A change is coming…
A major change indeed. We’re all fairly knowledgeable about the landscape of modern bodybuilding, particularly the fact that steroids is a hot button issue that few in the sport speak openly about. When it comes to steroids, the negative opinion held by other sports isn’t necessarily shared by the bodybuilding community – to the point where it is pretty much ignored by the major federations. Many people have differing opinions on the subject, but for the most part, fans are neither shocked or amazed if they find out their favorite bodybuilder has been juicing. Unlike other sporting endeavors there is a clear understanding that bodybuilding is held in a class of it’s own, despite certain regulations against the use of anabolic steroids. But by the looks of things the landscape is going to change come 2015.
A government bill is in the process of being passed that will see a new era in the battle against steroids and has just been passed by congress on December 11th. The government is expanding into new territory and that means that new regulations are about to be enforced on steroid use. This new bill is called the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014, which will amend and expand on the Controlled Substances Act (An previously implemented law).
First introduced on May 29th, this new bill proposes to add about two dozen new substances into the law, placing them in a league with other steroids that have been banned and considered a controlled substance. Now that it has passed congress – all that is left is for the president to sign off on the bill. This is going to be a big deal for the supplement companies out there as various products no doubt contain these two dozen substances (or slight variations).
Here are some of the specifics straight from the bill:
“(1) expand the list of substances defined as “anabolic steroids”; (2) authorize the United States Attorney General to issue a temporary order adding a drug or other substance to the list of anabolic steroids; (3) impose enhanced criminal and civil penalties for possessing or trafficking in any anabolic steroid, or product containing an anabolic steroid, unless it bears a label clearly identifying the anabolic steroid by the nomenclature used by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; and (4) authorize the Attorney General to collect data and analyze products to determine whether they contain anabolic steroids and are properly labeled.”
What does all of this mean exactly? To keep it simple, if the bill is passed into law – retailers that use ingredients that fall under these new substances will have to obtain federal and state licensing in order to sell their product. If not, they will either need replace or remove the substance out of their product or discontinue the product all together.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that revenues from products including these substances amount to between 2 to 5 billion dollars annually. This could mean some major changes and more importantly – major problems for all the supplement companies out there.
It looks like things are going to heat up soon. Stock up on your favorite supplements while you can folks – while we’re not sure which companies will be effected. Soon certain products will in fact be considered illegal. It’s a brave new world we’re heading into out there, but for now all we can do is wait to see what comes of this new bill.
How do you think this bill will effect bodybuilding? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Source: Congressional Budget Office
