Stiff competition among young sportsmen yields children as young as thirteen to turn to anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. The number of high school athletes taking extreme and potentially deadly measures in order to gain competitive edge is continuously soaring.

Researches have shown that 5% of teen boys and 2.5% of teen girls have used some form of anabolic steroids. With a mindset that is focused on how to become stronger, faster and leaner pushes these young athletes to engage in legal but risky supplements to illegal steroids drugs.

According to the sports-physician of Ports Elizabeth, Dr. Konrad Von Hagen, even parents are asking him to inject their child with growth hormones with the objective of improving their child’s jumping skills. This kind of pressure from parents as well as from peers and the environment drove young athletes to do what is needed to get into the team. The temptation of using illegal body-modifying substances is always creeping into the mind of young athletes especially to those who belong in schools where sports are an integral part of the schools heritage.

Charles Whitely, a bay body builder and personal trainer encountered teens that use this kind of supplements for competitive advantage. Even a school rugby coach confided to him that he is also planning to let his child, who is also in rugby sports, use this kind of performance enhancer.

Both specialists advised that this action is not just harmful to the user but to their opponents as well. Steroid user feels more aggressive than usual and feels a lot bigger than their counter part. This attitude may likely result to an injury for both participant. In some cases, even though the player experience concussions during competition, they tend to ignore their injuries in order to be able to continue playing the sport. Von Hagen said these cases of continuous concussions may likely lead to severe cognitive deterioration.

Steroids promise bold results, but there is little proof that they deliver any such benefits to young athletes. Extensive research, however, shows how they can harm developing kids — with some of these ill effects not likely to turn up until years later. Teens can face further side effects from steroids including the permanent stunting of growth. Even the most ardent of steroid supporters will typically advise against steroid use before a person reaches their mid-twenties and the natural growth process has been fully completed. It can even result to the body’s failure to reach natural genetic potential as growth plates are permanently closed.

But what worries researchers most, is that the teens don’t recognize the danger of using steroids. National Institute for Drug Abuse reports 45 percent of high school seniors just don’t think that steroids carry harmful physical risk such as heart problems and liver damage. This may be linked to the aspect of growing up wherein teens tend to get this feeling of invincibility and sense of bravado. Teens usually feel that it will not affect their life and they will soon get over it, according to Barbara Scheidner, a sociologist of University of Chicago. They don’t realize that there is no need to have those quick fixes and the best fixes are always achieved with hard work.

After years of trying to get back in the sport that he loves, Jose Canseco is playing baseball again. However, he will only be playing in the minor league according to several online sources. The slugger once said that he was punished by the major league for disclosing the rampant use of anabolic steroids in the sport. Canseco was one of those baseball players who testified in a congressional inquiry about the proliferation of performance enhancing drugs in professional baseball. He also wrote two steroid books, Juiced and Vindicated, which became controversial because of accusations he made to other baseball players.

Many considered him as the godfather of steroids in baseball, a name that he doesn’t really like. His life after the congressional inquiry was not easy. He tried to venture into other sports like boxing and mixed martial arts but he can’t make it to the limelight. In fact most fights of Canseco only involved celebrity matches and not title matches. Recently, he told the media that he regrets using steroids. It does not only ruined his career but it also gave him undesirable side effects. The slugger is on a testosterone therapy to combat the effects of long term use of steroids.

The hiring of Jose Canseco by an independent minor league team is a sign that he can still revive his baseball career. The Laredo Broncos announced that they have hired Canseco on a short term contract. The general manager of the Laredo Broncos Jose Melendez confirmed this report to the media. Canseco will serve as the bench coach of the team and designated hitter for two games. The Broncos will be playing against Rio Grande Valley White Wings on August 16-18 and Coastal Bend Thunder on August 28-30. The Broncos is one of the six teams in the United Baseball League.

In total, Canseco will only play for six home games for the team this season. Hiring Canseco is a significant decision of the team. Before retiring in the majors, Canseco is one of the best designated hitters of the league. He averaged .266 with 462 home runs and 1,407 RBIs. When he was still playing for the Oakland Athletics, he earned the American League MVP award for achieving 42 home runs and 40 stolen bases. Canseco also played for 2 independent Golden League teams in 2006.

Local officials also welcomed the inclusion of Canseco to the Broncos team. “I think he’s a great addition to the baseball team and I hope they make it to the playoffs. You need to see things as a business manager and the fact that Jose Canseco is coming to Laredo will bring a lot of attention to the Broncos. Perhaps they could have brought him earlier but I don’t know,” said one of the council members.

The only question right now is if Canseco can still perform his best after a long hiatus from baseball and without the help of steroids.

After his retirement, Rafael Palmeiro now enjoys watching his son plays for the McKinney Marshals in Texas Collegiate League. An eligible Hall of Famer, Palmeiro’s career however was tainted with steroids. He was one of the several baseball players called to testify in Congress investigating the rampant use of steroids. He vehemently denied that he used anabolic steroids in front of the investigators but a few months later he tested positive for steroids.

