Many modern athletes, from baseball players to UFC fighters, are looking for new and improved ways to enhance their athletic performance. While the old way of performance enhancing was mostly steroidal use, it appears a new form of performance enhancing drug now has the stage.

After a string of recent athletes testing positive for selective androgen receptor modulators, or SARMs for short, it appears that the World Anti-Doping Agency may begin cracking down.

The USADA announced several months ago, that after four UFC athletes tested positive for a SARM known as Ostarine, they would be given a six-month suspension period.

The four athletes, who tested positive for trace amounts of Ostarine, are Augusto Mendes, Marvin Vettori, Sean O’Malley, and Nicco Montano. Many fans were outraged upon hearing this, although others claim that “everyone” in professional athletic sports uses them.

Despite this however, many other athletes have been busted for using SARMs, which have been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances since 2008.

Initially developed as a way to treat muscle-wasting in cancer patients, SARMs have recently spread throughout the bodybuilding and athletic communities, touted as a new form of “legal steroid” which can give you many benefits, without side effects.

In fact, some users are even claiming that SARMs are stronger than steroids, especially when it comes to the more cutting edge selective androgen receptor modulators.

Despite this, the World Anti-Doping Agency and other government agencies have doubled down efforts to stop the sales of these illicit research chemicals.

This is especially relevant, after the federal government charged six people for conspiring in a massive, multi-million-dollar effort to distribute these illegal dietary supplements.

“Fraud by supplement manufacturers and distributors is extremely dangerous for consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.

“These products are not safe and that is why we will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute those who import, manufacture, and distribute dangerous and illegal ingredients for fraudulent purposes,” he continued to add.

This isn’t the first time that SARMs manufacturers have run into legal trouble, though. In 2018, the FDA sent a warning letter to a California company’s office, regarding this. Healthline states:

“The popularity of gray-market research chemicals known as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) among bodybuilding and fitness buffs is growing. Healthcare professionals and national regulatory bodies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), are watching closely. SARMs are a novel class of drugs similar to androgenic steroids, including testosterone. Theyaren’t currently approved for use in humansin the United States or any other country. Nonetheless, they remain available through various outlets on the internet as well as some supplement companies in the United States.”

While it’s clear that many athletes are now turning to SARMs as a way to enhance their performance, one other thing is clear: the US government is cracking down.

Press Release Distributed by The Express Wire

To view the original version on The Express Wire visit World Anti-Doping Agency Concerned About SARMs Usage in Athletes