Anabolic Steroids in Italy: the situation 

If you are on this site, it means that you are interested in some way, directly or indirectly, in the world of anabolic steroids, and if you understand this language, there is a good chance that you live in Italy and speak Italian 🙂 

In this article, we will discuss the situation in Italy regarding anabolic steroids from a legal and sporting perspective.

In fact, there are two different points of view, one concerning sports justice and one concerning ordinary criminal justice.

From here on, we will consider all anabolic steroids in the same way, grouping them under a single category, that of doping substances. In reality, not all steroids are considered in the same way, but to make this article easier to understand, let's just think of them all as being on the same level.

Possession of doping substances is not, in theory, punishable by law. Many substances, such as TESTOSTERONE ENANTHATE or DECA DURABOLIN, are medicines that can be prescribed by endocrinologists and are therefore perfectly legal with a doctor's prescription. The law therefore does not punish the possession of such substances, but only up to a certain point, up to a certain quantity. Above a certain quantity, it is considered a quantity for sale, and at this point, the classic legal procedures take over. 

But what is this level? 

In fact, it is not specified and remains at the discretion of the authorities or the judge, if any.

If I, as an individual, take these substances (which I possess) legally, it is not prohibited (as already mentioned, they may also be prescription drugs or active ingredients present in other types of drugs not always necessarily intended to improve physical performance). The problem arises at the level of sports justice, which obviously prohibits the use of doping substances or the disclosure of unauthorized drugs for the purpose of improving athletic performance. 

At this point, a crossover between Italian law and sports regulations must be found in order to assess, and possibly punish, the inappropriate use of doping substances, their intake in competitive sports, and their sale.

The meeting point can be found in Anti-Doping Law 376/2000 entitled "Regulation of health protection in sports activities in the fight against doping."

This law emphasizes that anabolic steroids (ONLINE and NON-ONLINESTEROIDS ) fall squarely within the category of doping substances.

This law punishes those who procure, administer, and use doping with penalties ranging from 3 months to 3 years and fines from €2,500 to €50,000.

To summarize: possession of steroids (within a certain quantity) is not illegal; above a certain quantity, it is considered possession for sale and therefore punishable by law. In sports, if you are a competitive athlete, the use, administration, and illegal sale of steroids is prohibited, with penalties that fall under criminal law and not just sports law.