Recent information from the Catlin Consortium (a group of organizations dedicated to protecting consumers and athletes from dangerous over-the-counter products) reveals that many products that have been banned or deemed as illegal are still being marketed and sold on Amazon.com. For decades, prohormones, designer steroids, and disguised steroids have appeared in dietary and body building supplements, causing consumers to test positive when drug tested.
Of particular concern with the prohormones and steroids appearing in certain dietary supplements is the fact that these compounds have not been tested for their safety and toxicity. Much attention has been paid to this growing issue, but Amazon.com has continued to sell many of the products that have since been banned. For example, when Former President George W. Bush signed the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, Amazon.com did not heed the president’s message in his State of The Union address. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took measurable actions – raiding Bodybuilding.com and identifying 65 products containing illegal steroids – Amazon did not act accordingly.
Not only was the former’s president’s message in his State of the Union address seemingly ignored by the conglomerate, so too were the regulations set forth in the Anabolic Steroid Control Acts. Higher-ups in the market were well aware of the FDA raids on Bodybuilding.com, yet Amazon did nothing more than sit by and watch as other companies were criticized for selling the same products that Amazon was quietly continuing to market online. It wasn’t until January of 2011 that the company was called out, at which time the Catlin Consortium pointed out the discrepancy. As noted in one of the Consortium’s blog posts, the same products for which the FDA had previously raided Bodybuilding.com back in 2009 were still being made available at Amazon.com. It took next to no time before the news made The Washington Post and number of other noteworthy news outlets continued to publicize the story after that.
Despite the negative publicity, Amazon continued to sell several questionable products, only removing one of the most controversial products – CEL M-Drol – last month after the Consortium linked to the supplement in a presentation. As recently as October 20th of this year, at least 2 products could still be found on Amazon.com (both products were previously named on the FDA’s raid list in 2009). The two suspect products:
- Kilo Sports Trenadrol
- Purus Labs Nasty Mass
In one search conducted last week, typing in “prohormones” on Amazon.com yielded a total of 125 products, many of which are suspected to contain steroids or other related substances. Other dangerous products can also be found at the online store, including stimulants such as methlyexaneamine and methamphetamine analogs, both of which are marketed as nothing more than pre-workout supplements.
Additional supplements that are still being sold on Amazon.com that have gotten media attention for their more-than-questionable components are Jack3D from USP Labs and Craze from Driven Sports. After many controversial issues with Jack3D, the FDA has openly challenged the supplement’s legality and safety. Not surprisingly, USP Labs reformulated the product to remove methylhexaneamine. However, Amazon.com STILL sells the original version.
Followers of our log blog should recognize the Craze supplement, which has recently come under a lot of scrutiny in the dietary supplement markets. Now known to carry a compound mimicking methamphetamine, Craze has been pulled from the shelves of Wal-Mart, Bodlybuilding.com, and eBay. The product can still be found by at least eight sellers on Amazon.com.
Claiming to be, “Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online,” Amazon.com certainly leaves something to prove. In contrast to its mission, the company has openly and continually sold steroids, stimulants, and a number of drugs not approved for human consumption. Until this issue is effectively addressed, some of the most dangerous dietary and exercise supplements will remain on the market and available to unsuspecting consumers.
Contact The Senators Firm if you were victimized by a defective drug or dangerous dietary supplement.