British Parliamentarian discusses teenage steroid abuse

[CelticMuscle]

Tom Brake MP ([COLOR="orange"]Liberal Democrat, Carshalton and Wallington[/COLOR]) is being featured in an article to be published on Sunday on teenage steroid abuse and addiction in the British Express newspaper. If an online version of the article is published, would members like to read it (and or a link be posted)?

[Mdlftr]

Yes, it would be interesting to read.

Question: are the laws about use of steroids in the UK similar to those in the US? Is steroid use in the UK illegal without a prescription?

That would help put the story in perspective. For instance, when a US politician admits to illegal drug use (Clinton on pot: "I didn't inhale": Bush: "I was young and foolish (and 40!)"; Schwarzenegger: "I never used steroids" (and I haf a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn ) it makes the news in a big way.

Mdlftr

[CelticMuscle]

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

Yes, it would be interesting to read.

Question: are the laws about use of steroids in the UK similar to those in the US? Is steroid use in the UK illegal without a prescription?

That would help put the story in perspective. For instance, when a US politician admits to illegal drug use (Clinton on pot: "I didn't inhale": Bush: "I was young and foolish (and 40!)"; Schwarzenegger: "I never used steroids" (and I haf a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn ) it makes the news in a big way.

Mdlftr

Data from "Talk To Frank.com" (the UK's drug information service)

Anabolic steroids are Class C drugs to be sold only by pharmacists with a doctor's prescription. It's legal to possess or import steroids as long as they're for personal use. But possession or importing with intent to supply (which includes giving them to friends) is illegal and could lead to 14 years in prison and an unlimited fine.

[Mdlftr]

Originally Posted by CelticMuscle

Data from "Talk To Frank.com" (the UK's drug information service)

So in the UK, the distinction is in "amount" of steroids a person has. Too much and it's "Possession with intent to distribute". Less than "that" (however the amount is defined) is playtime!

Sounds interesting! Please post a link when you get it.

Thanks,

Mdlftr

[WhoDunIt]

Is there that much of a "problem" with teens and steroids over there, or are they looking for a "new evil" to use as a scapegoat?

[BIGJOEY]

yea it will be interesting to see what kind of BS is in that report. prime example of goverment interfering in people's lives. waste of money, time etc. They need to worry about moire important things like getting people back to work not .002% of the population doing something.

[yobdior]

If it's in the Express, expect it to be mostly sensationalist drivel, as it's a tabloid.

There isn't the same kind of highschool competitiveness between athletes for places at university and scholarships in the UK, so steroid use is probably a lot less common, except in certain arenas (Rugby players mostly, where muscle-bulk is very much desired).

To mdlftr:
Possession for personal use is legal (although only pharm produced steroids). Prosecution is unlikely unless the amount in possession is significantly more than what could 'reasonably' be claimed to be needed for 1-2 cycles.

Police in the UK are not keen to waste their time prosecuting steroid related offences except major supply and distribution, and were one of the few forces to refuse to cooperate with the US-led Operation Raw Deal crackdown on steroids and hgh before the 2008 Olympics. The DEA was not happy.

[Mdlftr]

"Police in the UK are not keen to waste their time prosecuting steroid related offences except major supply and distribution, and were one of the few forces to refuse to cooperate with the US-led Operation Raw Deal crackdown on steroids and hgh before the 2008 Olympics. The DEA was not happy."



Hmmm. That must be why we ran out of "English" muffins at breakfast in 2008, and had only "Freedom" muffins. Or was that "Stay the course" muffins? Or maybe it was "Mission Accomplished" muffins?

It's hard to remember!

[CelticMuscle]

as it could be a hard copy only article. This is the report that prompted the article (and was published on April 21st 2009)

Detectives think a 17-year-old boy died after taking a course of muscle-building drugs. The teenager - named by friends as Matthew Dear of Southend, Essex - died at Southend University Hospital on Monday.

Police said he had been undergoing treatment since April 13 and it was thought that he had become seriously ill after taking anabolic steroids. Detectives said tests were being carried out to establish what tablets the teenager had taken.

A police spokesman said a post-mortem examination was due to be carried out. He said three people - a 17-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man, from Westcliff, Essex, and a 24-year-old man from Leigh, Essex - had been arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled substance. They were all released on police bail without charge until June 23.

Several people paid tribute to the teenager in emails to a local newspaper website. One family friend wrote to say that Matthew wanted to be a Royal Marine and fight in Afghanistan. She said: "We saw him grow from a bonny baby boy to a lovely caring young man... he wanted to become a marine ...He had a dream, to one day become a soldier."

Anabolic steroids are usually synthesised from the male reproduction hormone testosterone. They reduce fatigue and recovery time and promote the development of muscle tissue by stimulating protein. The drugs are banned by many sporting bodies because they create a health risk and can give athletes a competitive advantage.

[Lifter73]

Who's to say that the guy did not get a batch of bad gear? I have known of guys that this has happened to, so that is a great possibility, so I would not be too quick to scream "steroids are killers!"

Enough of the media witch hunts already.....

D

[msclbldr]

the latest rumoured attack on our freedom in the UK to use gear seems to be coming from the International Olympic Committee who, in their continued futile witch-hunt against the erroneously named "steroid-cheats", want the UK Government to criminalize the use of steroids.

Not surprisingly, the UK Police are against this move as it will pointlessly increase their workload, not to mention the fact that there is widespread use amongst the police.