Congress passed the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act (DASCA) of 2014 (S. 2012) last night, clearing the bill to be signed into law by President Obama. 

Obama is expected to sign the bill that provides new authority to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to place designer anabolic steroids on the Controlled Substance Schedules more rapidly. The bill also gives DEA new enforcement tools to prosecute disreputable companies that develop and market anabolic steroids mislabeled as dietary supplements. 

AHPA has been advocating lawmakers to pass this legislation to help protect consumers from potentially dangerous anabolic steroids falsely marketed as dietary supplements. 

"AHPA thanks Congress for passing this important bill," said Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). "Just a handful of bad actors selling illegal products can tarnish the regulated supplement industry. When President Obama signs this legislation into law, it will help protect consumers and the supplement industry by providing federal law enforcement officials with additional authority to crack down on those who don't comply with current laws and regulations."

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced DASCA on February 11, 2014 and Reps. Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) subsequently introduced the bill in the House. AHPA partnered with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the Natural Products Association (NPA) and the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) to express support for the bill and advocate for its passage. 

"Responsible dietary supplement industry stakeholders have consistently supported congressional and regulatory efforts to enact and enforce laws that help eliminate illegal products that masquerade as dietary supplements, and to prosecute the criminals who manufacture and sell them," the associations said in the statement.

View the text of the bill online >>