From injectable to drops: the dangerous “fad” of the new anabolics

The cult of the body continues to be synonymous with the consumption of anabolic drugs. Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS) have been in fashion for some time now. They are easy to consume because they do not have to be injected and are taken orally, but they are toxic to the liver and with time can cause tumors.

In addition, they are manufactured and distributed illegally and they are trafficked because the benefits that criminal groups obtain are very substantial, since a dropper bottle can be sold at a price of 60 euros when the cost of production does not reach a euro, although the distribution costs would have to be subtracted from that profit.

Be that as it may, SARMS (modifications from the testosterone molecule) are drugs under experimentation, as cataloged by the Spanish Medicines Agency, and, therefore, their distribution and sale is prohibited. For this reason, both the Civil Guard and the National Police have recently carried out several operations against this illegal traffic.

SARMS can have many advantages for medicine, since they act selectively on the organ that needs it, but of those that are in clinical trials, only ostarine is the most advanced and can be effective in combating osteoporosis. . A cyclist in the Giro d’Italia has already tested positive for this substance.

And although it is not exactly a SARMS, cardarine is another of the substances that has become fashionable in the world of sports, both professional and amateur, because it is a “good fat burner”as several experts consulted by EFE have pointed out.

But side effects, such as cancer, have been found in tests with mice.

The illegal trade in Sarms – modus operandi

The Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard dismantled a few months ago and after two years of investigation the first criminal network in Spain dedicated to the import, manufacture and distribution of SARMS. It was the operation called Sahagún-Arán.

It is the person in charge of the Health and Doping Section of that unit who explains to EFE the modus operandi of these organizations, which begins with the acquisition in China of the active ingredient, manufactured there in legal laboratories.

From China it arrives in Spain, in powder form, by air, sea or land. Already in our country, the organizations are in charge of buying the pharmaceutical solvent.

But the mixture with the active principle cannot be done by anyone, so “subcontract” a laboratory that, as occurred in the Sahagún-Arán operation, may be authorized to make these mixtures. In this case, for cosmetics.

In the laboratory, the medicine is packaged in dropper-shaped bottles, as was the case in this case, and it is introduced into individual boxes for distribution by logistics companies with which the organizations contact.

The UCO agents came to intervene in this operation more than 10,000 containers with the Ibero-Sarms brand, the most sold together with NG-Labs.

The Civil Guard investigator recalls that, in many cases, medicines are not stored under the conditions that would be required and points out that even the labeling contains “trap”because they verified that the barcode on the box does not correspond to the one on the bottle.

As advertising, also subcontracted, that is carried out through youtubers, instagramers or influencers who, “like a mantra”They repeat that they are experimental drugs and that they are not for human consumption. And they give examples such as the loss of body fat that SARMS has caused in a rat.

But at the end of the video “it escapes them” that they themselves have tried it.

Who traffics and who buys

There are different profiles among the groups that are dedicated to this illegal business. The security forces have verified that, among them, those related to the gym business predominate, because they have the client insured, but also people with studies in business management who believe that there is a “legal limbo” in this traffic. They are wrong, says the researcher.

Generally, the product is offered on the Internet and through a web page from which the order is made.

And the largest customers are based, above all, in Levante and Eastern Andalusia. In short, in places with good weather and who live facing the sea. Areas where the body is displayed more.

The opinion of the specialists

Doctors Pedro Manonelles, renowned specialist in Sports Medicine, professor at the Catholic University of Murcia and former president of the Spanish Federation of Sports Medicine; and María José Polanco, professor of Toxicology at the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid, have also confirmed the increase in the use of SARMS.

They remind EFE that they are prohibited products in sports and that they are dangerous outside the hospital environment and without medical supervision.

Its relatively low side effects in relation to other substances used in doping, such as anabolics and steroids; its immediate effects on muscle development and its oral application facilitate its consumption, these specialists emphasize.

As Manonelles explains, SARMS have appeared in doping for about ten years and there are more and more of them on the prohibited lists: from three to a dozen and “They are in full expansion.”

Although the actual side effects are not yet fully understood, cases of hepatoxicity have been detected in animal trials.

“If they are taken orally they are dangerous, they are toxic to the liver and can cause the appearance of tumors after a while. It is the only complication found so far”says the doctor.

“Many preparations contain up to six substances. That is a huge risk.”warns.

For her part, Professor Polanco points out that liver toxicity is associated with the use of SARMS, but little is known about its side effects, still under study.

Polanco emphasizes: “For medicine, SARMS are promising, but their recreational use or to improve sports performance is not justified.

They cannot be used to improve the muscles of a gym athlete… It is not the same to risk using it to save a life than to look stronger”.

Source: EFE