The act was amended by the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, which added prohormones to the list of controlled substances, with effect from January 20, 2005.Even though they can still be prescribed by a medical doctor in the U.S, the use of anabolic steroids for injury recovery purposes has been a taboo subject, even amongst the majority of sports medicine doctors and endocrinologists. United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, AAS are classified as class C drugs for their illegal abuse potential, which puts them in the same class as benzodiazepines. AAS are in Schedule 4, which is divided in 2 parts; Part 1 contains most of the benzodiazepines and Part 2 contains the AAS. Part 1 drugs are subject to full import and export controls with possession being an offence without an appropriate prescription. There is no restriction on the possession when it is part of a medicinal product. Part 2 drugs require a Home Office licence for importation and export unless the substance is in the form of a medicinal product and is for self-administration by a person. Status in sports
AAS are banned by all major sports bodies including Association of Tennis Professionals, Major League Baseball, Fédération Internationale de Football Association the Olympics, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, World Wrestling Entertainment and the National Football League. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) maintains the list of performance-enhancing substances used by many major sports bodies and includes all anabolic agents, which includes all AAS and precursors as well as all hormones and related substances.
There is a contrast between the attitude of adults with self-identified AS, who typically do not want to be cured and are proud of their identity; and parents of children with AS, who typically seek assistance and a cure for their children.Some researchers have argued that AS can be viewed as a different cognitive style, not a disorder, and that it should be removed from the standard Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, much as homosexuality was removed. In a 2002 paper, Simon Baron-Cohen wrote of those with AS: "In the social world, there is no great benefit to a precise eye for detail, but in the worlds of maths, computing, cataloging, music, linguistics, engineering, and science, such an eye for detail can lead to success rather than failure." Baron-Cohen cited two reasons why it might still be useful to consider AS to be a disability: to ensure provision for legally required special support, and to recognize emotional difficulties from reduced empathy. Baron-Cohen argues that the genes for Aspergers combination of abilities have operated throughout recent human evolution and have made remarkable contributions to human history.By contrast, Pier Jaarsma and Welin wrote in 2011 that the "broad version of the neurodiversity claim, covering low-functioning as well as high-functioning autism, is problematic. Only a narrow conception of neurodiversity, referring exclusively to high-functioning autists, is reasonable."