After a very long legal battle whether steroid evidences should be accepted in court, both parties have agreed on the trial date set by Judge Susan Illston. The steroid perjury case of Barry Bonds is set on March 21, 2011. This is despite the failure of the prosecution to convince the appeals court to accept alleged positive steroid tests of Bonds. US District Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco asked both parties to file lists of planned witnesses not later than October 15.

Bonds is facing 11 felony charges by lying to a federal grand jury in 2003. This was in connection with his testimony on the BALCO investigation where he told the jury that he never knowingly took anabolic steroids. He pled not guilty but other respondents in the investigation pleaded guilty and spent some time in jail. BALCO founder Victor Conte was charged with distribution of performance enhancing drugs and trainer Greg Anderson’s refusal to testify against Bonds landed him in jail.

The prosecution is still optimistic that they have enough evidences that will send Barry Bonds to prison. Even if the court did not allow the inclusion of steroid tests pertaining to Bonds without the testimony of Anderson, they are still confident that they have a strong case against the slugger. The prosecutors are holding major witnesses including Bonds ex-girlfriend and a former teammate. According to prosecutors, these people know or have been told by Bonds about his use of anabolic steroids. Another important evidence for the prosecution is the drug test result they’ve got from the Major League Baseball.

On the other hand, the defense counsels of the former San Francisco Giants are not worried. They feel that without the testimony of Anderson, the prosecution has a very weak case against their client. And the favorable ruling of the appeals court is also a sign that they will win the case.

Bonds said in his testimony that what Anderson told and gave him were benign substances used to treat arthritis and flaxseed oil. He also has no knowledge of any positive steroid tests which the prosecution alleges. However, there were reports that confirm Bonds’ steroid use. In the report of NBCMiami, a 2006 book entitled “Game of Shadows,” which was written by sportswriters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, Bonds allegedly used different types of steroids including stanozolol.

Meanwhile, the donation by Bonds to an association of journalist was criticized. He recently donated more than $20,000 to the National Association of Black Journalists. The fund will be used for the “Entrepreneurial Spirit Award,” which will be named after the Bay Area broadcaster Ray Taliaferro. Retired sports icons are applauded every time they donate to charities and other organizations but it is not the same for Bonds. Some writers believe that Bonds wants to have a better press coverage during his trial. Whether he will be acquitted or convicted of the charges, a good relationship with the press will help mitigate the impact of the trial to his reputation.

Barry Bonds is the home run record king. However, his achievement was tainted with his alleged steroids use.

HGH supplementation is becoming a common practice of professional athletes who are suffering from injuries. However, the use of synthetic growth hormones is not limited to medical use. It is now considered as a potent performance enhancing drug like anabolic steroids. Most sports organization includes this drug in the prohibited list. Recently, the MLB adopted random blood testing to determine the extent of HGH use in the minor league. The NFL is also planning to implement the same drug testing policy. In the Olympics, HGH test is already part of the anti-doping policy since 2004.

Medical Use of HGH

Just like anabolic steroids, human growth hormones are used to treat many medical conditions. It is primarily used for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency and short stature in children. This drug plays an important role in the treatment of cancer and AIDS patients because it prevents muscle wasting. It also helps athletes recover faster from injuries. There are already a lot of athletes who admitted that they gained benefits from HGH use. An example is the case of former NFL running back Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar who was able to extend his career because of the help of HGH. The cartilage and meniscus in his knee debilitated because of repeated injury.

The popularity of HGH was also brought by the proliferation of anti-aging clinics across the country. Some health experts use synthetic human growth hormone to combat the signs of aging. People who are in their 40’s or 50’s turn to this drug to look younger. It is also believed that hGH can increase libido and raise the energy level of an individual.

HGH as Performance Enhancing Drug

There is still a lot of debate whether HGH can really boost the performance of an athlete. A review by the American Journal of Sports Medicine revealed that there was no evidence that taking growth hormones will lead to an increase in performance. However, in another study, HGH can help boost athletic performance. A group of Australian researchers found out that the drug helps sprinters improve their performance but clarified that it did not help increase overall strength or fitness. The changes are moderate as compared to the effects of anabolic steroids. They also found out that taking HGH can lead to leaner muscle.

HGH Abuse

Critics of HGH use claims that the drug can cause serious side effects. However, the side effects are commonly caused by improper and abuse of the drug. Individuals may become prone to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Other side effects of HGH use are muscle, joint and bone pain, cardiac deficiency and hypertension, osteoarthritis and abnormal growth of organs. Over production of human growth hormone can also lead to a shorter life expectancy.

