although we placed these 10 orders at 10 different Web
sites, the shipments came from just three different countries: five
were from Trieste, Italy; four from Shanghai, China; and one from
Athens, Greece. The shipment from Athens, Greece came in a plain 5-by 6-
inch envelope bearing a return address label with an individual's name
and address. It contained one bottle of the anabolic steroid
Testosterone Propionate in liquid form. We paid $114.00 for the order
using a credit card.
The five orders shipped from Trieste, Italy, came in plain 5 by 7 inch
envelopes bearing one of three different return address labels with an
individual's name and address. From one address we received two orders,
each containing 100 tablets of the anabolic steroid Methandrostenolone.
Using a credit card, we paid $109.20 for one of these orders and
$107.90 for the other.
From a different return address in Trieste we received two other
packages, each containing one bottle of the anabolic steroid
Testosterone Cypionate in liquid form. Using a credit card, we paid
$120.90 for one of these orders. For the other, we followed
instructions sent through e-mail communications from the dealer to wire
$144.00 through Western Union to an individual in Vienna, Austria. From
the third address in Trieste we received a package containing 100
tablets of Methandrostenolone. We paid $117.00 for the order and wired
the money through Western Union to an individual in Salzburg, Austria,
as instructed.
Each of the four shipments from Shanghai came in a plain 6 by 9 inch
envelope. Each envelope had a return address label bearing a different
individual's name and address.
We paid for each of them by credit card. One package contained 150
yellow tablets of the anabolic steroid Stanozolol for which we paid
$200.00. A second package containing 20 tablets of Stanozolol was also
received, and we paid $97.00 for them. Additionally, we received a
package containing crushed green tablets of the anabolic steroid
Oxymetholone and paid $124.00 for them. The fourth package from
Shanghai contained 40 green tablets of Oxymetholone and cost $323.00.
Other Products Received:
We also received four shipments from dealers in the United States
through Web sites that claimed to sell anabolic steroids or products
that have the muscle-building effects of anabolic steroids. However,
according to FDA, none of these shipments contained anabolic steroids.
We have referred the results of our investigation concerning these
products to the FDA.
Challenges Faced by Law Enforcement Officials When Investigating and
Prosecuting Illegal Steroid Trafficking Cases:
Law enforcement officials identified significant challenges in their
efforts to investigate, prosecute, and deter criminal anabolic steroid
traffickers. These challenges arise from the foreign origin of many
illegally sold steroids, the widespread use of the Internet in steroid
trafficking, the volume of mail CBP must screen in its efforts to
prevent entry of anabolic steroids into the United States, and the
relatively low sentences that result from application of the federal
Sentencing Guidelines to illegal steroid offenders.
Most Illegally Sold Anabolic Steroids Come From Abroad:
The law enforcement officials we spoke to reported that, in their
experience, most anabolic steroids distributed illegally in the United
States come from abroad. The results of our test purchases tend to
confirm this. Larger illegal anabolic steroid dealers in the United
States frequently have multiple overseas sources of steroids.
Significant quantities of anabolic steroids come from Mexico, as well
as other countries such as Russia, Romania, and Greece.
There is a readily available supply of steroids worldwide because, in
most countries, anabolic steroids can be sold legally without a
prescription. Thus, many foreign distributors do not violate the laws
of their own country when they sell these substances to people in the
United States. As a result, U.S. law enforcement agencies have
difficulty in obtaining assistance from their foreign counterparts in
investigations of such distributors.
Law enforcement officials also identified smuggling of anabolic
steroids[Footnote 6] across international borders into the United
States as an important part of the illegal distribution network and
described how smugglers typically operate. A smuggler in the United
States takes orders from steroid customers in person, over the phone,
or via e-mail. After obtaining advance payment from customers, the
smuggler will travel to the source country, usually Mexico, to purchase
the steroids. Some smugglers pay someone else to perform this function
or have a foreign source that will ship the steroids. Smugglers who
travel either carry the steroids back or ship them to the United
States. In Mexico and European countries, smugglers usually buy
anabolic steroids from pharmacies.
