Steroids Thailand – The Steroid Hub of the World

THERE’S something about the seedy Thai beachside town of Pattaya that keeps bringing Sydney bodybuilder Michael Dorn back. It’s not the sun, sand and sex, though that’s what most tourists visit the resort for. The draw is a thriving subculture of amateur bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids and growth hormones as a fast-track to the ultimate physique. But the drugs are illegal in Australia, and so they’re shipped across the border to Thailand for sale — where they fuel a black market that poses dangerous and legal risks for those who take them.

Almost anyone can sell or buy steroids in Thailand, which is why it’s become known as the “steroid hub of the world”. A number of manufacturers are located there, and they supply the global market with performance and image-enhancing substances, some of which have been linked to professional sports clubs such as Essendon in the AFL and Cronulla in the NRL.

Steroids are illegal in Australia, and possession is punishable by up to one year in prison. But the US Food and Drug Administration warns that drugs that mimic testosterone can have serious side effects — including fertility problems, high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart and liver abnormalities, and shrinkage of the testes in men or development of breast tissue in girls.

Chris, who asked to be identified only by his first name, divides his time between Australia and Pattaya. He says he knows of pharmacies that advertise steroids and offer them for a fraction of their cost in Australia. Those pharmacies often don’t require prescriptions, and clinics will write them for a fee. They can also smuggle them by declaring them as veterinary medicines or animal foods. Steroids Thailand