The company producing 2 popular nutritional supplements decided to pull out its products from its franchise stores and other retail outlets when the FDA confirmed that their supplements contain anabolic steroids. American Cellular Labs (ACL) advised its distributors to remove from their shelves Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme. They are also waiting for further guidance from the Food and Drug Administration regarding these tainted supplements. This action by ACL was also forced by a recent raid on one of its distributors in San Diego County.

In the report of Mark Zeigler of the Union Tribune, federal agents raided a Max Muscle store in San Francisco for selling Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme. The residence of American Cellular Labs (ACL) chief executive Maurice Sandoval was also raided by the agents. Jeff Novitzky, who headed the investigation, said that these two supplements were found to have designer steroids based on the laboratory test conducted by the FDA. Jeff Novitzky also handled the investigation of the BALCO operation in 2003.

Based on the laboratory results, Tren Extreme and Mass Extreme contain 4-estra and Madol (also known as DMT) which are commonly banned in professional sports organization including the Olympics. A user will surely fail a urine test if tested by these organizations. It will be considered as doping and causing an athlete to be suspended or banned from their sports.

However, this will be a continuing problem for the authorities since the supplements industry is unregulated. Since there is a huge demand for legal steroids, nutritional supplements company may pumped up their products with anabolic steroids. Most of the times, supplements contains traces of steroids and other banned substances. One of these cases is the StarCaps supplements which caused Pat and Kevin Williams of the NFL to fight in court for their suspension. Another case is the suspension of swimmer Jessica Hardy who failed to participate in the Olympics because of a supplement. Chinese athletes also faced the same fate with Hardy due to supplements tainted with steroids. Regular users may enjoy the benefit of these supplements since it gives favorable results for them.

Tren Extreme and Mass Extreme were considered as one of their popular products according to a Max Muscle employee. These are popular among regular bodybuilders and high school athletes. Anti-doping experts were worried on the big number of users of these supplements in high school football players because of possible side effects on their body. According to Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, these supplements are popular among high school students because its works and they think it’s safe. “Based on what we know, every parent of a high school athlete should sit down with their kids and find out whether they’re using this trash as it is easy to buy at the local mall,” he said. If they found out that their children are using these supplements regardless of how long they are using it, they have to immediately consult a doctor. “Not just parents, but all consumers ought to be outraged that the system allows these unscrupulous steroid salesmen to profit off our children’s health,” Tygart added.

Novitzky was also alarmed by the potential problems that will be caused by the supplements from ACL. Based on the Medwatch Program of the FDA, Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme are linked to “liver and kidney complications”. He cites as an example the case of a 38-year-old male patient in California who was hospitalized after using these supplements. The patient suffers from severe liver dysfunction and acute renal failure. The doctor already required the patient to undergo kidney dialysis.

These nutritional supplements were available online through ACL website and other retail stores which include the Max Muscle. Other popular health supplements store in San Diego like GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe denied selling these supplements. The CEO of Max Muscle, Joe Wells, said that they operate on a franchise model and they do not conduct any testing of the supplements on their shelves. “There are literally thousands of products on the open market. It’s tough to police them all,” Wells said.

It was unfortunate for the Affliction hardcore fans to know that the scheduled fight of Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko on August 1 was canceled due to a positive anabolic steroids test of Barnett. He was not given the license to fight in the said event which will be held in Honda Center on Anaheim. The California State Athletic Commission conducts steroid tests to fighters in every competition. The mandatory test which includes out-of-competition test is imposed by California and Nevada athletic associations to ensure that all fighters are clean of any performance enhancing substances.

The promotional company, Affliction, have failed to look for an immediate replacement for Barnett. Although they were able to identify some possible opponents but said it would be impossible to promote it given a very short period of time. Tom Atencio, vice president of the company said that finding replacement for Barnett was a huge endeavor. He was thrilled on the amount of fighters willing to take on the challenge. “But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards,” he said.

