The term "steroid" is a broad term for naturally-occurring compounds having as a basis 17 carbon atoms arranged in four rings.  Estrogen and birth control pills are types of steroids.  Corticosteroids, which are catabolic hormones that break tissue down, are often used in medical treatment.  However, most media sources that use the term "steroids" are referring to anabolic steroids - the kind of steroids that build up tissue and muscle.  Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the primary male sex hormone, testosterone. 

Testosterone is both anabolic and androgenic, meaning that it not only builds tissue but also helps control the development and maintenance of male sexual characteristics.  The average man produces about 4-7mgs of testosterone a day.  It is not uncommon for doctors to prescribe a replacement dosage of approximately 100mg weekly to help maintain normal levels for men whose bodies are not properly producing the hormone.  Non-medical steroid users - the population against which recent laws have been aimed - typically administer between 10 and 100 times that dosage. 

The earliest research on this substance occurred in 1767 but it was not until the 1930s that Dutch pharmacologist Ernst Laqueur managed to isolate testosterone itself and thus allow for synthetic versions to be produced.  By the 1940s, and due in part to the publication of Paul de Kruif's The Male Hormone, testosterone was widely hailed as the next "wonder drug" that would promote greater well-being, energy and sexual restoration to aging men.  Anecdotal reports soon followed asserting that "steroids" (i.e. testosterone and its synthetic variants) helped build muscle and shorten recovery times as well.

These early messages were mostly overwhelmed by negative attention from within the field of sports, where "juicing" was considered to give athletes an unfair advantage over their competitors.  By 1975, steroids were added to the Olympics' list of banned substances, and college and professional sports soon followed.  In 1988 trafficking in steroids became illegal, and in 1990, against the advice of the American Medical Association, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration, steroids were made into a Schedule III controlled substance.

While typically safe when properly prescribed and medically administered, the abuse of anabolic steroids may lead to health problems.  However, health risks associated with using steroids in mature adults are, like most potent substances, primarily related to dose levels and duration of use.  Prolonged use of oral steroids ("alkylated" steroids) can lead to problems with the liver.  Injectable steroids, by far the most widely used type, are administered intramuscularly and are much less stressful to the liver.  The most common adverse effects of anabolic steroids in adult males are acne, accelerated male pattern baldness in predisposed individuals, and reduction in testicular volume.  Some users may experience excessive hair growth, gynecomastia (enlarged breasts in males), and unfavorable changes in cholesterol.  The side effects of steroid use in women are more numerous and more pronounced than in men.  Non-medical steroid use by teenagers may lead to adverse health consequences in addition to those risked by adult males, and such use should be strongly discouraged.         

Recent increases in federal steroid offense sentencing place steroids on the same level as other Schedule III drugs like Marinol and ketamine for purposes of quantification.  This newly imposed equivalency standard is misleading because one "unit" of steroids is very unlike one "unit" of other Schedule III drugs.  A unit or dose of steroids has no appreciable psychoactive or physiological effect whatsoever.  Also, the patterns of steroid use and possession differ greatly from those of typical drug users.  Non-medical steroid users customarily buy in bulk in order for the steroids to last for a full, pre-planned cycle of use that may last for weeks or months.  Many steroid users also "stack" (use different kinds of steroids at the same time) to maximize muscle growth while minimizing or avoiding unwanted adverse effects.  Federal steroid offenders are likely to be treated disproportionately harshly under the new sentencing model, as they tend to possess much greater quantities than other Schedule III drug offenders.  It is not uncommon for personal users to be indicted as dealers and face longer prison sentences based upon the erroneous presumption that those in possession of large quantities of steroids are clearly possessing "with intent" to sell.  Although these changes in the federal sentencing rules were largely motivated by concerns over illicit use of steroids to cheat among professional sports players, research has shown that the vast majority of non-medical steroid use is motivated by cosmetic reasons, especially among non-athletes.     

Sources

• Collins, Rick.  "PUMPED: A Truth-Enhancing Seminar on Steroid Use and the Law."  Powerpoint presentation.  May 10, 2006.
• Kotler, Steven.  "Sympathy for the Devil."  LA Weekly.  July 28, 2005.