Access To DHEA At Risk - AGAIN!

06/26/07

By Nurse Mark

DHEA (DeHydroEpiAndrosterone) is one of those things that has been in the legislative crosshairs of Big Pharma, their lapdogs at the FDA, and their employee-politicians for years.

Year after year we see the same tired legislation being brought forward with the intent to ban this natural substance, usually by trying to lump it in with anabolic steroids - man-made substances related to male sex hormones and sometimes abused by athletes and weight lifters.

Make no mistake: DHEA is NOT an anabolic steroid!

DHEA is a steroid hormone secreted by our adrenal glands. It is a precursor (a “master hormone”) for many other steroid hormones including male and female sex hormones (estrogen and testosterone) and corticosteroids. DHEA levels often decline dramatically with age and low DHEA levels in the brain and blood are thought to contribute to many of the problems associated with aging.

This year the legislation that would ban DHEA is back . That in itself is not so unusual - we've been seeing this over and over, for years.

What is different this time is that the politicians sponsoring these bills have gone further: this time if Senate bill 762 (S.762) and House Resolution 1249 (H.R. 1249) are enacted into law, they would classify DHEA as a “controlled substance” under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act. This would mean that mere possession of DHEA could make you a criminal!

H.R. 1249: "To include dehydroepiandrosterone as an anabolic steroid" was introduced Feb 28, 2007 by Rep. Peter Roskam [R-IL]. It is the same bill that was introduced Sep 28, 2005 by a different politico, Rep. John Sweeney [R-NY].

S. 762: "A bill to include dehydroepiandrosterone as an anabolic steroid" was introduced Mar 5, 2007 by Senator Charles Grassley [R-IA] and cosponsored by Senator Richard Durbin [D-IL] and Senator John McCain [R-AZ]. This is the same bill that Sen. Grassley introduced in the 109th Congress.

Are we seeing a pattern here? Does it look like Big Pharma is absolutely determined to keep hammering away at this inexpensive natural substance until they have it banned, only to be available as an expensive, synthesized prescription drug? It does to me...

Here is what you can do: You can fax, email and call your two Senators and your House Representative and tell them to vote against any legislation seeking to restrict DHEA. Let them know that you are upset that Congress and the House would consider turning a safe and beneficial dietary supplement like DHEA into a controlled substance like anabolic steroids. Tell them that you know that DHEA is most certainly NOT an anabolic steroid. Tell them that you are even more upset that the apparent motive to ban DHEA as a low-cost supplement is so that it can be sold as an expensive prescription drug.