The fighters considered as a replacement for heavyweight Barnett includes Brett Rogers, Vitor Belfort and former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley. However, Lashley was not interested to fight Emelianenko and said that it is not the fight he would be interested in taking at this point in his career.

This problem forced the mixed martial arts organization to step out of the fight promotion business. In its return, the company was only able to promote two major events. The management decided to reunite with their one-time business partner UFC. This new business relationship was confirmed by Affliction co-founder Eric Foss. “Our brand is synonymous with the ‘Live Fast’ approach to life, and UFC is the perfect venue for us to market our brand,” Foss said.

Affliction will come back as another partner of Ultimate Fighting Championship but as an apparel provider. UFC president Dana White welcomed this development. “We are excited about the return of Affliction to the UFC and look forward to seeing our fighters once again walk into the octagon wearing the Affliction brand,” White said. “Affliction is an innovator of mixing fashion with this sport,” he added.

The positive steroid test of Josh Barnett is not the first in his career. He was also suspended in 2002 for the same offense when he beat Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight championship title. Although he refutes the result (as what all UFC fighters does when tested positive for steroids) but he was still banned by the UFC. Barnett established another career in Japan as a pro wrestler. His comeback in the US to fight in MMA is considered as a big chance to re-establish his career but with the recent steroid result, he may never fight again in any US sanctioned event. MMA companies will not risk loosing money for a fighter known of using anabolic steroids to win a title.

People who want to profit from anabolic steroids uses unconventional strategies just to circumvent existing laws. A Cedar City businessman who is engage in a lending business was recently arrested by police officers for using his lending business as a front for steroids distribution. The Liberty Lending in Cedar City, Utah was used by the owner as the pick up point for designer steroids which he manufactures in his home laboratory reports says.

Mark Sherratt, the owner of the lending business allegedly purchased his raw materials from China. The steroid powder was then processed into designer steroids from his home lab. Sherratt uses the internet to sell these steroids and he also instructs buyers to get the items at his lending office.

The Iron-Garfield Narcotics Task Force which headed the investigation, received information about Sheratt’s illegal activities. After a month of surveillance, the task force arrested two costumers of Sherratt and finally raided his steroid lab and lending business. Agent Brian Bairett, who heads the task force, said that it is certainly not something that they come across often. He said that Sherratt was perfectly cooperative with the police during the arrest. “He understood what was going on,” he said.

Based on the investigation, Sherratt was allegedly mixing the steroids with Cialis and Viagra to counteract the possible side effects of the drugs. Several equipments and supplies were also recovered from his home lab. “We found all the ingredients to make designer steroids,” said Bairett. “He had all the bottles and a capping machine, burners, glassware and we found the powders he had shipped in from China.”

Sherratt was held at the Iron County jail but immediately posted bail. He could be facing additional federal charges if proven that he sold these designer steroids to other states. From the initial investigation, Sherratt’s costumers were local bodybuilders and college athletes. The Task Force is still continuing its investigation to determine what particular charges they would file against Sherratt. The computers seized from the suspect could give more information on the extent of Sherratt’s illegal activities.

Meanwhile, a Colorado doctor who was involved in Mobile Pharmacy steroid distribution ring gets 1 year and 9 months in prison and required to pay $30,000. Dr. Kelly Wade Tucker made illegal prescriptions of anabolic steroids to hundreds of clients across the country. He was a business associate of Brett Branch the founder of Infinite Health in Eaton, Colorado. According to the plea agreement Branch would send Tucker order forms for patients seeking steroids and human growth hormone. The doctor receives $100 per patient. Tucker was also involved in a sex related offense which requires him to attend counseling sessions 2 times a week with pedophiles. He was expecting that with his conviction on the steroid case, his probation condition could be change and avoid those sessions.

On the other hand, Brett Branch and owners of Applied Pharmacy Services in Mobile, including several pharmacists are scheduled to go on trial on January.

