Pallone, Pitts Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Crack Down on Anabolic Steroids

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, and Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA), Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, introduced legislation, the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act (H.R. 4771), to crack down on bodybuilding products that contain chemical compounds known as anabolic steroids and are often deceptively marketed as dietary supplements. A version of this legislation was originally introduced in the Senate in February 2014 by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The bill would close a loophole often exploited by steroid manufacturers to sell products that claim to be all-natural muscle builders when they may actually contain chemically altered versions of anabolic steroids. This bill would help protect consumers by properly classifying these products as controlled substances.

Specifically, the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act would immediately place 27 new designer anabolic steroids on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) list of controlled substances as defined by the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). The bill grants the DEA authority to temporarily schedule new designer drugs on the controlled substances list which will allow the DEA to identify and list new chemicals more easily. This legislation would also create enhanced civil and criminal penalties for importing, manufacturing, or distributing anabolic steroids under false labels.

“We must ensure that harmful products containing controlled substances are labeled as such and not able to be dishonestly passed off to the public as dietary supplements,” said Pallone. “American consumers deserve to know exactly what is in the products that they choose to purchase. This bill will allow the DEA to act quickly and classify these products as harmful substances before they reach the marketplace and pose a danger to consumers. I thank Chairman Pitts for working with me on this critical issue.”

“Anabolic steroids are controlled substances for good reason,” said Pitts. “They can cause significant harm, especially to young bodies. Consumers need to be aware of what they are putting into their bodies and companies need to stop marketing steroids as supplements. Congressman Pallone and I both agree that the DEA needs more tools to prevent harmful products from entering the market.”