Steroids Thailand is the global hub for the production and distribution of illegal drugs. Its strategic location, bustling trade environment and porous borders have enabled international criminal networks to exploit weak links in the supply chain. The unchecked flow of steroids from Thailand to the global market poses serious health risks for individuals, due to adulterated products and the absence of stringent regulations.

Sydney man Michael Dorn has a reason to return to the seedy beachside Thai town of Pattaya. He’s a member of a burgeoning amateur bodybuilding subculture that uses anabolic steroids and growth hormones to achieve the ultimate ripped physique. But while the drugs are heavily restricted in Australia, Dorn and hundreds like him are escaping prosecution by taking “steroid vacations” in Thailand.

During an investigation, Fairfax Media found that pharmacies in Bangkok and Pattaya sell steroid brands for 10 times less than their Australian black-market price. And they’re easy to find, with some pharmacies openly advertising them in shop-front windows. One in South Pattaya on 2nd Road, for example, offers a visual catalogue that includes both oral and injectable forms of the drugs and talks customers through the process of bulking up.

But steroid use has also been linked to a host of potentially serious side effects, including bone loss, behavioural changes and a condition known as glue ear (otitis media with effusion or OME), in which fluid accumulates in the middle ear causing hearing impairment. And it can cause high blood pressure, heart problems and liver damage. Steroids Thailand