In some cases, the smuggler may ship the steroids to a partner in the
United States, known as a remailer, and provide the remailer with
addresses of specific U.S. customers.
The remailer repackages the steroids and sends them to the customers.
According to law enforcement officials, the remailer normally performs
this task in exchange for money or free steroids. The customer may then
use the steroids or resell them to others in places such as gyms and at
bodybuilding contests.[Footnote 7]
The Internet Facilitates Illegal Anabolic Steroid Trafficking:
Law enforcement officials reported that the Internet is a primary
vehicle for buying and selling anabolic steroids illegally. Internet
Web sites, usually foreign based, advertise steroids for sale.
Customers access these sites, inquire about purchases, and place
orders. Sellers typically require advance payment through Western
Union, PayPal, money orders, or credit cards. After receiving payment,
sellers ship the steroids through international mail or an express
carrier. A remailer may also be used to resend packages once they
arrive in the United States.
The Internet also provides an easy means for sellers to market to young
people. Moreover, according to some of the law enforcement officials we
spoke to, sales of steroids and other synthetic drugs are used by some
sellers as a "gateway" to sales of narcotics, such as cocaine.
Typically, in such cases, the seller uses an initial series of steroid
or designer drug transactions to gauge whether the buyer is a
legitimate customer and is not an undercover law enforcement
investigator. After the seller has gained assurances that the customer
is legitimate through the initial steroid sales, narcotics are offered
for sale.
To prosecute illegal steroid dealers, law enforcement officials must
identify them and gather evidence of their trafficking activity.
However, anabolic steroid dealers can capitalize on the anonymity
afforded by the Internet to thwart efforts to identify them. Internet
sites can be installed, moved, or removed easily and quickly, making it
difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify, track, monitor, or
shut them down. As a result, investigations of anabolic steroid dealers
require substantial time and resources.
Further, dealers operating through the Internet typically communicate
with individual customers through e-mail, and establish e-mail accounts
using fictitious identifying information and mailing addresses with one
of the free e-mail services.[Footnote 8] Some officials reported to us
that the use of free e-mail accounts with fictitious account holder
identity information is found frequently in investigations, and is many
dealers' preferred means of communication with customers. Such accounts
add an additional layer of anonymity to the dealer and complexity to
law enforcement efforts to track down and identify them.
Of particular concern to some officials are offshore providers of free
e-mail services such as Hushmail,[Footnote 9] based in Ireland, and
Operamail, based in the Netherlands. Officials at one agency told us
that they believe it is too risky to approach these providers with
requests for voluntary cooperation because they can ignore
nondisclosure requests with impunity, and may intentionally or
unintentionally tip off the subjects of investigations.
Internet drug crime investigations are further complicated by service
providers who strip e-mail messages of information about their point of
origin. E-mail generally contains "header" information identifying
various Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, including "routing" and
"originating" IP addresses. IP addresses may prove useful in
determining the identity of the user of a particular e-mail account.
However, in some cases, investigators find that some service providers
automatically eliminate origination and routing IP addresses from e-
mail sent through their services. Hushmail, for example, strips
origination IP addresses and substitutes the IP Address of Hushmail's
own computers on its customers' communications. The result, for
example, is that when a steroids dealer in Florida sends an e-mail to a
customer in Virginia, the e-mail that arrives in Virginia has
Hushmail's originating IP Address in Ireland rather than the actual IP
originating address of the dealer.
Challenges in Interdicting Entry of Steroids into the United States:
All international mail entering the United States through the U.S.
