Anabolic steroids may not have a bad reputation if health professionals who are supposed to help regulate its use do not tolerate some patients and individuals to abuse the drug. There are already several cases where doctors and health care providers were involved in prescribing and selling anabolic steroids to people who are not supposed to take the drug. Steroids are beneficial to some patients because of its medical use. But when this drug is abused, it can lead to health problems and complications which can even lead to death.

In Staten Island, NY, a doctor who was charged with illegal prescriptions of steroids to more than a hundred patients appeared in court Monday. From 2005 to 2007, Dr Richard Lucente used his Anti-Aging and Wellness Center on Staten Island to prescribe steroids to bodybuilders and even to some cops. According to the report of Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the prosecution presented a witness detailing the fate of a customer bodybuilder who died due to complication from steroids use. In the testimony of Dr. David Mann, the steroid prescription to the bodybuilder is inappropriate since the bodybuilder underwent a heart transplant just a few months ago.

The bodybuilder, Joe Baglio, died of heart failure in March 2007 while attending a bodybuilding convention in Ohio. Court records shows that Baglio went to Dr Lucente and asked for a prescription for testosterone deficiency. Baglio is still under medication for the surgery since the heart transplant happened in October 2004. “This was a patient who’d probably been abusing growth hormones in the past and was seeking another medication that could lead to abuse,” said Mann. It is also probable that the heart problem of Baglio was caused by steroids. According to Dr Mann, even a person with a normal heart shouldn’t have gotten the dosage of testosterone that Dr Lucente prescribed to Baglio.

However, Dr Lucente argued that he made legal prescriptions of steroids to treat patients with hormonal imbalances. Investigators estimated that Dr Lucente made over $500,000 while running the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center. He also allegedly received kickbacks from the Lowen’s Pharmacy in Bay Ridge where he sends his patients to buy steroids.

Dr Lucente is facing more than 70 charges for illegal prescriptions of controlled substances. The minimum penalty that could be given to Dr Lucente is 5 years and 6 months if convicted.

Another case of a doctor involved in illegal prescription of steroids is Dr Jesse Haggard. He is a naturopathic doctor in Arizona who was implicated in the statewide conspiracy which involved the Applied Pharmacy Services. Dr Haggard recently pleads guilty for the charges of conspiracy to distribute steroids and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The doctor is already under the custody of the authorities after his return from Costa Rica last year. His lawyer is optimistic that Dr Haggard will only receive 1 year jail term as part of the plea agreement. The sentencing is set on June according to U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade.

There were already 5 people convicted in the conspiracy case which include several doctors and pharmacists. Before Dr Haggard fled the country when he was implicated in the case, he was able to write a book detailing his use of steroids when treating patients. The steroid book is entitled “Demystifying Steroids.”

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