Rick Collins, leading steroid legal expert from Collins, McDonald & Gann, has released an analysis of the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 that doubles maximum steroid trafficking sentences. President Bush signed the legislation on October 15, 2008 to “put an end to the illegal sale of highly addictive prescription drugs on the Internet” to “ensure a safer future for our children.”
The legislation amends the Controlled Substances Act to address issues related to internet pharmacies, internet pharmacy prescriptions and the dispensing of controlled substances via the Internet. Even though, the legislation’s namesake was a teenager who overdosed on Vicodin (and not anabolic steroids), the Act represents a continuation in the “war on steroid trafficking.”
Rick Collins specifically looks at the far-reaching consequences for anabolic steroid trafficking cases (“Maximum Steroid Trafficking Sentences to Double,” October 28).
Most importantly, the law increases the maximum sentence for selling anabolic steroids (and other schedule III drugs) from 5 years to 10 years (up to 15 years if use of the drug causes death or serious bodily injury)…
For those with a prior drug conviction, the maximum increases from 10 to 20 years (up to 30 years if use of the drug causes death or serious bodily injury)…
The increase in penalties for tracking anabolic steroids provides additional incentive for prosecutors to pursue steroid-related cases. It is much more attractive to a prosecutor to put a steroid user in prison for several years than merely a few months. We can expect a dramatic increase in the number of steroid-related prosecutions thanks to the Ryan Haight Act.
For steroid users who feel that the draconian sentences will only be reserved for big-time steroid dealers, you should be warned that federal prosecutors have pursued steroid distribution cases against individuals for as few as 10 Dianabol tablets. A steroid possession case can be perceived as a steroid distribution case through the eyes of an overzealous anti-steroid crusading prosecutor.
For more information, read Rick Collins’ article on the doubling of maximum steroid trafficking sentences in addition to the full text of the Ryan Haight Act. The new regulations take effect 180 days after the enactment of the Act.
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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