• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Generation Iron

Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network

  • Movies
  • Original Content
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Pre-Workout
      • Fat Burners
      • Testosterone Boosters
      • Creatine
      • Protein
      • BCAAs
      • Multivitamins
      • Omega-3
      • Joint Supplements
      • Super Greens
      • Meal Replacement
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Foam Rollers
      • Best Massage Guns
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
  • Equipment
    • Cardio
      • Treadmills
      • Best Exercise Bikes
      • Best Stair Climbers
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Best Apparel
      • Best Gym Bags
      • Weightlifting Shoes
    • Strength
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Complete Home Gyms
    • Training
      • Best Knee Sleeves
      • Best Wrist Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Gloves
  • More
    • About Us
      • Our Team
      • Our Experts
    • Advertise
    • Franchise With Us
    • Exercise Guides
    • Athlete Profiles
    • Podcasts
    • Power 30
    • Bodybuilding Awards
    • Supplement Awards
  • Shop
Featured

NEW STEROID LAW (DASCA) OFFICIALLY GOES INTO EFFECT

by Rick Collins Updated by GI Team on Feb 24, 2025

Generation Iron Steroid Law Officially In Effect
This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure policy).

Generation Iron Steroid Law Officially In Effect

The President has signed the steroid bill into law.

On December 18, 2014, President Obama signed the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 – DASCA for short.  Several years in the making, DASCA cracks down on the over-the-counter “prohormone” segment of the sports nutrition supplement market. Let’s take a look at the specifics:
.

25 New “Anabolic Steroids.”

DASCA lists 25 steroidal compounds as newly criminalized anabolic steroids. [Note that most if not all of these substances do not meet the criteria to be marketed and sold as dietary supplements and the FDA has had, and continues to have, the authority to bring cases for federal prosecution under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.]  Like all the anabolic steroids that are already Schedule III drugs, these substances are now illegal not only to sell, but to possess.  Possessing any quantity of any of the new substances on the list is now a federal misdemeanor.  Distribution and possession with the intent to distribute are felonies.
.

Analogues of Listed Steroids Also Illegal.

DASCA criminalizes very close relatives of explicitly listed steroids.  It says that “a drug or hormonal substance (other than estrogens, progestins, corticosteroids, and dehydroepiandrosterone) that is not listed … and is derived from, or has a chemical structure substantially similar to, 1 or more [listed] anabolic steroids [is considered an anabolic steroid] if … [it] has been created or manufactured with the intent of [promoting muscle growth or having pharmacological effects like testosterone or] has been, or is intended to be, marketed or otherwise promoted [to suggest it will promote muscle growth or have pharmacological effects like testosterone].”  In other words, derivatives and slight variations on compounds which are on the list can violate the law if they are made or if they are marketed, or intended to be marketed, to build muscle or have effects like testosterone.

Generation Iron Supplements
Big changes are about to hit the supplement business.

Exemptions.

DASCA prohibits a compound from being a drug or hormonal substance under the law if it is “an herb or other botanical” or “a concentrate, metabolite, or extract of, or a constituent isolated directly from, an herb or other botanical” OR if it is a dietary ingredient (under DSHEA) and “is not anabolic or androgenic.”  DASCA places the burden of proof upon anyone seeking to claim an exemption.
.

Mislabeling Provision.

DASCA introduces a whole new theory by which to prosecute steroid cases by making it a crime to import, export, manufacture, distribute, dispense, sell, offer to sell, or possess with intent to manufacture or sell any anabolic steroid, or any product containing an anabolic steroid, unless it bears a label clearly identifying the anabolic steroid by accepted (IUPAC) nomenclature.  This provision would apply to manufacturers who use deceptive or “creative” ingredient labeling to conceal that the product is an anabolic steroid.  It would also apply to distributors and retailers who know, intend, or have reasonable cause to believe that the product contains an anabolic steroid.
.

Shortcut to Adding New Compounds.

The Attorney General will be able to add new “designer” compounds to the list of anabolic steroids with greater ease and speed (with only 30 days’ notice for temporary scheduling).
.

Increased Penalties.

Criminal penalties can be up to 10 years imprisonment and massive fines (up to $2.5 million on corporations).  Civil penalties can be up to $500,000 per product violation for importers, exporters, manufacturers and distributors.  Even retailers can be hit with a $25,000 penalty per product violation (and each package size, form, or differently labeled item is a separate product).
.

No Grace Period.

The previous anti-prohormone legislation (2004) gave a 90 day grace period before the law took effect.  By failing to include a grace period in the DASCA, innocent consumers have been turned into federal drug criminals overnight.  The bottle a customer bought in a store on December 17 became a controlled substance the next day.  Possessing the bottle could now subject that consumer to prosecution for 21 USC 844 – federal drug possession.  Companies who now find themselves in possession of controlled substance stock may want to divest themselves of it.  But DEA regulations provide no lawful mechanism to do so.
.

What’s Next?

It’s too early to predict the extent to which DASCA will be enforced (for example, will any consumers actually be busted?) or whether individual states will conform their laws to it.  Opinions about the law vary widely.  Supplement industry trade associations applaud DASCA as a way to protect consumers.  But some supplement consumers believe Congress should focus on more urgent matters and stay away from telling adult Americans what they can and can’t do with their own bodies.  Even some who feel prohormones shouldn’t be on the market have grave concerns about creating a law that makes federal drug criminals out of fitness-minded consumers.

 


 

Rick Collins, JD, CSCS is the lawyer that members of the bodybuilding community and nutritional supplement industry turn to when they need legal help or representation.  Call Rick at 516-294-0300 if you need serious legal help, and visit him at www.steroidlaw.com, www.supplementcounsel.com, and www.cmgesq.com.  [© Rick Collins, 2014.  All rights reserved.  For informational purposes only, not to be construed as legal or medical advice.]

About Rick Collins

Rick Collins, JD, CSCS is the lawyer that members of the bodybuilding community and nutritional supplement industry turn to when they need legal help or representation. Call Rick at 516-294-0300 if you need serious legal help, and visit him at www.steroidlaw.com, www.supplementcounsel.com, and www.cmgesq.com. [© Rick Collins, 2014. All rights reserved. For informational purposes only, not to be construed as legal or medical advice.]

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Get the Latest

Stay informed with the latest news, product reviews, & expert advice.

Popular Reviews

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • Performance Lab SPORT BCAA

    The Best BCAA For Bodybuilding Health & Performance Goals

Trending Articles

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

  • The Ultimate Mike Mentzer Workout and Diet

  • Chris bumstead's 2024 workout and diet plan

    Chris Bumstead’s 2025 Complete Bodybuilding Workout & Diet Plan

Popular Now

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • best citrulline supplements

    The Best Citrulline Malate Supplements for Performance and Pump

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

Generation Iron

Generation Iron is the first and only digital network delivering health, fitness, bodybuilding, and strength sports content. We deliver premium content with the biggest names in fitness and provide expert coverage, reviews on top brands, workout tips and trends in the worlds of fitness, health and strength sports.

Strongman Corporation
Vladar

Sections

  • Trending News
  • Original Movies
  • Original Content
  • Supplement Reviews
  • Equipment Reviews
  • Exercise Guides
  • Nutrition Guides
  • Athlete Profiles

More

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Our Experts
  • Advertise
  • Franchise With Us
  • Podcasts
  • Power 30
  • Shop

CONTACT

Generation Iron Brands LLC
134 West 29th Street Suite 902
New York, NY 10001
Email: [email protected]

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X / Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2025 · Generation Iron · Disclaimers · Privacy Policy · Accessibility