Steroid Laws in US - German Man Busted - Discovers How Tough US Steroid Law Can Be
Steroid Laws in US - German Man Busted - Discovers How Tough US Steroid Law Can Be
Dear Friend and Fellow Athelete,
US residents know how ridiculously harsh the steroid laws are in America. But since most countries outside of the United States don’t demonize steroids, their residents sometimes unassumingly bring steroids and HGH into America accidentally breaking our steroid laws. And, as Francesco Gigliotti found out, this mistake can be very costly – even if you’ve done nothing wrong!
Alcohol is illegal in Saudi Arabia. In fact, just having one drink in Saudi Arabia could land you in jail for anywhere from a few weeks to several months. If you take alcohol into the country then you could be looking at several years in a Saudi prison. Unfortunately, not everyone who travels to Saudi Arabia is clear on this since almost every other country in the world allows people of legal age to drink.
Even if you never drink, just imagine flying from a country where alcohol flows freely to Saudi Arabia with a case of beer and no clue about the laws there. You’d be tossed in jail, or worse yet, prison just for being unclear on a law that most countries don’t have. And the bad thing is, the same thing is happening to people who travel to the United States with steroids in their luggage and unknowingly breal our steroid laws. Cologne, Germany native Francesco Gigliotti found this out the hard way when he was busted for having steroids in his luggage.
The 45 year-old Gigliotti was detained at the Southwest International Airport in Florida after federal agents searched his luggage and discovered a 250-mg/ml ampoule of testosterone along with a 2-mL dosage of nandrolone decanoate; this was in addition to syringes and needles they found for the dosages. Immediately after agents discovered the steroids and testosterone in Francesco Gigliotti’s luggage, he was thrown in jail and slapped with 5 different felony charges. One count was for possession of drug paraphernalia while two other counts were for possession of testosterone and steroids.
And while the blind public may have looked at the first couple paragraphs of this news story and simply said Gigliotti got what he deserved, there is much more to it than what is on the surface. That’s because Francesco Gigliotti is currently undergoing hormone replacement therapy and, as indicated by the small dosages found in his luggage, there is no reason to think Gigliotti is lying about this.
What’s more is that this man is a member of the European Union and was on a business trip to Florida. So it’s not like the 45 year-old businessman was smuggling steroids into the country so he could juice right before hitting Gold’s Gym. But as the 5 felony charges leveled at Gigliotti indicate, there is no mercy for juicers in America – even if it’s just an international visitor on hormone replacement therapy.
Hopefully the fact that Francesco Gigliotti is a middle-aged man on hormone replacement therapy will help him get out of the trouble he’s in. I think with this being the case it’s highly likely he won’t be convicted of all the felony charges against him. But what if Gigliotti wasn’t on hormone replacement therapy, and was just a bodybuilder who didn’t know much about the United State’s strict laws on steroids. Would he be busted for all 5 felony counts then?
As sad as it is, I think the answer would probably be yes just because he would have been using the drugs for cosmetic purposes. This definitely brings up an important issue about whether or not it’s fair for somebody who lives outside of the United States to be subject to such harsh laws. I realize that, as the courts always say, ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law - even our draconian steroid laws. But most of the world doesn’t view steroids with as much prejudice as the US government and media does. In fact, if you check out many other country’s laws on steroids, you’d find that the United States is one of the worst places to juice.
Just look at the country I kicked off this article off with in Saudi Arabia where alcohol is looked at as an absolute evil. Steroids were actually legal to buy over the counter up until 2005 when they were made illegal along with a number of other sanctions imposed that year. Still, Saudi Arabians aren’t going to be thrown in the slammer for months on end just for possessing steroids like they would be in the United States (just make sure you’re never caught with a Budweiser over there though).
Even better yet, consider Saudi Arabia’s neighbor to the north in Kuwait. Citizens of Kuwait can walk into any local pharmacy and get the steroids they want just like an American could get any cold medicine he wanted in a pharmacy here. In Kuwait there’s no need to go underground to get steroids where one could get ripped off or worse, mamed by using fake gear.
And Kuwait isn’t the only country which allows its citizens to freely juice since places like Thailand, Turkey, Bulgaria, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran (the list goes on and on) all have legal steroids. Even the countries which make steroids illegal don’t punish offenders as harshly as the US does since being in possession of a single pill can earn you jail time in the States.
That’s because steroids fall under the Schedule III class in the Controlled Substances Act that was signed into effect in 1991. As defined by its Schedule III status, the maximum punishment for being in possession of steroids is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Get caught with anabolic steroids twice in the US and you could be looking at up to two years in prison and a $2,500 fine. The fines and punishments get even worse for dealers since a first offense could earn a person 5 years in prison along with a $250,000 max fine. Those who are busted a second time could sit in prison for up to 10 years!
As you can see, the laws in the United States differ greatly from other parts of the world. Seeing as how this is the case, it isn’t unthinkable to imagine an international visitor overlooking the prospect of US laws being so rigid in comparison to their own country. So loading roids or human growth hormone into some luggage might seem harmless to people who live outside of the States – especially when it’s for hormone replacement therapy!
But, as I stated before, the courts don’t excuse being caught bringing steroids into the country on account of being ignorant to the laws. As a result, Francesco Gigliotti could have to do some major jail time for bringing HGH into the country. Hopefully though, Gigliotti won’t be exposed to the full extent of America’s terribly unfair steroid laws.
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Yours in sport,
George Spellwin
George Spellwin
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I am not sure about this article. I live in the U.S. and yes the steroid laws are ridiculous but in this article it says the man was charged with possesion of testosterone and steroids. First off test is a class 4 steroid as well as deca. Class 4 drugs in america are not illeagle to be in possesion of nor is it illeagle to be under the influence of, It is however illeagle to buy or sell. This is were it is tricky and if you know your rights stated in the U.S. constitution you have the right to remain silent and you also have the right to not self incriminate. The 5th amendment. It is not your duty or obligation to give anyone any information on how you come to have it or to be under the influence of, Therefore if you are questioned on how did you obtain it all you say is legally. If they ask how, do not answer, tell them go do the research yourself. If they ask you were you got them, you say I dont remember. If they keep asking questions you keep telling them nothing they have nothing to charge you with. The laws here are really dumb, and America is in bad need of a judicial overhaul in the worst way, They sentence a man to 2 years in prison for fighting and betting on dogs but a man that commits DUI Murder gets 26 days! Olord!