Will Canada crackdown on anabolic steroids in preparation for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games? The steroid crackdown at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was understandable given the long history of China’s manufacture and distribution of raw and finished anabolic steroid and performance enhancing products. But does anyone think steroids are a problem in Canada? After all, steroids are responsible for saving lives in Vancouver! Nonetheless, we may be seeing the beginning of a steroid crackdown in the region.
Victoria Police have arrested an employee of ‘Your Vitamin Store’ (YVS) in the Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada). The steroid bust involved a 33-year old employee now facing criminal charges for selling Methyl 1-Testosterone (M1T) in bottles of 90 capsules for $109.95. Most consumers consider M1T a “prohormone.” The employee was charged with six counts of trafficking in a controlled substance (anabolic steroids) and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking (anabolic steroids).
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In the United States, the supplement company Legal Gear introduced M1T to the market in 2003. M1T was marketed as a “prohormone” and legally sold in thousands of sports nutrition stores around the country as an over-the-counter “dietary supplement.” According to William Llewellyn, author of Anabolics (7th Edition), methyl 1-testosterone (methyldihidroboldenone) can best be described as an “amalgamation of Primobolan, Winstrol and trenbolone” because it possesses the “basic 1-ene structure of Primobolan, the bioavailability of a methylated oral steroid like Winstrol, and the high potency of a strong synthetic anabolic and androgenic agent like trenbolone.”
M1T and a variety of other prohormone products were banned and pulled off the U.S. market as a result of the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 although many people stocked up on prohormones in anticipation of the ban.
In Canada, anabolic steroids and their derivatives are Schedule IV controlled substances under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act of Canada. Health Canada has issued warnings regarding the sale and purchase of M1T and other “unauthorized products containing anabolic steroids.” Health Canada blamed M1T for one reported adverse report of liver toxicity.
Canadians are advised to contact the Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate at 1-800-267-9675 if they find Anabolic Xtreme Superdrol, Methyl-1-P, Ergomax LMG, Prostanozol and, FiniGenX Magnum Liquid, M1T (methyl-1-testosterone) Andro Technologies or any other products containing anabolic steroids on the Canadian market.
Most supplement companies liquidated their stock of M1T and related prohormones once the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 went into effect on January 20, 2005. The origin of the M1T sold at YVS Victoria is unknown.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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