Postal Service and private carriers is subject to inspection by the CBP
at the 14 international mail facilities and 29 express consignment
carrier facilities located around the country. CBP inspects for
illegally imported controlled substances, such as anabolic steroids,
contraband, and other items that are inadmissible into the United
States. Each year the international mail and carrier facilities process
hundreds of millions of pieces of mail and packages. For example, the
international mail facility at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York
alone receives approximately 1.3 million pieces of mail each day. The
volume of mail, together with the steps illegal steroid shippers use to
disguise their product and the labor-intensive nature of the inspection
process itself, present formidable challenges to the CBP in its efforts
to interdict the entry of anabolic steroids into the United States.
The inspection process is very labor and time intensive, and can
include visual examination, x-ray, and opening mail to physically
inspect the contents. At the international mail facilities we visited
in New York and Miami, mail goes through a series of processes before
being released or detained by the CBP. It passes through a portal
monitor designed to screen for nuclear and radiological materials, and
is placed on a conveyer belt where officers screen individual pieces of
mail. CBP officers target packages for inspection based on factors such
as their knowledge, intuition, and experience; whether the mail
originated in suspect countries; and intelligence gained from prior
interceptions of controlled substances. Suspicious mail is separated, x-
rayed, opened by individual inspectors, and searched.
The difficulty of detecting anabolic steroids is further increased
because dealers conceal them in items such as books or small electrical
equipment to avoid detection by CBP. Anabolic steroids are commonly
secreted in small electronic equipment, such as speakers, blenders, or
alarm clocks, or hidden in compact disk cases or in hollowed sections
of books. We observed examples of such shipments that had been
intercepted by CBP during our visits to U.S. Postal Service
International Mail facilities in Miami and in New York. Figure 1 is a
photograph of a book in which CBP in New York found a shipment of the
anabolic steroid Testosterone Enanthate from India.
Figure 1: Book From India Containing Anabolic Steroids Interdicted By
CBP:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
The left side of figure 2 is a photograph of a box and radio that were
in a package shipped from Panama. CBP in Miami found that the radio had
been used to hide a shipment of the anabolic steroid Testosterone
Cypionate. The right side of figure 2 shows the opened radio with the
steroid secreted inside.
Figure 2: Radio From Panama Interdicted By CBP (left); Radio Opened To
Disclose Anabolic Steroids (right):
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
CBP officials noted that shippers and customers can also use an on-line
tracking system made available by the Postal Service to track packages
sent through express mail. This enables illegal traffickers in steroids
to determine whether and where a shipment has been detained by the CBP.
This is a disadvantage for law enforcement officials when they attempt
to conduct an investigation through what is known as a controlled
delivery. In a controlled delivery, a law enforcement employee poses as
a Postal Service employee and delivers the package to the intended
recipient. This may provide an opportunity to gather evidence or make
an arrest. However, the value of a controlled delivery as an
investigative tool may be compromised if the trafficker, through the
tracking system, has notice that the shipment was detained by the CBP.
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Steroids Offenses Do Not Provide a
High Level of Deterrence:
Law enforcement officials told us that although extensive time and
resources are required to locate, charge, and convict criminal anabolic
steroid dealers, the penalties under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
faced by persons convicted of such offenses do not reflect the
seriousness of their crimes or provide adequate deterrence.[Footnote
10] Drug quantity is a principal factor in determining offense level
and sentence for drug offenses under the sentencing guidelines.
Quantity of anabolic steroids and other Schedule III controlled
substances under the sentencing guidelines is based on a "unit" system.
A unit of a Schedule III controlled substance, other than anabolic
steroids, is "one pill, capsule, or tablet" or, if in liquid form, 0.5
grams. However, the sentencing guidelines treat anabolic steroids
differently from all other Schedule III substances. One unit of an
anabolic steroid is 50 pills, capsules, or tablets or, if in liquid
form, one unit equals a 10 cc vial of injectable steroid.[Footnote 11]
As a result, an offender responsible for selling 40,000 pills of a
Schedule III substance other than an anabolic steroid, such as
ketamine, would face a sentence of 33 to 41 months under the drug
quantity rules of the sentencing guidelines. On the other hand, an
offender convicted of selling 40,000 pills of an anabolic steroid would
face a sentence of 0 to 6 months under those rules. According to DOJ,
DEA's laboratory seizure analysis from 2003 suggests that anabolic
steroid seizures in major cases consist of quantities in the order of
magnitude of 20,000 to 40,000 tablets and 2,000 to 6,000 milliliters.
