Legalisation of Anabolic Steroids

William Mao

Anabolic steroids are types of drugs that stimulate muscle growth and encourage faster recovery.  They are currently prescription-only and are classified as class C drugs, and it is illegal to possess, import or export them if it’s believed you’re selling them, however, it is legal to have them without intent to supply. The penalty is a prison sentence of up to 14 years, but this rarely ever happens. So what's the issue? Because of these slack laws, anabolic steroids are one of the most commonly abused drugs in the UK, rivalling marijuana.

One reason supporting the idea that anabolic steroids should be legalised is that the government could have regulations to limit the dosages people take and also to give clear, publicised instructions on what are safe amounts to use. Currently, the only information available on how much is the right amount to take is provided by the person who is selling it to them, who is inevitably liable to encourage the customer to take more, as the dealer will then get more money. Another benefit of regulating steroids would be that needles and pills used to take them can be produced, transported and stored safely so they are sterile. Some dealers currently reuse needles from other customers, which leads to the transfer of bloodborne diseases such as aids. These problems could be mitigated if they were regulated and sold in pharmacies.

A problem with legalising anabolic steroids is that it may promote the view that they are more safe than they actually are. This could, perhaps, lead to a rise in the number of people using and, in turn, increase the number of people experiencing the negative side effects. There are approximately one million people in the UK who use anabolic steroids, almost all of whom go to the gym as a form of exercise to complement it. There are roughly ten million people who go to the gym in the UK, most of which do so to improve their physical fitness. This means that one in ten people who go to the gym use steroids, and if steroids are legalised, this number could drastically increase as this would provide a legal way to increase your strength and change your muscle mass, all for a similar price to a gym membership.

This could be reduced if the government levies serious taxes on the substance, similar to excise duties. A benefit of legalising the sale of anabolic steroids is it could improve the government’s fiscal position through this taxation, which would also promote the creation of a new industry, and produce more job opportunities around the UK. The parallel of cigarettes can be extended further, as they are both objectively bad for your health. Now if you are saying “Why should we legalise anabolic steroids”, why shouldn’t we ban tobacco as well? The leading argument to this is that there would be no government revenue, it would be hard to police and illegal importation with underground sales would still mean it is used. These are the exact things happening with steroids. If steroids are legalised, this would help grow the economy. Since steroid usage is so rife at the moment, anybody who would want to use steroids is already likely on steroids, so the risk of this move is actually very low. The extra money for the government could potentially reduce taxes.

Even if steroids are regulated, they are by no means safe. They were made illegal for a reason. They can disrupt your hormonal systems, which would be detrimental to young people in particular. Even if steroids were only sold in pharmacies to adults (18+), the increased access to the substance would almost definitely result in an increase in illegal usage by those under 18. One of the most common forms of anabolic steroids is testosterone. A healthy male produces 6-7 mg of testosterone a day and a woman produces 0.1-0.4 mg a day. A typical dosage of testosterone for anabolic steroid misuse is 200mg, but it is known to be far higher, as much as 1000mg. Taking what your body would produce in a month in a day can lead to heavy side effects, some of which being sterility, shrinking testicles(men), gynecomastia(enlarged breasts in males), deepening of the voice(women), mood swings and hair growth/loss. Many of these can be permanent. Serious steroid misuse can also lead to sudden cardiac death, liver-related problems and osteoporosis.

The idea of legalising steroids shouldn’t be alien to us, as there are many countries which have legalised steroids, such as Mexico and Thailand. While there are known risks, the idea has some merit in the future as our government is £2.7 trillion in debt, and the taxation of a regulated substance, which inevitably will be sold could aid economic recovery.