Anabolic Steroids: Great For Muscle Building And Fat Loss, But Are You Aware Of Steroid Laws

In this article, Bob Howard, the expert on bodybuilding and steroids is writing about the steroid abuse and the steroid laws.

Ask the average “Joe or Jill” citizen what anabolic steroids are and they’ll say that these are vile and deadly drugs only used by the depraved of society. The use of these drugs by legal-aged adults for muscle building and fat loss is routinely labeled “drug abuse” and not surprisingly thanks to the influence of the mainstream media, the average American puts steroid users into the same degenerate group as heroin or cocaine users. Then you have overzealous and politically motivated law enforcement agents and prosecutors who add to the problem by cracking down hard on these “dangers of society.”

Until the late 1980’s obtaining these drugs for muscle building and fat loss was relatively cheap, easy, and safe. Simply make contact with someone at your local gym and for less than $100 you had a 6 to 8 week supply of the drugs. But with Ben Johnson’s much-publicized positive drug test at the 1988 Olympics, combined with the reclassifying of anabolic steroids as controlled substances in 1990, it’s not surprising that they became part of the drug war in 1990.

Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990

The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 added anabolic steroids to the federal list of controlled substances, thereby making the possession of steroids for non-medical purposes, a criminal offence. The Act essentially put the drugs in the same legal class as such other street drugs as heroin, cocaine, and barbiturates. Individuals caught illegally possessing anabolic drugs - even for purely personal use - face immediate arrest and prosecution. Also under this Act, it is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess these drugs for fat loss or muscle building unless they were obtained directly by a prescription from a medical doctor. Other subsections of the act include:

O A first offense simple possession conviction is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to one year and/or a minimum fine of $1,000.

O Simple possession by a person with a previous conviction for certain offenses, including any drug or narcotic crimes, must get imprisonment of at least 15 days and up to two years, and a minimum fine of $2,500.

O Individuals with two or more such previous convictions face imprisonment of not less than 90 days but not more than three years, and a minimum fine of $5,000.

O Distributing or possessing them with intent to distribute, is a federal felony.

O An individual who distributes or dispenses anabolic steroids, or possesses with intent to distribute or dispense, is punishable by up to five years in prison (with at least two additional years of supervised release) and/or a $250,000 fine ($1,000,000 if the defendant is other than an individual). Penalties are higher for repeat offenders.

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his anabolic steroids articles? steroids Article. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Howard

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Steroid Cycling - Is It Safe?

Most of the body builders inject steroids to their body periodically, do you really know about this drugs? Is it safe to your body and your future? Read this important article by Bob Howard before your first steroid injection.

As expected it wasn’t long after bodybuilders began using anabolic steroids in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s that they discovered that the safest and most effective way to use the drugs was by steroid cycling. Because of different goals bodybuilders generally follow different guidelines than other athletes when it comes to cycling. Bodybuilders use steroids for two main reasons; to promote dramatic increases in muscle mass and to decrease their bodyfat percentages. The other benefits of steroids such as endurance, stamina, and strength, are secondary and while important for training purposes, play little role on a bodybuilding stage.

For most bodybuilders cycling means rotating periods of steroid use with periods of nonuse. We say most as many bodybuilders competing at the national and professional levels seldom come off the drugs. For most of these individuals an “off” phase doesn’t mean not using steroids; it just means lower amounts. There is rarely a point during the year when these bodybuilders let the drugs clear completely out of their systems. It’s high dosages followed by low to moderate dosages indefinitely.

Why Cycle?

The main reason why bodybuilders cycle steroids is to try and reduce the risk of developing serious side effects. As with most drugs it’s well known that the risk of developing side effects greatly increases with the length of time the person is on steroids. A short, 6 to 8 week cycle will probably not produce any serious side effects, but as we saw earlier, most bodybuilders don’t limit themselves to such short durations. They stay on the drugs for months if not years at a time. It’s not surprising then that many of these same individuals start experiencing medical problems.

A second reason why bodybuilders and other athletes follow steroid cycling is to try and beat drug tests. Bodybuilders had no worries back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, as a test for steroids wasn’t developed until the mid 1970’s. Even then the first tests were easy to beat. It wasn’t long, however, before the testers had closed the gap. By alternating periods of steroid usage with non-usage many athletes can often pass their drug test on contest day.

A third reason for cycling steroids is to boost their effectiveness. Most bodybuilders report that they make their best gains during the first 4 to 6 weeks of usage and the effects then gradually diminish over time. The reason for this is that their systems were not used to the drugs. But with each successive cycle their steroid receptors build tolerance to the drugs and become less responsive. This is one of the primary reason why heavy users stay on the drugs – small amounts just don’t produce significant results anymore.

The problem with Cycling

Even though most intelligent bodybuilders realize that cycling is the way to go, it’s still not risk free. Because of genetics some individuals are very sensitive to the effects of steroids. Even by cycling the drugs they may still develop medical problems. No one knows exactly how a drug will react in a person’s body until he starts taking it. By then it may be too late.

Steroid cycling is also no longer a guaranteed method for passing drug tests. Science has made the tests more sophisticated and many steroids can be traced as far back as 18 months from their last usage. Even some of the supposedly fast clearing oral drugs are being detected in drug tests.

A final consideration for avoiding steroids is their current status as illegal drugs. Even if an athlete cycled steroids to beat a drug test and reduce the risk of side effects, the bottom line is that as of the early 1990’s, steroid laws have made anabolic steroids illegal substances.

Legal alternatives!

With all the risks associated with steroids, bodybuilders should check out the various legal steroid analogs that are available. Users report that many of these products are just as powerful and as effective at increasing muscle size as their illegal and potentially dangerous cousins.

© Bob Howard 04/07/2006

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his steroid cycling articles? http://www.steroids-information.com© Bob Howard 04/07/2006

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