The statistics on steroid use among Asian teens is increasing according to Gurvinder Aujla of BBC Asian Network News. His interview with drug workers in Bradford and Luton revealed that there is a growing number of young Asians using steroids to build up muscles and achieve a perfect body. The increase in steroid use is not only confined to Welsh men as previously discussed in our blog. This even prompted lawmakers in UK to implement stricter laws on anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are classified as Class C drugs. Steroids are not illegal to possess but it is illegal to sell them in UK without proper prescription.

According to John Bolloten, the number of Asians using the needle exchange center has jumped from about 5% to between 25% and 30%. Balloten who is a needle exchange coordinator in Bradford said young teens were now “primarily using steroids” as compared to teens using street drugs. It is also alarming since steroid users visiting his center were getting younger. “It worries us because the people who are coming forward to use needle exchanges are becoming younger, so we seeing people at their late teens to mid 20s - they are forming a big percentage,” he said.

Another center in Luton also reported a significant increase in Asian men using steroids. They said that about 84% visiting their center are Asians taking steroids.

The increase in steroid use is attributed to too much pressure on teenagers to look good. Most of these teens are not into professional sports. Barry Langleyman of Bridge agreed on this saying that it is an easy fix for young teens. They easily get what they want; bigger muscles, stamina and endurance. “They see it as an easy fix, and they won’t have to put as much effort into their training. It does increase their performance in the gyms - they can lift bigger weights, their stamina increases and endurance,” he said. Langleyman is a specialist harm reduction worker at the Bridge, a drug treatment charity in Bradford. The charity also noted that most of these teens purchase steroids online. Some of their personal trainers or friends are also the common source of steroids which were imported from other countries like Pakistan.

Langleyman is worried about the ignorance of young teens on the use of steroids. “They don’t see it as drug use, they see it as a supplement to training regime. They will often go into a shop thinking you can buy them over the counter,” he said. Young teens are already into a steroid cycle or taking these drugs for longer period before they come to their center. “The practice around here is people who sell it will give them the first few injections. By the time they come to us, they’ve spent their money, so to try and pull them back from that is very, very difficult,” Langleyman added.

Abu, a steroid user in Bradford attests to Langleyman’s statement. In an interview by Aujla of BBC, Abu said that if he stopped he would not feel as good or great about himself. “A lot of girls come to you and look at your biceps - it can be quite flattering at times,” he said. He also becomes depressed if not into training. “It’s that image, everyone wants to look good, look the part, I always wanted to look good, have the six pack, the biceps and big calves,” Abu added.

When he was still on his teens, Abu is a skinny average teenager who wanted to beef up and build muscle just like his brothers who are also using steroids. Now at 26, he is on a high protein diet and works out everyday. He’s been using steroids for 8 years now.

Anabolic steroids are usually taken orally or through injections. These increases testosterone levels in the body, which then helps muscles absorb protein and boosts muscle growth.

The International Guards Union of America is concerned on the dismissal of four Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant Security Police Officers (SPO’s) for positive anabolic steroids test. Union President Randy Lawson said that Wackenhut Services Inc., the security contractor of the facility, did not disclose full information on the testing conducted on its guards. There were also no clear guidelines on the said testing and the company did not provide a list of legal drugs which could lead to a positive test. The union is contesting the result of the tests since the guards claimed it was due to an over the counter supplements. According to the union president, the recent steroid testing and the uncertainty on what could lead to a positive test created chaos in the Oak Ridge Security force.

Wackenhut regularly conduct a random drug test on its guards under the Schedule I and II substances which includes cocaine and marijuana. Recently, due to reports that some of its guards are involved into taking anabolic steroids, they have included in the test Schedule III substances. In the interview of KnoxNews, spokeswoman Courtney Henry said, “We received credible information alleging the SPOs (security police officers) were involved in the activity and tested under our drug-free workplace policy. Use of steroids violates both company policy and Department of Energy policy.”

