Is RAD-140 Legal? FDA, Sports, and Military Bans

RAD-140, also called testolone, sits in an unusual legal position in the United States: it is not a controlled substance, so possessing it for personal use is not a federal crime, but it is an unapproved new drug that cannot lawfully be sold as a supplement, a medication, or a “research chemical” for human consumption. Sellers face FDA warning letters, product seizures, and federal prison sentences. Athletes and service members face their own separate bans. And several other countries treat RAD-140 more strictly than the U.S. does.

Federal Status: Unapproved, But Not Scheduled

The FDA classifies RAD-140 and every other selective androgen receptor modulator as an unapproved new drug. The agency’s position is that “SARMs cannot be legally marketed in the U.S. as a dietary supplement or drug at this time.”¹ SARMs have never been reviewed for safety or effectiveness as consumer products, so they cannot be sold as supplements, and because none are approved drugs, doctors cannot prescribe them.² No regulator anywhere has approved RAD-140 to treat any condition.

RAD-140 is not, however, a controlled substance under federal law. The SARMs Control Act was introduced in 2018 and again in 2019 to place SARMs in Schedule III alongside anabolic steroids, but neither bill advanced past committee.³ Personal possession therefore does not carry the criminal exposure that possessing a scheduled steroid would. The legal risk falls on sellers and distributors, who can be prosecuted for introducing unapproved drugs into interstate commerce.

The “Research Only” Label Does Not Make It Legal

Vendors commonly label RAD-140 as “for research use only” or “not for human consumption.” The FDA does not accept that framing. In warning letters, the agency has pointed to website imagery, marketing copy, and social media posts showing that the products are actually intended for people to take, regardless of what the bottle says.⁴⁵ A disclaimer will not shield a seller from federal drug law when the surrounding evidence shows the product is being sold for human use.

What Sellers Actually Face

The FDA has used both civil and criminal enforcement tools. On the civil side, in December 2025 the agency issued warning letters to Titan SARMs LLC (for marketing RAD-140, LGD-4033, Andarine, and YK-11) and to Atomix LLC (for marketing RAD-140 and Ostarine), warning that failure to correct violations could lead to seizure and injunctions.⁴⁵

Criminal cases show what the harder end of enforcement looks like. Brian Michael Parks, owner of MedFitRX Inc. in North Carolina, pleaded guilty in November 2020 to distributing unapproved new drugs including RAD-140, Ostarine, and Ligandrol. He admitted to omitting ingredients from labels, falsely claiming his company was licensed, and importing raw materials to avoid regulatory scrutiny. He was sentenced in February 2021 to one year and one day in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $350,000.⁶

Michael Terry Little, operating SARMTECH out of Idaho, sold more than $4.4 million in SARMs products between 2018 and 2022, importing bulk ingredients from China and offering “stealth shipping” to help customers evade customs. He pleaded guilty to introducing unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce and was sentenced in November 2023 to 24 months in federal prison.⁷

Enforcement is grounded in real health concerns. The FDA has linked SARMs to heart attack, stroke, liver injury, and acute liver failure, and published case reports document severe cholestatic liver injury from RAD-140 specifically, some progressing to acute liver failure requiring transplant.¹⁸

Banned in Sports

RAD-140 is banned in essentially every organized sport. The World Anti-Doping Agency lists it under Section S1.2 (“Other Anabolic Agents”) of its Prohibited List, meaning it is banned at all times, in and out of competition.⁹ Recent USADA sanctions for RAD-140 include a four-year ban for wheelchair rugby athlete Daniel Sandor announced in January 2026, a three-year ban for track and field athlete Johnny Maynard announced in August 2024, and an eight-year ban for track and field athlete Gil Roberts announced in June 2024.¹⁰

The NCAA also bans SARMs. RAD-140 is named as a prohibited substance under “Anabolic Agents,” and NCAA policy extends the ban to any substance chemically or pharmacologically related to a banned class, so unnamed SARMs are covered too. Athletes who test positive lose eligibility, and the NCAA places the burden of verifying supplement ingredients on the athlete.¹¹

Prohibited for Military Personnel

U.S. service members face a separate prohibition. Department of Defense Instruction 6130.06 bars military personnel from using any dietary supplement containing an ingredient on the DoD Prohibited Dietary Supplement Ingredients List maintained by Operation Supplement Safety, and RAD-140 is specifically named on that list.¹² Violations are enforceable under UCMJ Article 92 as failure to obey a lawful order. A service member does not need to fail a drug test to be charged; evidence of possession or use is enough. Consequences can range from nonjudicial punishment to administrative separation to court-martial.¹³ Standard military urinalysis does not routinely screen for SARMs, but commanders can order targeted testing when credible evidence exists.

Legal Status Outside the United States

RAD-140 is restricted in other major markets, and in several places the rules on possession and importation are stricter than in the U.S.

United Kingdom: the Food Standards Agency classifies SARMs as an “unauthorised novel food,” placing them on the market is a criminal offence, and the FSA advises consumers not to consume them.¹⁴
Australia: RAD-140 is covered by the Australian Poisons Standard, and accessing it without authority is illegal. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has not approved it for any use and has issued health warnings about SARMs.¹⁵
Canada: Health Canada treats SARMs as unauthorized drugs when sold as bodybuilding products; importing unauthorized drugs is illegal, and Health Canada works with the Canada Border Services Agency to seize shipments. In 2025 alone, Health Canada seized RAD-140 products from multiple companies, including Distribution Summit Inc. in Sherbrooke, Quebec in July 2025 and Prime Research, also in Sherbrooke, in April 2025.¹⁶

State Restrictions on Sales to Minors

A separate state-level layer applies to who can buy supplements that may contain compounds like RAD-140. In October 2023, New York became the first state to ban the sale of over-the-counter weight loss and muscle-building supplements to anyone under 18, codified in New York Business Law Section 391-oo. The law survived an initial legal challenge when the Second Circuit affirmed denial of a preliminary injunction against it in November 2025.¹⁷ Colorado, New Jersey, and Michigan have enacted or proposed similar legislation.

1
FDA. FDA Warns Use of Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators SARMs Among Teens Young Adults
2
USADA. Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators SARMs Prohibited Class Anabolic Agents
3
Congress.gov. S.2895 SARMs Control Act of 2019
4
FDA. Warning Letter to Titan SARMs LLC
5
FDA. Warning Letter to Atomix LLC
6
Department of Justice. Owner of Sport Supplement Company Sentenced for Unlawful Distribution of Steroid Drugs
7
Department of Justice. Nampa Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Selling Over $4.4 Million in Unapproved Steroid Drugs
8
Australian Prescriber. Severe Liver Injury Following Use of RAD-140
9
WADA. Prohibited List
10
USADA. Sanctions
11
NCAA. NCAA Banned Substances
12
OPSS. DoD Prohibited Dietary Supplement Ingredients
13
DoD. DoDI 6130.06 Use of Dietary Supplements in the DoD
14
BBC. SARMs Novel Food Classification
15
Sport Integrity Australia. RAD-140 Health Warning
16
Health Canada. Unauthorized Workout Supplements May Pose Serious Health Risks
17
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. New York Diet Supplements Ban