H.R.
Bill 207 - Outlawing Nutritional Supplements?
by Patrick Arnold and Rick Collins
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H.R.
Bill 207 - Outlawing Nutritional Supplements? The
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If you're one of the millions of Americans who enjoy and benefit from anti-aging supplements such as testosterone, androstenedione, DHEA, pregnenolone, and HGH you have reason to be concerned. Certain members of Congress are intent on taking them away from you and placing you under arrest if you possess them! Sound far-fetched? It's frighteningly real, yet almost no one in the anti- aging/life-extension community is aware of the threat. The villain is the so-called "Anti-Andro Bill" - H.R. 5564 - introduced last October in the House by U.S. Representatives Sweeney and Osborne. Purporting to address the use of muscle-building "andro" supplements by teens, this wildly overbroad bill would have devastating effects on mature adults throughout America. It would actually permit the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to schedule a wide variety of currently over-the-counter nutritional supplements as controlled substances. In effect, this bill would authorize the arrest and criminal prosecution of millions of Americans as drug offenders-just for possessing supplements like DHEA, Oral HGH, Androstenedione, and Pregnenolone. Those caught with these currently legal supplements - proven to have powerful health and anti-aging benefits - would even be subject to federal asset forfeiture laws, permitting the government to seize and retain private property! All this would be done by making an end-run around the proper lawful procedures, and without any evidence of legitimate public health concerns or dangers to American adults. The bill seeks to deal a staggering blow to nutritional supplement freedom and the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA). What crisis compels such a radical act? What evidence suggests that health-promoting substances like DHEA, 7-keto DHEA and pregnenolone have a potential for abuse or dependence of any kind? Absolutely none. Most life extensionists and anti-aging enthusiasts would agree that no such potential exists, and that to schedule these compounds as drugs of abuse is ludicrous. Particularly troubling, as Mr. Collins points out, is that controlled substance status carries with it serious consequences. Controlled substances fall under the jurisdiction of the DEA, not the FDA. If H.R. 207 passes the mere unlawful possession of steroid hormone precursors will be a federal crime punishable- like the possession of narcotics and other hard drugs- with a range of potential penalty including incarceration. Bottom line from Mr. Collins: this bill could put otherwise law-abiding mature adults in jail for what are now health food store nutritional supplements. (Adding to the confusion, it should be noted that H.R. 5564 was reintroduced to the 108th Congress as H.R. 207. All congressional contact letters should now contain the new bill number "H.R. 207"). The
Anatomy of Bill H.R. 5564 (H.R. 207) Understanding
The Scope of Bill - H.R. 5564 (H.R. Bill 207) All right, that part is pretty obvious. It's in subsection 1 (b) where the sneakiness begins. First off, look at the troubling language of paragraph 1(b)(1): "without regard to the requirement that the substance promote muscle growth" (emphasis added). This language changes the bill from one designed to simply eliminate the supposedly muscle-promoting andro products, to a bill that eliminates ALL steroid precursors such as anti-aging precursors like DHEA and pregnenolone that many aging Americans use for optimal health and longevity. The DSHEA (Dietary Supplement and Health Act) of 1994 which has given Americans freedom to use natural anti-aging steroidal compounds is under attack. Anti-aging supplements such as oral HGH could become illegal as early as April if Congress passes the bill by March (2003). Precursors
of Precursors of Precursors If this bill were passed, according to paragraph 1(b)(2), the Attorney General could then declare DHEA a controlled substance because it is the immediate precursor of androstenedione, which this bill classifies as a controlled substance. The process repeats itself backwards with 17-alpha-hydroxypregenolone and finally with pregnenolone then being classified as controlled substances. There they would go, like dominoes, all criminalized by a simple administrative act that must be stopped from being enacted into law. If Congress passes this draconian piece of legislation, there won't be much any person, agency or citizen's action group can do about it. It will already be the law of the land, and you'll be a criminal if you violate it. Wake
