‘Do It Yourself’ Hormones: The Illegal Drug Trade You’ve Never Heard of
One of the most problematic aspects of the trans movement, largely ignored by the mainstream media, is the sale of “DIY HRT”: Do It Yourself Hormone Replacement Therapy. This involves the illegal trafficking of hormones by trans activists and online pharmacies. The rate of DIY HRT use varies depending on country and age group, but it is extremely common. A survey showed that 49.1% of transwomen living in San Francisco use DIY HRT.[1] Similar data from the UK shows that 31% of British transgenders choose to take illegal, unprescribed hormones.
Many who get caught up in this trade are minors:
Maria*, whose teenage daughter bought testosterone online and, later, from a drug dealer, said hormones should not be given without a prescription…
Maria added her daughter had since detransitioned. “The thing is, my daughter has been left with permanent physical damage from the testosterone that she took illegally off prescription – permanent damage that will never resolve, that she’s got to live with for the rest of her life.[2]
Cases like this don’t surprise me at all. A vast subculture centered around illegal hormones exists, hidden in plain sight, and these substances are heavily promoted to teens. There are over 102k members—and 25k weekly visitors—of Reddit’s “TransDIY” sub. Members share links to online businesses that provide sex hormones, anti-androgens, domperidone (a note next to this item states “Do not use for breast growth, useful to induce lactation.”[3]) and GnRH agonists. The latter class of drugs are used to shut down hormone production and are colloquially known as puberty blockers.[4] This is an example of one of these sites:
Other dealers sell their products on Discord servers or at real life meet-ups. They frame DIY HRT as cooler than legal HRT (which is easier to get than ever before but less “rebellious”). One member of the r/Detrans subreddit described his experiences with adults who encourage minors to use DIY hormones:
It’s almost seen as a badge of honour to be doing DIY. It’s pushed by a lot of the self appointed “trans mothers” who have assumed an “elder” role within the community most of whom are (unsurprisingly) AGP. They get off on being “in charge” and looked to for advice and knowledge, they love the power they have over the inexperienced young ones. These are the kinds of “transwomen” who first encouraged me to transition all those years ago with their zealous “transition or suicide” rhetoric. Back when I was actually part of the community I used to butt heads with these people all the time, I felt a degree of responsibility to do damage control and provide contradictory advice to all the young ones they’d encouraged to DIY. I ended up giving up and departing from the community altogether as it became obvious I was vastly outnumbered by nutjobs and narcissists, and I couldn’t stomach the level of delusion that so many people were exuding and trying to justify as legitimate.[5]
His story is quite typical. Many detransitioners have spoken out about the widespread promotion of DIY hormones to minors, but they have been ignored by America’s mainstream media.
It would be extremely easy for the Trump Administration, conservative activists, and local law enforcement to begin rectifying this situation. Testosterone is a Schedule III drug, and it is a felony to sell it without a prescription.[6] There is already a precedent for arresting those who break controlled substance laws and illegally sell anabolic steroids.[7] While estrogen is not regulated as strictly as testosterone, it is still a prescription drug. This means that selling it violates state laws and can result in prison sentences.
An additional list of laws being broken, not including those directly covering the sale of illegal substances, includes:
- Violation of the Travel Act (18 U.S.C. § 1952) by sending illegal goods across state lines. This is a felony which can result in a 5-year prison sentence.[8]
- Violation of State Department of Health Laws that ban the practice of medicine without a license.
- Customs Fraud, which may be enforced either through 19 U.S.C. 1592 or through the False Claims Act (FCA). The financial penalties imposed upon those who are found to violate the latter are substantial: an offender can be fined between $14,308 to $28,619 per violation.[9]
- Violation of USCBP Rules regarding HS Codes. As of September 2025, all small parcels imported to the United States must declare an accurate Harmonized System Code. DIY Hormone sellers use false HS codes to import their goods.
- Violation of 21 U.S. Code § 841 which covers, “(A)delivering, distributing, or dispensing a controlled substance by means of the Internet by an online pharmacy that is not validly registered…”[10]
Using existing laws to stop the sale of DIY Hormones would help protect vulnerable young people and, at the same time, deal a huge blow to the most militant members of “Trantifa.” Discord hormone jockeys are often radical activists who use their profits to promote trans and Antifa ideology.
There is also anecdotal evidence that pro-trans medical professionals may be involved in this trade. The website DIYHRT.Market, which sells a wide variety of hormones, casually mentions that “homebrew” drugs are being manufactured by those with ties to the medical industry:
Homebrew drugs are manufactured by individuals or small groups of trans people looking to do their part to help the community.
[…]the most trusted suppliers are eminently educated on these subjects often working in or adjacent to the pharmaceutical industry, or at the very least operating on guidance from others who are.[11]
Similar claims exist on Reddit’s TransDIY sub. It might be more than a sales tactic. An investigation of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health showed numerous violations of medical ethics by ideologically driven pro-trans doctors, including attempts to skirt the law.[12] My personal belief is that there are likely individuals working at gender clinics who illegally provide trans activists with hard-to-find drugs like puberty blockers. My brief investigation into this issue showed that a DIY seller known as Open Gate Labs claims to privately manufacture a GnRH agonist called Relugolix:[13]
This drug only hit the American market in 2019. Very few people know how to produce it, and I’m skeptical of the idea that a clique of trans activists are making it in a suburban basement. It seems more logical to assume that medical professionals (aka the suppliers who are “working in or adjacent to the pharmaceutical industry”) are involved in providing Relugolix to Open Gate Labs. That might sound like a big claim, but I think it’s very plausible. I wouldn’t put it past a certain number of pro-trans doctors to get involved in the DIY trade and pocket the cash.
This needs to be investigated. A massive, illegal drug trade is being conducted, largely in plain view, and dealers are openly selling to minors whom they “guide” via Discord servers and Reddit DMs. We need to determine exactly who is involved and stop this.
It is time for the Trump administration to close businesses that illegally sell hormones, arrest local dealers, close Discord servers and related sites in which minors are groomed into taking body altering substances, and determine whether ideologically driven medical professionals are involved in this trade.
We already have the laws and historical precedent to do this. It’s time to act.
Notes
[1] Kennedy, C. E., Yeh, P. T., Byrne, J., van der Merwe, L. L. A., Ferguson, L., Poteat, T., & Narasimhan, M. (2022). Self-administration of gender-affirming hormones: a systematic review of effectiveness, cost, and values and preferences of end-users and health workers. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 29(3).
[2] Davis, N., & Marsh, S. (2024, May 3). “Concerns as cross-sex hormones available online for just £11 a month”, The Guardian.
[3] HRT Cafe. (2024). HRT Cafe.
[4] Mayo Clinic. (2023, June 14). “Pubertal blockers for transgender and gender diverse youth”. Mayo Clinic.
[5] Reddit – https://www.reddit.com/r/detrans/comments/1e6pujr/anyone_else_concerned_with_some_trans_subreddits/
[6] DEA (2025). Drug Scheduling. United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
[7] “Steroids Dealer Sentenced”(2017). Federal Bureau of Investigation.
[8] Headquarters, V. N. (2024). Eisner Gorin LLP. thefederalcriminalattorneys.com.
[9] Complete Guide to False Claims Act Penalties – Whistleblower Law. (2020, July 16). Whistleblower Law Collaborative.
[11] Transfem HRT Guide – DIYHRT.Market. (2023). DIYHRT.Market. https://diyhrt.market/transfem-hrt-guide#homebrew-vs-pharmaceuticals