Researchers looking into ways to make substance use safer

Hundreds of thousands of Australians are estimated to either inject or ingest non-medical anabolic steroids to perform or look their best.

Transcript

00:00Gus Cook has been on performance-enhancing drugs for most of his adult life.

00:15Anabolic steroids, coupled with a lot of hard work, helped him reach his athletic goals.

00:25The powerlifting coach is now prescribed testosterone legally, so he feels comfortable discussing

00:30his past drug use.

00:33He says his problems with illegal steroids began when he started to wean himself off

00:37them.

00:39What I started to experience was rapid muscle loss, rapid fat gain, and it made me feel

00:49very uncomfortable.

00:51Here in Queensland, anabolic steroids are in the same drug class as heroin and methamphetamine,

00:56so heavy penalties apply.

00:59Despite this, wastewater testing suggests usage is widespread in the community, and

01:04it's growing, particularly amongst younger Australians, who mostly use the unregulated

01:09drugs for performance or appearance.

01:12Using steroids long-term can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

01:17We know it can cause liver issues.

01:19When users stop taking their drugs, hypergonadism, where the body doesn't produce enough testosterone,

01:25can also be problematic.

01:28Usually it can take a while before their testosterone levels return to normal, and what happens

01:35in that period where they have low testosterone levels is that they often feel depressed,

01:40low energy, low sex drive.

01:44The known side effects are a big concern, but what's equally worrying is the unknown

01:49side effects from unexpected substances found in black market steroids.

01:54There was nothing available to test it, and it wasn't even really a consideration back

02:00then because it just wasn't something that people did, it was just a very underground

02:05kind of thing at the time.

02:07At a laboratory at Griffith University in Brisbane, a team of researchers is developing

02:12a steroid testing service, similar to those used at music festivals.

02:18So it's all about harm reduction and ensuring that clients can get accurate knowledge of

02:23what's in their sample before they intend to use it.

02:27With fewer than 30 samples so far, it's very early days, but already the team has made

02:33some alarming findings.

02:35A quarter contained unexpected substances.

02:38That poses risks to someone who's taking that unknowingly.

02:43While the Queensland government maintains there's no safe way to take illicit drugs,

02:48Dr Piontkovski believes harm reduction initiatives must be prioritised.

02:53If they know, then perhaps they won't use that particular drug or they will source from

02:59somewhere else or they will make a different decision.

03:06Gus Cook's steroid use was born out of his drive for fitness.

03:10He wishes he'd had access to testing when he was using illegally, so he knew exactly

03:15what he was injecting into his body.

03:19You may have the desire to perform at a high level, but you can't do that if you're unhealthy.