Is HGH Legal?
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) injections have become an increasingly popular alternative to steroid use for bodybuilders, fitness fanatics, and those hoping to enhance their athletic performance and fight the signs of aging.
HGH is a natural hormone produced in the pituitary gland that promotes cell repair and rejuvenation, and many people are beginning to turn to HGH supplements as a way to get a leg up on the health and fitness competition.
Even athletes are turning to HGH to up their athletic abilities, but is a supplement that may give athletes and fitness competitors an unfair advantage over their fellow competitors legal?
Why Supplement with HGH?
Because HGH levels begin to decrease dramatically after the age of 30 and your body begins to show the decrease through wrinkles, decreased energy, weight gain, sleeping trouble, decreased muscle mass, poor vision, memory loss, and immune deficiency, taking an HGH supplement to restore these levels would be a logical choice, right?
Athletic Vs. Personal Use
Ever since a study was released in 1990 in the New England journal of Medicine that showed men who took a 6 month cycle of HGH reduced their body fat by 14.4 percent while increasing their lean muscle mass by 8.8 percent, bodybuilders and athletes can’t keep their hands off of it, and if they can’t afford the injections, alternative HGH supplements are looked at.
If you are just an everyday gym-goer who is trying to maintain a youthful body and stay in shape and happen to have an extra $3000.00 lying around every year, then whether or not you take HGH supplements is up to you. However, if you are an athlete, fitness competitor, ball player, racer, etc. and you think that taking HGH injection supplements is going to give you a leg up, think again.
The Scoop on the Legality of HGH
Although not on the federal list of controlled substances, HGH injections (the most effective form of the supplement) are illegal unless you get them prescribed by a doctor. According to an article published by CNN Health in 2007, anyone caught selling HGH without a prescription can end up in prison for five to ten years and find themselves having to pay a $250,000 fine.
Even celebrities have gotten caught up in the HGH hype: HGH was found in Anna Nicole Smith’s body after she died, Sylvester Stallone was arrested for trying to sneak 48 vials of HGH in his luggage through Australian customs, and Barry Bonds supposedly increased his home-run numbers through the use of HGH.
Below is the breakdown for what is and what is not a legal way to supplement with HGH:
1. In order for adults to get a prescription, they have to show through blood work that their levels of HGH are below normal.
2. HGH is most highly prescribed to children who suffer from growth disorders
3. HGH use for “anti-aging” is illegal
4. If any Olympic Athlete is found to have increased levels of HGH in their bloodstream or in possession of the hormone, they will not be allowed to compete in the games and will face a large fine.
The Jury’s In
While this article discusses HGH in its injectible form, alternative and relatively inexpensive HGH supplements come in pill and spray form also and have much more mild repercussions for their use.
However, because HGH is supplement that has proven to increase athletic performance it has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in athletic competitions and anyone found in possession of the drug in its injectible form can face jail time and large fines. HGH is only legal when prescribed by a doctor and if you are taking HGH injections on your own then you run the risk of the afore mentioned consequences. In another article we’ll discuss the side-effects associated with HGH supplementing and then you can decide for yourself if HGH as an injection is still a supplement you’d like to experiment with.
