Concern Over Steroid-Like Ingredients Leads to Federal Dietary Supplement Regulation
On Tuesday, February 11th, Congress introduced the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 – aka DASCA – amid growing concerns over the ingredients in , particularly muscle-building or workout-enhancing supplements.
DASCA specifically allows the Drug Enforcement Administration to regulate the compounds in dietary supplements to prevent manufacturers from slightly tweaking illegal drugs like steroids so that the resulting product does not fall under DEA law and therefore can legally be released onto the market.
“This bill would help prevent the sale of falsely labeled steroids and punish those who seek to profit from them,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a co-sponsor of the bill with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Whitehouse added that “many American citizens may be unknowingly dosing themselves with these harmful substances.”
The bill, if enacted, would add 27 anabolic steroid compounds, regularly found in dietary supplements, to the DEA’s regulatory list. More importantly, the bill gives the DEA power to quickly update their list when a new designer drug compound to a temporary list for further study and regulation.
“”The DEA needs to be able to act faster and have better enforcement tools to prosecute those that develop and falsely market anabolic steroids as safe products,” Hatch said.
DASCA is similar to a bill introduced in 2012 that proposed to regulate dietary supplements that athletes regularly use.
Five major dietary supplement industry associations – the American Herbal Products Association, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the Natural Products Association, and the United Natural Products Alliance – came out in support of the bill on Tuesday, because misbranded products not only harm consumers, they can also give the dietary supplement industry a bad name.
“We think that’s important, because we see these ingredients pop up and the DEA can’t keep up with them,” said Steve Mister, president of CRN.
Although the bill addresses the problem of anabolic steroid compounds in dietary supplements, it fails to regulate other harmful compounds, such as amphetamine-like compounds found in dietary supplements like CRAZE, or the harmful compound aegeline which doctors in Hawaii recently linked to the outbreak of Hepatitis C among OxyElite Pro users.
“That’s obviously an area ripe for rogue manufacturers,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, adding that the issue is a bit more complex than addressing anabolic steroids. “We are continuing to work both with industry and the Hill on that front. It’s equally alarming and concerning to us.”
The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Dangerous Drug Cases
Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. is a leader in the consumer protection battle against dangerous drug recalls and defective devices. We represent individuals who have been killed or injured by dangerous or defective pharmaceuticals, including unregulated herbal or dietary supplements. If you or a family member have been injured or killed after using a dangerous drugs or medical products such as OxyElite Pro, Craze, or other unregulated or misbranded dietary supplements, contact our dangerous drug lawyers as soon as possible so that we can begin taking steps to preserve evidence and your claim immediately. We offer free consultations to discuss the facts of your case. 803.252.4800
