A 23-year old man died of unknown causes at Eastbourne District General Hospital shortly after being admitted. Lewis Allan was feeling ill in the early morning hours of October 10, 2011 and was rushed to the hospital.
Since Allan was a bodybuilder who had used anabolic steroids, Sussex Police are operating on the assumption that steroids caused or contributed to his death. Allan had reportedly gained over 50 pounds while using anabolic steroids during the past year.
The possession of anabolic steroids for self-administration is still legal in the United Kingdom. Only illicit steroid dealers who profit from selling steroids without a license are subject to criminal prosecution.
Sussex Police have arrested the steroid dealer who had supplied Allan with the drugs.
Steroids will likely become increasingly demonized in the British press over the next several months as the 2012 London Olympic Games approach.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have condemned the United Kingdom’s permissive steroid possession laws. They have long pressured legislators to adopt legislation that criminalizes the personal possession of steroids.
The British government has relented to some degree and have weakened the steroid laws in response.
In 2009, the UK passed legislation that made UK steroid laws consistent with the WADA prohibited substance list.
In September 2011, UK legislators announced their intentions to criminalize the importation of anabolic steroids by mail.
This month, Hugh Robertson, the country’s sports minister, promised to “do everything [he] can” to keep steroids out of sports including changes in UK policy. It is unknown what steps Robertson intends to take.
The London Olympics will take place next summer. Efforts to demonize steroids are likely to intensify in England. This may not be the first UK death we see blamed on steroids.
Source:
Parsons, B. (October 12, 2011). Inquiry into steroid-dealing launched following man’s death. Retrieved from http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9300428.Inquiry_into_steroid_dealing_launched_following_man_s_death/