With 20 playing years in the league, Palmeiro have 569 home runs and 3,020 hits. Performance that can put him in the Hall of Fame. But in August 2005, the major league suspended him for 10 games for having a positive test result for stanozolol. “I’d hope voters would look at my body of work over my career and maybe put more emphasis on that,” Palmeiro told Drew Davison of the Dallas News in a recent interview. “That one steroid incident is unfortunately all people remember. They don’t remember the other 19 years that I played the game the right way,” Palmeiro said.

Palmeiro still maintains his stand that he never intentionally took any performance enhancing drugs. He still blames the vitamin B12 supplement he purchased from the Dominican Republic. “It was an accidental, unintentional deal on my part, and I take full responsibility for that. I did not do the proper due diligence on it, and if I pay the price, I pay the price,” he said.

He appealed his positive test but he was not successful in preventing the implementation of the 10-game suspension. He was also re investigated by the congressional committee for possible perjury charges. He was lucky that the investigators can’t find any evidences that will prove he used anabolic steroids before his testimony. Palmeiro told the Dallas News that he did not regret what he did in Congress. He said that he told them the truth and they did not find proof even if they conducted a thorough investigation.

Palmeiro told Davison that he still cares about how he is perceived in the baseball world. His use of stanozolol could be big factor in the voting for the HOF. But he is not bothered if baseball writers will put more weight on his steroid use instead of his exemplary performance in the field. Mark McGwire, who was also involved in the use of anabolic steroids have been always in the bottom of the balloting. A player should at least received 75 percent of the votes to be inducted in the HOF.

“What I did in the game, no one can take that away from me. They can’t take 3,000 hits away. They can’t take 500 home runs away. They can’t take what I gave to the game away. If they want to take the Hall of Fame away, I’ll accept that,” Palmeiro said. “I can honestly say I can live with that. It’s not up for me to say. Is it fair? I don’t know if it’s fair or not,” he added.

The interim heavyweight champion of the UFC lost his recent title fight against Brock Lesnar in July. It was the first loss of Shane Carwin since he joined the UFC in 2008. Carwin is considered as one of the best heavyweight fighters in UFC. He has a clean record, with good fights and no record of any positive test for steroids. His fight with Lesnar was free of steroids based on the steroid tests conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. But Carwin needs to explain the inclusion of his name as one of the clients of Applied Pharmacy Services in Alabama which is involved in the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids.

The name of Shane Carwin was mentioned in the sentencing of one of the respondents in the APS case. The federal court sentenced J. Michael Bennett, a supervising pharmacist at Applied Pharmacy Services, to spend 4 years in jail for participating in a nationwide conspiracy to sell anabolic steroids. Assistant U.S. attorney Donna Dobbins said that Carwin was one of the 22 professional athletes who purchased steroids from the APS. There were records showing the names and initials of athletes and the type of anabolic steroids they ordered.

Mobile Case is one of the largest steroid distribution rings in the country and it involves several doctors who connived with the pharmacy owners in prescribing illegal steroids. Based on the records, there are at least 762,000 dosages of anabolic steroids purchased and sent to 17 doctors and clinics from April 4, 2004 to August 30, 2006. This is aside from the unrecorded transactions of the pharmacy.

Other names also came out based on the report of the Press Register. Most of them were professional wrestlers and bodybuilders. There were also two professional baseball players and a professional fighter with an initial of S.C. which purportedly refers to Shane Carwin. The wrestlers were Kurt Angle and Bob “Hardcore Bob Holly” Howard. The bodybuilders who also bought steroids from the pharmacy were Toney Freeman, Quincy Taylor, Dennis Newman and Troy Zuccolotto. There were also previous reports that Jose Canseco, Gary Matthews Jr. and Evander Holyfield were also clients of the pharmacy.

Court documents showed that the client with the initials of S.C. and described as a professional fighter ordered several types of anabolic steroids from January to August 2006. The cocktail of steroids ordered from the pharmacy were Trenbolone, Testosterone, injectable Stanozolol and Nandrolone. The clinic, Infinite Health that provided S.C. with the illegal prescription, was also located in Colorado where Carwin resides.

According to US prosecutor Dobbins, the steroids were intended for livestock use and considered as very potent anabolic steroids. “These steroids are for horses and cows, not for young people and humans,” she told the media. The clients mentioned in the sentencing of Bennett were not included in the case. However, those professional athletes mentioned have to explain to the public why they were involved in the steroid scandal. For Shane Carwin, he has a lot of things to explain especially that he never tested positive for any of the substances he allegedly purchased from the Applied Pharmacy Services.

If Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams are busy fighting for their 4-game suspension in court because of the StarCaps supplement, there were at least 8 players who were pardoned by the league for using the same supplement. This was revealed in the report of the Pioneer Press showing how the league absolved several players from sanctions. In 2006 and 2007, the NFL’s drug-testing administrator Dr. John Lombardo was already aware that there were several players who were taking Starcaps. This supplement contains the banned diuretic bumetanide which is considered as a masking agent for steroids.

