CURRENT PERSPECTIVES ON ANABOLIC-STEROIDS

Steroids are used outside the realm of competitive athletics in Austra lia among a wide variety of groups with different motivations and goal s. This paper provides an overview of the reasons for use; rates of us age; physical and psychological side effects; and sources of steroids. Issues associated with injecting steroids; their current legal status ; and drug education and prevention programmes are reviewed briefly. R esearch involving identified sub-populations is needed to determine us er profiles and prevalence rates of users and potential users. Studies of Australian users are also needed to obtain baseline information on areas of potential harm associated with steroids use, e.g. aggressive behaviour, needle-sharing behaviour, physical side effects and potent ial for dependency. It is concluded that future deterrence strategies should focus more on demand reduction, rather than supply.