Thus, in the case of DEA's largest seizure in 2003, in which 44,000
tablets of the anabolic steroid Methandienone were seized, a defendant
convicted of trafficking in those steroids would face a sentence of 0
to 6 months under the drug quantity rules of the current sentencing
guidelines.
Section 3 of the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 directed the
United States Sentencing Commission to review and consider amending the
Federal Sentencing Guidelines with respect to steroids
offenses.[Footnote 12] The Sentencing Commission began its review of
anabolic steroids offenses during its 2004-2005 amendment
cycle.[Footnote 13] In February 2005, the Commission issued a notice
for public comment in the Federal Register on whether the guidelines
governing steroids offenses should be amended. The Sentencing
Commission received public comment from various parties and in April,
2005, held a public hearing at which it received testimony from the
Department of Justice, the Federal Public Defenders Service, the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Practitioners
Advisory Group.[Footnote 14] After reviewing the information obtained,
the Sentencing Commission deferred promulgation of steroids-related
amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines because it concluded
that it did not have sufficient information on offenses involving
anabolic steroids, particularly anabolic steroids trafficking.
Instead, the Sentencing Commission decided to conduct further research
and outreach in order to determine the most appropriate course of
action.[Footnote 15] It also decided to seek "emergency amendment
authority" from Congress that would give the Sentencing Commission the
option of promulgating an amendment that would take effect immediately
upon date of promulgation. The Sentencing Commission submitted its
request to Congress on April 20, 2005.[Footnote 16] On September 29,
2005, the President signed a bill[Footnote 17] which provides that, if
the Sentencing Commission determines that amending the federal
sentencing guidelines for anabolic steroids offenses is appropriate,
such amendments will take effect by March 29, 2006.
This report will be available on GAO's web page at http://www.gao.gov.
If you have questions, please contact me at (202) 512-7227 or
[email protected]. Barry Shillito, Daniel Kaneshiro, Ramon Rodriguez, and
Richard Egan made major contributions to this report.
Signed by:
Robert J. Cramer:
Associate General Counsel:
(601322):
FOOTNOTES
[1] Eight orders were never received.
[2] Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-647, 104
Stat. 4851 (1990) (amending the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. §
812 (c)).
[3] Prior to 1990, anabolic steroids were not classified as a
controlled substance under federal law, and their use was subject to
regulation by the FDA.
[4] Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-570 , 100 Stat. 3207
(codified at 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(D); 21 U.S.C. § 960(b)(4) (5-year
maximum term of imprisonment for import violations).
[5] The National Medical Services laboratory tested the 10 products
that were anabolic steroids to confirm that they were in fact anabolic
steroids and to determine the type of anabolic steroid received; the
FDA tested the 4 other products we received to determine their
contents.
[6] An emerging issue identified by officials we spoke with is the
illegal importation of anabolic steroids in bulk powder form. Large
quantities of steroids can be smuggled in bulk powder form into the
United States where injectible forms of steroids can be reconstituted
from them. These shipments are more difficult to detect than steroids
in tablet or liquid form.
[7] You also specifically asked about the extent to which steroids are
illegally diverted from pharmacies and synthesized in clandestine
laboratories. The officials we spoke with indicated that, in their
experience, the number of pharmacy diversion and clandestine laboratory
cases is relatively small; the Internet, smuggling, and foreign source
anabolic steroids are the most significant anabolic steroid trafficking
issues.
[8] Since there are no fees for these accounts, the service providers
may have no reason to verify the account holder's name, address, or
other identifying information.
[9] Hushmail also offers free automatic encryption services.
Originally Posted by skipp
