The Law and the Anabolic Steroid, Plain and Simple

What is an anabolic steroid?

An anabolic steroid is essentially a drug that mimics the male sex hormone testosterone, although it's more properly called an anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS).

Who defines an anabolic steroid?

For the purposes of this post, let's stick with the law. In this case, the pertinent law is the 1990 Anabolic Steroid Control Act, which defined anabolic-androgenic steroids as “any drug or hormonal substance chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone.” Can't get any simpler than that, right? This doesn't cover corticosteroids, such as prednisone, and it doesn't cover female hormone or hormone-like substances, such as those found in contraceptive pills/implants.

What's the anabolic law say?

The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 classified, for the first time, the anabolic steroid, as defined above, as a Schedule III Controlled Substance.

What's a Schedule III Controlled Substance?

Well. Here's what it isn't: A Schedule III controlled substance is not a Schedule II or a Schedule I controlled substance. That means, essentially, that it has less potential for abuse than those substances, although it's still considered dangerous and therefore legally restricted. Other Schedule III drugs include stimulants used for weight loss/appetite suppression, some depressants, and narcotics such as codeine, morphine, and hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin).