The first synthetic anabolic steroids were created in the 1940s to respond to the needs of severely malnourished prisoners of war and concentration camp internees. No new steroids have been synthesized and no new steroid research has been conducted in the United States for 25 years. Nonetheless, the popularity of the bodybuilding subculture has kept steroids available on the black market in unprecedented amounts. The FDA has uniformly opposed the development of new and safer steroids and has sought and obtained criminalization for unauthorized possession or sale of anabolic steroids.
Steroids are popular because they do work.
They increase lean body mass better and more rapidly than non-steroidal supplements. The anabolic effects of steroids are those that have a direct effect on the production of muscle mass. Androgenic effects of steroids include the development or increase of facial hair, the deepening of the voice, stimulation of sebaceous glands and some as yet ill-defined effects on brain tissue. People with HIV disease value most the anabolic effects of steroids, since they have undergone metabolic changes that can potentially lead to wasting, and these steroids may reverse those metabolic changes. Marijuana, methadone and alcohol are all proven to decrease testosterone levels as well.