Seven Oak Ridge security guards were asked to submit samples for steroids tests. All of them worked at Y-12, where nuclear warhead parts are manufactured and dismantled. Based on the statement of Wackenhut, of the seven individuals who complied with the test, 2 found to be negative and 5 returned a positive result. “One was positive but had a valid prescription; and four were positive with no prescription and were terminated under the provisions of the (Wackenhut) policy,” according to the report.

The company has existing drug policies similar to professional sports organizations and the International Olympic Committee. Henry said that it is the responsibility of the individual taking any drug or supplement to insure that it is not violating the drug policies of the company. The company still believes that the recent positive test of 5 security police officers does not imply that there is a rampant use of anabolic steroids in the Oak Ridge Security Force.

Courtney Henry said that they are aware of the use by some security police officers of performance enhancing stimulants which can be purchased and taken legally. “Independent studies have shown that between 10 percent and 25 percent of legally obtained performance-enhancing supplements contain enough anabolic steroids to result in a positive drug test for steroids, or metabolize in an individual system in a manner that causes a positive drug test. Although we cannot prohibit the use of these legal supplements, we have strongly discouraged their use,” she added.

Based on the drug policy of the company, any positive drug test will result in termination. The guards took the risk in using those over-the-counter supplements. According to Henry, one of the supplements had a warning label stating that the “use of this product may be banned by some athletic or government associations (including military). Athletes and others should consult their sanctioning organization before using.”

There are a lot of issues on the use and the possible side effects of steroids to people who are involved in sports. Reports on the use of steroids in different sports are not surprising anymore. Athletes who were caught using steroids were either suspended, banned or lost their career. This is what happened to Barry Bonds, Tyler Hamilton and Nathan Baggaley just to name a few. Sports organization and other groups continue to warn and profess the dangers of anabolic steroid. There are also countless articles on the internet on the negative effects of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs but readers could be missing some of the important facts on what really are these drugs.

In the recent article of Nelson Montana of the Huffington Post, he said that there are a lot of misinformation on the use of steroids in the field of sports. The role of steroids in the sports is usually being given with erroneous opinion or worst creating steroid hysteria. He is already fed up with these issues and wants to set the record straight. Steroid is not new for Montana since he is involved in the anabolic steroid application for more than 10 years.

Montana already wrote numerous articles on the subject and authored 2 books on steroids. He already interviewed professional bodybuilders, doctors, Olympic coaches and even Victor Conte of BALCO. He also has known hundreds of people who’ve used steroids for years, and he also had personal experience with it.

According to Montana, attempting to stop steroid use in sports is about as dumb as trying to stop drug use in general. Current drug laws had failed to stop controlling the illegal distribution and use of these drugs. He criticized people who are saying that steroids are killer drugs. “It’s estimated that tens of thousands of Americans use steroids each year, yet the grand total of steroid-related deaths to this date is…none,” he said. As compared to other drugs, side effects can be avoided if used with medical supervision. “I’ve known men who used them back in the ’60s and today, at the age of 60-plus, they’re doing just fine and look a lot better than most men their age. The medical community is finally recognizing the health benefits of testosterone (the molecule from which all anabolic steroids are derived) and is prescribing it to older men with great success.” As with any other drug, it can be abused so attacking the substance itself is barking up the wrong tree.

He said that testing for steroids is a farce since some of it has a half-life of only 24 hours. This is one of the reasons why steroids can’t be contained or very difficult to control. He added that instead of wrist slap warnings and lip service seminars on how horrible they are, why not just level the playing field? “Allow them into sports. They’re there anyway.”

As to the question whether using steroids is cheating, Montana explained that steroids will surely give an advantage and so with other supplements, diet pills and even caffeine which can increase focus and endurance. But it doesn’t mean that it will improve athletic skills. Modern training methods can also be considered as an added benefit for the players but nobody is thinking of it as cheating.

At the end of his article, Montana clarified that he is not advocating or endorsing steroids use. He just wants to point out that steroids will stay in sports. Most fans don’t even care about this issue. What is important for them is to see their favorite players doing home runs in the field. It will still be the decision of the athlete. It is his choice to use it or stay away from it.