This is a research paper I wrote for school. I wrote it on the bill that is trying to get rid of Pro-hormones. It was good enough to get me an A at my University.(even though it was wrote in 2.5 hours)
H.R. 207
H.R. 207 IH is a bill that is being proposed by Representatives John Sweeney and Tom Osbourne to the House of Representatives. The bill is being publicly packaged to protect young athletes from performance enhancing drugs. The direct subject line of the bill is as follows: To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the placing of certain substances on the schedules of controlled substances, and for other purposes. H.R. 207 IH should be discarded because it is an abuse of the legislative system and the Controlled Substances Act.
H.R. 207 was introduced January 7, 2003. The bill states that any type of drug that the Attorney General deems a precursor to a precursor of an anabolic steroid will be considered a controlled substance. They would be considered a schedule III controlled substance. All pro-hormones would be illegal whether they promote muscle growth or not. The bill also makes funds available for education programs that will directly communicate with teachers, principals, coaches, as well as grade and high school children at the school level on the harmful effects of steroids and steroid precursors.(H.R. 207)
?While many drugs require a prescription from a physician, some drugs are deemed so dangerous that further restrictions are warranted. These drugs are called “controlled substances”’ (Arnold). Pro-hormones would be considered a schedule III; ?mere possession of a schedule III without prescription is a serious drug crime with potential penalties that can even include jail time? (Collins). The authority to add new substances to the schedules is given to the Attorney General. To start the inquiry, he’s supposed to request an evaluation and recommendations from the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the drug’s potential for abuse and the need for scheduling. H.R. 207 circumvents the established procedures, and attempts to classify all steroid hormone precursors simply by act of Congress. The AMA strongly disagrees with putting anabolic steroids on the controlled substance list; they also disagree with putting precursors on the list (Policy #3). The U.S.A. currently has the highest imprisonment rate in the world. For every 100,000 people, 660 are in prison. The next highest is the U.K. which has an imprisonment rate of 80 for every 100,000 people (Koch). Why are Sweeney and Osbourne trying to put more people in prison for ?drugs?? If the bill passes, everyone who participates in the 12.7 billion dollar a year business is suddenly committing a felony and going to jail. Bottom line from Mr. Arnold: ?this bill could put otherwise law-abiding mature adults in jail for what are now health food store nutritional supplements.?
In December, 2000, the American Medical Association passed resolution urging Congress to draft legislation banning all testosterone precursors from over the counter sale. The justification was that testosterone precursors are dangerous since "the consumption of which may result in [?] potential harm to the health and well being of the athlete and patient? (AMA 516). There is no evidence that pro-hormones have a potential for abuse or dependence of any kind. The AMA may have alternative reasons for wanting to ban pro-hormones because they have not come up with clinical evidence that they are harmful. Karlis Ullis, MD, and Joshua Shackman, Ph.D. concluded the following in a study:
A lack of liver toxicity has clearly been demonstrated for pro-hormones. Testosterone precursors may impact blood lipids in an adverse way, although evidence on this issue has been contradictory. Some of these studies have actually shown that testosterone precursors may decrease the risk of heart disease. In addition, no effect on prostate cancer risk as measured by PSA has been shown in any of these studies. For the time being, there does not appear to be a major health threat to male adults from using testosterone precursor supplements at doses and durations used in recent research studies.
The bill overreaches what it is trying to accomplish by not adding adding any age limitations. It outlaws pro-hormones for all ages, not just teens. Well informed adults will be prohibited from buying these items as they do today at their local health food stores. ?Why would a bill claiming to be concerned about ‘young athletes’ ban the products for mature athletes?? (Collins) The state of California recently examined the pro-hormone issue. They were concerned with the use of pro-hormones among minors so they passed a law that prohibits the sale of pro-hormones to minors, which maintains the freedoms of mature adults. If the goal is to protect young athletes, then why must adults suffer?
Pro-hormones and anabolic steroids are not only useful for athletes, but also for HIV patients. The medical use of them can stop and reverse AIDS-related wasting, a leading cause of death for people living with HIV/AIDS. ?Results showed why steroids are valuable for wasting therapy and supported the assertion that anabolic steroids are not immuno-suppressive, but do potentiate important barometers of immune competence? (Mooney). A number of studies show that pro-hormones can increase bone density in patients. ?Nandrolone Decanoate, 50 mg im weekly, transiently increases the bone mass of men and women who are HIV-positive? (Hamdy et al.). Oral estrogen replacement therapy was associated with increased mortality in HIV-positive older women in a recent study (Mooney 7). The following study by well-known researchers Wagner and Rabkin showed that HIV-positive men responded to testosterone replacement therapy with a significant reduction in symptoms. If pro-hormones were outlawed, then HIV patients would not have this chance to better their lives.
The goal of H.R. 207 is to protect young athletes, and there are even funds set out in the bill to educate young people on the hazards of pro-hormones and steroids. There are a few problems with this plan. First, they plan to educate grade school children which has proven to be ineffective. In the D.A.R.E. program, children are taught not to do drugs like marijuana, but children who go through this program are just as likely, if not more likely, to do drugs in high school. The same effect is most likely to happen with steroids. Also, there has not been any evidence provided by the government or the AMA proving that pro-hormones are dangerous, so what are they going to teach? Considering the plan is to educate young athletes on pro-hormones, they should put an age limitation on them, so that when the athlete is mature they can make their own decisions on pro-hormones.
With its politically attractive ?save our teens? message and well-hidden assaults on adult personal freedoms, the bill has a strong possibility of passing. Considering that over 6 million people worldwide die annually from tobacco and alcohol abuse which are legal, it is outrageous to think congress is targeting pro-hormones which are not dangerous in any way (Koch). H.R. 207 IH should be vetoed because it overreaches its goals and violates the personal freedoms of adults. The war on drugs does not need to extend to out local neighborhood health food stores.
Works Cited
Collins, Rick. ?The War on Drugs Becomes a War on Supplements.?Anabolic Insider Mar. 2003
Arnold, Patrick. ?What is a Controlled Substance?? December 17. 2002
< http://www.usfa.biz/modules.php? op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=6 >
?AMA resolution regarding Purity, Accuracy, Identification, and Labeling of Dietary Supplement Ingredients.? American Medical Association House of Delegates, Resolution: 516
Ullis, Karlis MD, and Shackman, Joshua Ph.D. ?Testosterone Precursors and Safety.? <http://www.usfa.biz/modules.php? op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=12>
?Medical and Nonmedical Uses of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids.? Policy # 3 <http://www.ama-assn.org/apps/pf_online/pf_online? f_n=browse&doc=policyfiles/HOD/H-470.972.HTM>
Hamdy RC, Moore SW, Whalen KE, Landy C. ?Nandrolone decanoate for men with AIDS.? 5 Mar.1998. http://www.medibolics.com/DecaBone.htm
Mooney, Michael. ?Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) For Women.? Oct. 1998. http://www.medibolics.com/hrt2.htm
Mooney, Michael. ?The First Placebo-Controlled Anabolic Steroid/HIV Study.? Nov. 1996. http://www.medibolics.com/news2.htm
Wagner GJ; Rabkin JG. ?Testosterone therapy for clinical symptoms of hypogonadism in eugonadal men with AIDS.? Jan. 1998. http://www.medibolics.com/Rabkin’sEugonadalStudy.htm
?Economic Characterization of the Dietary Supplement Industry.? U. S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Mar. 1999. http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/ds-econ1.html
H.R. 207 IH. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/saveandro.htm
Koch, Larry. ?The Real America.? UofM Flint, Michigan. 12 Apr. 2003.