up, America! With images of kids taking andro to hit home runs like Mark McGwire in the mind of Congress, coupled with the support of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the NFL and the NCAA, the political pressure to vote for this bill is almost overwhelming. Unfortunately, what the proponents of this bill are NOT telling anyone is that this bill is about a lot more than andro. It's also about sneaking in as many other supplements as possible - supplements that do NOT have the stigma of andro, and that otherwise would be much more difficult to eliminate from shelves. Article Continued In Next Column Your Health Freedom May Be At Risk! Check Our CODEX/Activism Section | Main Articles Page | | You Must Act Immediately. The anti-Andro Bill H.R. 5564 (H.R. Bill 207) is a high priority bill that has received tremendous media coverage the past several weeks in a wide variety of outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post. Rep. Sweeney has made it clear that he is going to push as hard as possible to get it passed quickly. Unfortunately, right now there is practically no resistance to this bill. With its politically popular "save our teens" message and well-hidden assaults on adult freedoms, H.R. 207 is basically a home run, that is, unless we act quickly! We must tell the politicians on Capitol Hill that American adults want supplement freedom, not an expansion of the war on drugs into our neighborhood health food stores! Please contact the United Supplement Freedom Association, Inc. (USFA), a not-for-profit coalition dedicated to the preservation of nutritional freedoms for American adults. You can visit online right now at www.USFA.biz, where you can click on the Anti-Aging section and follow instructions on how to petition your congressional representatives to demand that they fight this bill. A form letter and list of representatives is available. Alternatively, you can write and contribute to the USFA through the association's general counsel, Rick
Collins, Esq., We must act immediately to let our voice be heard, or face the beginning of the end of our supplement freedoms! What
You Can Do to Fight The Bill Article By by Patrick Arnold and Rick Collins Sources
and References : United Supplement Freedom Association: http://www.usfa.biz
What are "Controlled Substances"? The "Controlled Substances Act of 1970" as it is referred to, was originally designed to limit and control access to drugs that have potential for addiction and abuse. This originally concerned only drugs that can make you high or intoxicated in a pleasant way, but in 1990 an amendment to the act was approved that also included anabolic steroids . . The Controlled Substances Act allows for fine control of drugs of abuse, by the inclusion of 5 categories of scheduling that range from the most restricted (Class I) to the lesser restrived (Class V). Along with the Controlled Substances Act were harsher prison sentences, new DEA registration numbers for all prescribers or drug handlers, and other additions that are beyond the scope of this article. Most states have passed laws that mirror the Controlled Substances Act, although from state to state there are differences and peculiarities. HR 207 aims to reclassify all steroid hormone supplement products as Class III controlled substances, right along with prescription anabolic steroids. Since these products are not approved drugs, the only way you can possess them is if you have special registration by the DEA (generally only given to doctors or to those belonging to established pre-approved research organizations). If you do not have this special registration then you might be committing a FELONY for having that bottle of HGH or DHEA, and you can conceivably be facing prison time!! As unbelievable as this sounds, this is all true. And it could happen as early as April if the house passes the bill by March (2003) What is a "Controlled Substance"? While many drugs require a prescription from a physician, some drugs are deemed so dangerous that further restrictions are warranted. These drugs are called "controlled substances." According to Rick Collins, Esq., performance drug and supplement legal expert and General Counsel for the United Supplement Freedom Assn (USFA), federal law has created five schedules of these controlled substances. Anabolic steroids are in Schedule III. In order to put a drug into Schedule III, the government has to find that it meets certain requirements: (A) The drug or other substance has a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II. (B) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. (C) Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence. How does the government decide if a drug meets the requirements to become a controlled substance? The authority to add new substances to the schedules is given to the Attorney General. To start the inquiry, he's supposed to request an evaluation and recommendations from the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the drug's potential for abuse and the need for scheduling. H.R. 207 circumvents the established procedures, and attempts to classify all steroid hormone precursors simply by act of Congress. Your Health Freedom May Be At Risk! Check Our CODEX/Activism Section | Main Articles Page | |
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