Mark Rainbow A former bodybuilder has ridden a slippery slope to jail, after importing medicines from Thailand in bottles marked "Gay Lube Oil". At the Auckland District Court today, Mark William Rainbow was sentenced to five years in prison for offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act, as well as three months jail for illegally importing, possessing and supplying prescription and other medicines. He will serve both sentences concurrently. The 43-year-old pleaded guilty last March to 38 breaches of the Medicines Act, including possession of anabolic steroids and related medicines used for performance and image enhancement, and sale of unapproved medicines. The medicines were imported from Thailand in May 2008 in "Gay Lube Oil" bottles. The contents were then transferred into bottles labelled with the name of Rainbow's trading company, SSIS Pharmaceuticals. Medsafe says the products he sold were not of a pharmaceutical standard and their lack of quality assurance posed a real risk to those using them. Medsafe investigators, working with Customs and police, found that Rainbow supplied to at least three people. Medsafe's Compliance Management branch manager Derek Fitzgerald says Rainbow put the public's health at risk. "He was supplying prescription medicines to consumers who had not received proper medical assessment and advice. There was no consideration as to the safety and suitability of these medicines for consumers, including the impact the medicines could have on consumers through side effects or interaction with other medications," he says. Potential adverse effects from the use of anabolic steroids include: stunted growth, if used by those under 21 years old, virilisation of women, worsening of heart failure, renal failure, and hypertension. When used in high doses, risks include liver tumours and liver toxicity, abnormal cholesterol levels, and psychiatric disturbances such as depression, aggression and hypomania. Mr Fitzgerald says the outcome of this prosecution should serve as a warning that offences of this nature that pose a high risk to others will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 17th September 2010 - 2:47pm