Some reports revealed that several high school students today are already using steroids. This claim is supported by the facts presented by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) wherein they have estimated the possible number of students who are being linked to steroids use to range more than half-million, especially by those in the eight and tenth grade students. NIDA also stated that 60 percent among the high school seniors don’t think of steroids as a dangerous drug.

Obviously, the problem on steroids use is no longer confined to professional athletes alone. The use of these performance-enhancing drugs is also becoming common on the general population, especially among the student athletes. Because of this, Penn State Worthington Scranton has planned to host a special presentation on the use of steroids to contribute an effort for community outreach. The presentation, which is themed “The Effects of Steroid Use,” will be headed by Dr. P. Christopher Metzger in the Multi-Purpose Building in the University on Dec. 11 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The said presentation will not require any registration fee and is open for the general public.

Dr. Metzger was chosen by the Penn State Worthington Scranton to lead the presentation because of his qualified background. Essentially, Dr. Metzger has worked as the Scranton or Wilkes-Barre Red Barons’ team physician and is now the team physician of the New York Yankees for the affiliate of the Triple A. Dr. Metzger also served as the team physician for the Sports Medicine Program of the Abington Heights in Marywood University.

Furthermore, Penn State Worthington Scranton is certainly not the only one to organize a free presentation to give more awareness to the young ones about the threats brought by steroids to one’s body. There are actually more organizations who are performing presentations and orientations to discourage the use of steroids among the student athletes more particularly according to the featured article of Beth Hering of CharityGuide.com.   

Hering said that numbers of high schools nowadays are actually mandated to conduct orientation meetings for student athletes with their parents during the start of a sports season. She also stated that in most instances, these meetings feature the story of Taylor Hooton, a 17-year-old boy who committed suicide when steroid use caused him severe mood swings. His story is known in a presentation entitled “The Secret Edge: Taylor’s Story.” These meetings are significant because during these events parents are also handed with print out listing on the physical, emotional, and behavioral warning symptoms of steroid use.
 
Today, lots of community seminars are also being organized said by Hering. And speakers are usually taken from the foundation of Taylor Hooton. Of course, during community seminars, high school students and junior high school along with their coaches and parents are being invited to participate.

To further ensure the effectiveness of the campaign in discouraging the use of steroids, Hering stated that NIDA is also distributing posters. These posters can be requested at NIDA by calling them on their hotline no. 1-800-729-6686. These posters significantly bear a message “Steroids: Know Your Opposition,” which presents the side effects of using steroids. Meanwhile, some of them also says, “Steroids: Not in My Game Plan,” which appeals to self-integrity.  

The officer of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor said that a local doctor was charged for writing illegal prescriptions of steroids last Monday according to the report released at the NewsNet5.com. The doctor is identified to be Dr. Ramon Scruggs, 61 year-old, a native of Santa Ana, California. Dr. Scruggs received 13 counts charge for drug trafficking from the grand jury of Cuyahoga County.

Report stated that along with Scruggs were Craig Romey, Anthony Tuleta, and Angel Otero. These persons are also facing similar charges for illegally buying the steroids from the said physician as stated by the prosecutors. Tuleta works as a police officer in Cleveland. Prosecutors said that Romey, Tuleta, and Otero were discovered buying steroids illegally after they have presented insurance claims to Medical Mutual. Medical Mutual immediately contacted the Drug Enforcement Agency right after it has recognized the extreme amounts of prescribed steroids.

This time, NewsNet.com reported that apart from the 13 counts charged to Dr. Scruggs, he will also receive a sanction of 39 and half years in prison. Meanwhile, Romey is facing a sanction of 16 and half years in prison by receiving four counts on possession of illegal drugs with one count on burglary. Otero is also facing 6 years in prison at most after he was charged with three counts on possession of illegal drugs with one count on burglary.
 
Similarly, Tuleta is sentenced to spend 24 and half years in prison by receiving six counts on illegal possession of drugs and one count on burglary. Tuleta is also accused of submitting an amount of $94,000 claims to health insurer.
  
The Associated Press (AP) also revealed the past involvement of Scruggs in prescribing steroids illegally. According to AP,  Ramon Scruggs is already known to prescribe steroids for non-medical purposes over the Internet from the year 2003 to 2007. However, his previous case was about his supply of performance-enhancing drugs to professional baseball players. On the other had, the case he is facing right now involves the chief police lieutenant of Cleveland.
 
Dr. Scruggs lawyer, Carlos Negrete, has termed the cases as “a witch hunt” upon hearing the maximum sentence that will be faced by Dr. Scruggs if ever he will be convicted. AP reported that it was last April when Dr. Scruggs was charged for 11 counts by the U.S. District Court in San Diego, Calif. The charge was about his illegal distribution of drugs to some Major League Baseball players.
The New York Times report last month of March revealed the statement of medical board in a formal allegation filed in 2004, which was updated in June 2006. Here it was stated that Dr. Scrugg had almost completed a number of 6,073 illegal prescriptions of controlled substances or dangerous drugs over the Internet without performing any examination to his patients.
 
