NCJ Number
163342
Date Published
1995
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Representatives of law enforcement, the Federal Government, and the international scientific community met to analyze the impact of the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990.
Abstract
The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 placed more than two dozen anabolic steroids into the Controlled Substances Act. Although there is evidence of considerable achievement, abuse of anabolic steroids is a significant threat to the general public health and safety, especially with respect to adolescents and young adults. There are several serious obstacles to the Act's effectiveness. One is that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines establish grossly inadequate sentencing standards for steroid traffickers. This provides little deterrence to those interested in profiting from trafficking in steroids. It also has led some Federal prosecutors to the conclusion that the investigation and prosecution of steroid traffickers is not a justifiable expenditure of resources. Another obstacle is that steroids are not controlled in many key countries, nor are they controlled under international treaty. No matter how successful the United States is in dealing with domestic diversion of steroids, there is a constant supply of these drugs being smuggled into the country from international sources.