Legal Problems That You Can Face From Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs
If you're thinking about using performance-enhancing drugs, perhaps because other fitness enthusiasts in your social circle use them, it's easy to overlook their illegal nature. You may also be thinking how these drugs could hurt you, but not pose a risk to the community at large — and this mindset could again make you overlook the seriousness of this decision. While your doctor could likely give you a long list of reasons to stay away from performance-enhancing drugs, you should also stay away from them for legal reasons. The use of PEDs could land you in trouble legally in the following ways.
Drug Possession
One potential outcome of using performance-enhancing drugs is that you could end up facing drug possession charges. If the local police or even a state or national agency were to receive tips that drug use is popular at your gym, they could conduct a long investigation and eventually detain gym members and search them and the contents of their lockers. If you were to happen to have PEDs in your possession at the time of the raid, you could be looking at a serious charge for drug possession.
Drug Distribution
Many performance-enhancing drug users will talk about their merits with others and may even seek to sell drugs to other fitness buffs. You may think of this as being a lucrative side business, but there are very serious legal ramifications that could present themselves. You could end up facing drug distribution charges, which are more serious than simple possession charges. The person to whom you sell the drugs could testify against you, or could even be an undercover police officer. If the person to whom you sell is a minor, you could face an additional charge.
Assault
The prolonged use of performance-enhancing drugs leads to a series of health complications, including changes to your mood. Anabolic steroid users often experience a condition commonly known as "roid rage," in which they become violent and uncontrollable and may react violently with little to no warning. Roid rage could potentially lead to assault charges if you were to lose control of your composure and attack someone in your gym or elsewhere in your life. In the worst cases, you could end up taking the person's life, leading to a manslaughter charge.
If you've used drugs of any type and have ended up getting a drug-related charge, contact a criminal attorney.