The contention of the Williamses that they were not informed by the league about the tainted supplement becomes a legitimate concern. The league’s anti-doping officials are now being questioned if they are really fair in implementing these policies. Putting the blame on the players for not being responsible for what they are taking may be too one sided. The league has also the responsibility to inform their players of matters that may affect them. This was also brought out by NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith when he testified to a House subcommittee investigating sports drug testing. He accused the league of a double standard for disciplining some StarCaps users while acquitting others.

Pardoned NFL Players

The players who failed the steroid test because of Starcaps supplement were not referred for any disciplinary action. They were never accused of taking steroids. Their claim that they do not have any knowledge that Starcaps contained a banned substance was accepted by Dr. John Lombardo. Although he was later told by Adolpho Birch, the vice president of the NFL’s labor policy, to stop pardoning players.

The Pioneer Press listed the names of former and active players of the league who were named in the deposition of Dr Lombardo during the Starcaps hearing.

- San Francisco 49ers cornerback and 2004 Pro Bowler Nate Clements;
- New York Jets guard Damien Woody, also a former Pro Bowler;
- Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Vernon Carey;
- Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Damion McIntosh, a free agent;
- defensive end Marquise Hill, played for the New England Patriots from 2004-06;
- wide receiver Jonathan Smith, played for Buffalo and New England;
- fullback Daimon Shelton, played for the Buffalo Bills in 2006;
- fullback Patrick Pass, played for the Patriots and New York Giants from 2000-07

Starcaps a Masking Agent for Steroids

Taking supplements are common in any sports. However, there are cases where some ingredients were not listed on the label just like the Starcaps supplement. It is a weight loss pill that contains garlic and papaya as active ingredients. But lab tests showed that it was tainted with a diuretic substance which is banned by the league. The diuretic bumetanide is primarily used to treat congestive heart failure and renal disease. The league considers it as a potential masking agent for steroids. The product was already recalled by its manufacturer at the end of 2008.

League Defended Anti-Doping Policy

Birch issued a statement regarding the disclosure of the names of players who were exonerated by the league. “In a case where a key issue was confidentiality, and where court orders were in place to protect players, it is extraordinary that someone would reveal the names of players who allegedly tested positive. We have no comment on these unfair accusations,” Birch told the Pioneer Press.

He also argued that their anti-doping policy was properly enforced. “Since the policy’s inception, the league and the union have agreed that use of a tainted supplement represents a violation and is grounds for discipline,” Birch said. “The policy makes clear that players are strictly responsible for what is in their bodies and the courts have repeatedly found that the policy was applied consistently and rejected Kevin and Pat Williamses’ efforts to avoid their suspension based on their claim that other players were treated differently in 2006.”

The recent report of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre in Australia revealed a very alarming situation among high school students. It was found out that there is a high level of 12 to 17 years old students who are taking anabolic steroids. Dr. Matthew Dunn said during the annual symposium of the NDARC that 2.4% of students were using steroids. This was based on the survey on substance abuse which included 22,000 students from 376 secondary schools across the country.

According to Dr. Dunn, the number maybe low as compared to other sectors who are using steroids. However, he emphasized that it is much higher if compared to the general population dependent on steroids. “It’s low when we compare it to groups such as body builders and weightlifters. But the general population prevalence of steroid use is 0.1 per cent, so it’s quite a lot higher than that,” Dunn told the AAP.

The report of the NDARC should be a wake-up call for all secondary schools officials in the country. Dr. Dunn himself suggested that the schools across the country should intensify their steroid education programs to deter students from taking any drugs like muscle enhancing substances and other recreational drugs. He also added that sports and athletic programs of the schools should highlight the risks involve in abusing steroids. “For those that are in sporting clubs, and getting involved in the gym, we probably do want some sort of targeted education and prevention initiative,” he said.

Anabolic steroids are mostly used by bodybuilders to build muscles and help them increase strength and stamina. However, the researchers noted that students who were taking steroids were not using it properly. Most of them are irregular users who admitted taking steroids for once or two times in the last year. It seems that most of these young teens are just experimenting with these drugs which can be more dangerous. They may not be well informed of the dangers of anabolic steroids if taken without an expert supervision.

“If you are going to be using steroids you need to be using them in cycles, engaging in physical activity and watching your diet as well,” said Dr Dunn. People who knows how to use steroids, they usually combine it with other type of steroid and adopt appropriate steroid cycles to minimize the side effects of the drug. “This use is so infrequent that it is just trying something, not seeing a result from it, and moving on,” he added.

Based on their analysis, teens who used steroids were also more likely to experiment with other prohibited substances such as cannabis. Students who tried steroids tend to have a low performance in academics. Majority of these users were males and were not active in sports activities.

If the schools around the country will take an active part in broadening their drug and alcohol education programs, the problem of steroid use in high schools should be reduced or eliminated. Students should be informed of the consequences and health implications as a result of using steroids.