When Scruggs was asked to described himself in one of his interviews, he claimed that he is “an alternative physician.” Writer of ‘Chemical Muscle Enhancement, Jason Meuller, also described the physician by saying “Dr. Scruggs is an anti-aging and performance enhancement specialist. To be blunt, he prescribes steroids to both the aged and the athletes. Yes, I know physicians don’t prescribe steroids, right? Well, this physician does, I know not only because I’ve referred dozen of people to his practice, but I am a patient myself.”

Police are using steroids to wrestle with bad guys. To gain advantage over them, they resort to steroids use as explained by Police Cmdr. Kim Humphrey of Phoenix. Union-Tribune published a report about the moves pursued by today’s police chiefs to fight the trend of steroid-abuse of some cops. Humphrey also stated that the usual purpose of some police in using anabolic steroids is to protect themselves as well as the public. However, the top law enforcement found out that the connotations of a police force on these drugs are only frightening the public.

Humphrey discussed about the trend of steroids intake among some police last November 11 at the International Association of Chiefs of Police meeting in downtown San Diego. He said that although steroids provide an advantage on the SWAT team; this still gives out an awful end result to users such as aggressive outbursts, poor judgment, too much use of force, and severe health problems to police authorities who have been linked to steroid-abuse. And of course, the fact that these drugs are illegal cannot be denied.
“Steroid abuse has seeped into police agencies nationwide, but few departments test their officers for the drug,” Humphrey said.
 
A chief researcher of steroid at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Olympic testing laboratory who also work as a Major League Baseball’s consultant, Gary Green, also said that the use of steroid has gone outside the sports field. “And it has big implications for law enforcement. This is someone who has a firearm, who is entrusted by the public. We certainly want them to be as healthy as they can be,” he added.
Previously, reports about the use of steroids among police have been published by several leading newspapers and online news. One case that has been announced to the public was the case reported by Susan Donaldson James of ABC News about Matthew, not his real name. According to the experts of law enforcements, Matthew served as one of the typical steroid user who worried on his competency when he reached 30. Since Matthew was maintaining himself to be on top of the job, he also tends to deal with younger and stronger criminals. “I look back on that and other scuffles and I was not nearly as tough and strong as I once was,” Matthew uttered who is in his 33 years of age. “It scared me to think how easily things could go wrong. So, I kept thinking I am only getting older, and the criminals will always be young. I was looking for an edge,” he added.
 
San Diego Assistant Police Chief, Bob Kanaski, revealed that steroid use was already an issue in the department since late 1980s and early 1990s. He said, “I haven’t seen anything of that nature since then, which is surprising too.” “I think we’ve done pretty good education on what steroids can do. What it can do to your body and to your future,” Kanaski added.

This time, Phoenix is regarded to be the first large police departments to test for steroids after learning the involvement of some of their officers to steroids use. “It’s going on everywhere,” Humphrey said when advising a dozen police agencies on the issue. He also explained that testing police officers for the drug “is an issue that needs to gain momentum.”

A pediatric pulmonologist at Banner’s Children Hospital, Dr. Kelvin Panesar, wrote an article on an Arizona news website, Azcentral.com about the role of steroids in helping asthmatics manage their condition through the aid of steroids. Everyone is aware that asthmatics cannot just easily perform any rigorous exercise. The reason why they are also hampered in joining athletics.

Good thing, Dr. Panesar said that there have been new developments for the treatment of asthma these days. Today, asthmatics even those with severe conditions can possibly enjoy some form of athletics without comprising the safety of their health.  Of course, the first thing that should be done by the parents of the child is to talk with his pulmonologist about the condition of their child’s asthma. Is it mild or severe?

The child should be observed whether he cough or gasp during or after exertion. It has to be noted also if he is experiencing shortness of breath or feeling of pain in his chest. The physician will be the one to guide parents in determining what can trigger to the difficulty of the child’s breathing or anything that can provoke asthma attacks.

After the triggers have been identified, parents can help their child in selecting the kind of exercise that will not trigger his asthma. Like for instance, if an asthmatic kid has a grass allergy, he may opt to engage in indoor sports rather than outdoor sports. If in case the child’s asthma is too severe a respiratory specialist or allergist may prescribe steroids as a cure for his allergies or asthma.  The recommended steroids are inhaled corticosteroids. These work by lessening mucus production and swelling in the airways. Hence, they become less sensitive and less likely to respond to triggers.

According to Dr. Panesar, inhaled steroids can help asthmatics to gain more control over their asthma. Essentially, the treatment performed by inhaled steroids supports the lung capacity and airways of a person to avoid the swelling brought by asthma attack. If a child has preferred to work on a sport that can cause breathing issues; then, the parent need to keep an emergency medication close to him so his coach or trainer can grab it when needed. Of course, the parents still need to work closely to the physician of the child.

However, when it comes to amateur athletic competitions, the use of steroids as asthma treatment may be questioned. This case is explained in Stason.org wherein they stated that a substance is banned if it boosts performance or creates an inequitable competitive performance. Sometimes, it is not really considered as illegal if a substance is intended for medication. This is why the substances taken by an asthmatic are also being checked by coaches or correct authority. Various athletic organizations have varying rules if the use of this substance will be allowed. Like for instance, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) follows the guidelines of International Olympic Committee for testing during Olympic events. On the other hand, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) imposes less strict guidelines for some substances used by asthmatics during competitions. In fact, it is explained in Stason.org that some banned substances in tablet form are permissible in inhaled form.