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