Senate approves bill to protect consumers from steroids

stock image | St. George News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation Thursday to end a loophole that allows designer anabolic steroids to easily be found online, in gyms, and even in retail stores.  The Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Orrin Hatch, will help protect consumers from these harmful products by properly classifying them as controlled substances, according to a statement released by Hatch’s office Friday. The legislation also imposes civil penalties for importing, manufacturing, or distributing designer anabolic steroids under false labels.

The bill was approved by the House of Representatives in September, and will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.

See the full text of the Act here: Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014

“The world’s top athletes are subject to strict guidelines and rigorous testing to prevent the use of steroids, as they should be,” Whitehouse said.  “At the same time, many American citizens may be unknowingly dosing themselves with these harmful substances. American consumers deserve to know what is in the products they purchase.  This bill will help prevent the sale of falsely labeled steroids, and I’m glad it will become law.  I thank Senator Hatch for his support and Judiciary Chairman Leahy for enabling this bill to move forward.”

“This is a commonsense bill that will protect consumers by giving DEA the tools and authority to remove dangerous steroids from the market,” Hatch said. “I’m pleased Senator Whitehouse and I could work together in bipartisan fashion to help make this important law a reality.”

Designer steroids are produced by reverse engineering existing illegal steroids and then slightly modifying their chemical composition, so the resulting product is not on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of controlled substances.  When taken by consumers, designer steroids can cause serious medical harm, including liver injury and increased risk of heart attack and stroke.  They may also lead to aggression, hostility, and addiction.

The Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act would:

  • Immediately place 25 known designer anabolic steroids on the list of controlled substances;
  • Grant the DEA authority to temporarily schedule new designer steroids on the controlled substances list, so that if bad actors develop new variations, these products can be removed from the market;
  • Create new penalties for importing, manufacturing, or distributing anabolic steroids under false labels; and
  • Authorize the Attorney General to publish a list of products containing an anabolic steroid that are not properly labeled.

The legislation was supported by a coalition of organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Pharmacists’ Association, Council for Responsible Nutrition and United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Submitted by the Offices of Sen. Orrin Hatch

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8 Comments

  • beacon December 13, 2014 at 10:57 am

    They may be willing to protect consumers from steroids but they are about to remove protection for consumers from the credit default swaps that brought our economy down in 2007. How’s that for rational thinking on the part of our politicians? Call your congressional members and tell them to VOTE NO on the omnibus bill currently in the Senate. Mitch McConnell wants a quick vote on the bill so everyone can go home for the holidays. This is not what we pay our legislators to do. Rushing through a huge spending bill just so they can get home to their families is not what’s best for Americans in general. The banks may be able to make more money by not having to separate these risky swaps from their other more careful investments but is that what our government is all about? Making life easier for the banks and other financial institutions? That’s what got us in the mess that led to the Great Recession. Compromise indeed. President Obama should be ashamed of himself for suggesting Dems vote for this.

    • Joe Smith December 13, 2014 at 1:16 pm

      Last I checked republicans had no problems with bailouts for big failed banks. They rest comfortably knowing that the “libruls” will always come in after them and clean up their doodoo…

      • KOOLAID December 14, 2014 at 8:06 am

        Who can forget Bush’s failed 2008 economic stimulus package of almost $1 trillion which basically funded CEOs’ and bankers’ bonus packages? Not only did Bush saddle taxpayers with another $1 trillion on top of his $1 trillion war, he sunk the economy further into recession, almost complete collapse. The GOP legacy with Bush – 1st four years destroying the US; second 4 years destroying the world.

    • McMurphy December 13, 2014 at 3:21 pm

      Yes, as a matter of fact our Govt is about making life easier for the banks, other financial institutions and anyone else with deep pockets.

      The omnibus bill is over 1600 pages long. I bet there aren’t three people in Washington who know what all is buried in that bill.

      My radar lights up anytime a pol talks about a “common sense” bill. It almost never is.

  • Koolaid December 13, 2014 at 12:30 pm

    Steroid manufacturers haven’t bought Hatch the way other pharmaceutical companies have bought him? Check out the contributions to Hatch’s campaign fund, his Utah based organization and to his son, the professional lobbyist for pharmaceuticals.

  • Dana December 13, 2014 at 1:42 pm

    Orrin, pass a bill that calls for mandatory term limits.

    • Toe Jam December 14, 2014 at 3:58 am

      Yawwwwwn really.?

    • Joe Smith December 14, 2014 at 11:45 am

      Isn’t Orrin on his 200th term now?

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