Another problem of HGH users is the quality of the product they are taking. According to a health expert, there are many counterfeit HGH supplements in the market. This could bring serious health problems to the user. For example, pituitary HGH extracted from corpses can transmit diseases like HIV.

Even if there is a statewide random drug testing at Texas, more high schools are also implementing mandatory drug testing for its students. The random drug testing which include steroid tests are only focused on student athletes. School officials feel that it is still necessary to adopt their own testing program to effectively protect the students from the harm of recreational drugs and performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids.

The mandatory drug testing program will include students who will be asking for driving privileges and those who will participate in extra curricular activities like cheerleading, band and sports. In Elgin High for example, students in grades 7 to 12 who participate in UIL activities should undergo mandatory random drug testing.

Schools officials believe that this action is an effective deterrent. Pete Bega said that they want to be in the forefront in making sure they have preventative things in place. “Some of the kids … have a hard time saying no to peer pressure. So, for us, it was more what we can do as board members to have a deterrent for doing drugs in our schools. We feel in our hearts that we’re doing the right thing for these kids,” he told the Statesman.com.

The testing will be handled by a Houston-based testing agency. According to assistant superintendent Peter Perez, an average of 850 students will be tested per year. “The district hopes to test at the most 50 percent of students enrolled in the program,” he said.

Students, who will be tested positive for a prohibited substance whether it is marijuana or steroids, will be suspended for 10 days from the extracurricular activities that they are into. A second violation will put them into 30-day exclusion. A third offense would result to a total ban from extracurricular activities for the remainder of the school year.

District officials are optimistic that this program will help student to say no to peer pressure. “The reason we need it is not because we have such a large problem, but it’s another tool for kids to have when they are pressured to do drugs. It’s like a shield for those kids to use to maybe think twice before taking that step,” said Elgin High School principal Janis Linder. Athletic director Danny Lauve shares the same opinion. “This really gives the kids a way out,” Lauve said. “There’s no doubt that if she’s ever put in that situation, she has more of a reason to say no,” said Lauve.

Officials in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district were also discussing plans to expand the drug testing program of their district. They already have a random drug testing in place for 5 years but there are still cases of drug use in their school district. They want to expand the coverage not just the student athletes. Although the UIL conduct tests for steroids and other banned substances, the district also conducts its own steroid tests.

However, some people were not convinced on the impact of the proposal. The cost of the testing is one of the topics that need to be resolve. An ordinary drug test costs $13.50 each while steroid test costs $115. The district has an annual budget of $27,000 for this program. Board President Charlie Warner defended their program saying that it is a very effective deterrent. He said that instead of testing student athletes under the UIL activities, some of the budget should be allocated on the testing of other students. “I think we could save a lot of money by cutting back on those and cutting back on the steroid testing,” he said.

From the very start of the controversy, Brian Cushing was firm that he never took anything like steroids to improve his performance. But his 4-game suspension is a proof that he violated the anti-doping policy of the league, if not for steroids, for a substance that is included in the list of performance enhancing drugs. The young star created a buzz in the sports world because of his recent achievement. He is the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year but his failed test prompted the AP to have a re-vote for the title. Cushing is lucky that he retained his lead.

Now, the question is, do you believe that Brian Cushing never took any anabolic steroids and other banned substances? For those who followed the career of this young athlete, they may conclude that Cushing have been on steroids because of a well developed physique and improvement of his skills. However, team owner of the Texans, Bob McNair believes otherwise. In his statement to the USA Today, McNair believes that Cushing never injected himself with HCG and did not used steroids.

The Texans owner is more inclined to know the cause of the high level of HCG in Cushing’s system. “He says he’s never taken steroids and I believe him. It was HCG. He did test over the level for HCG. The real question is why?” said McNair. Cushing told them that he never injected anything. “Because he said he didn’t inject anything in his body. So we looked into it very thoroughly because there could be something physically wrong with him,” added McNair.

Cushing will be missing the first 4 games of the season. Football fans should not worry on the case of Cushing since the team will not give him up. “He’s fine. We’re satisfied he’s not been on steroids. Now what’s caused it at this point in time, that’s something we’re studying,” McNair told the USA Today.

McNair clarified that they are not questioning the result of the test. “We’re supportive of the league program and we’re not questioning that he did test positive for HCG. We’re not questioning that at all,” he said. “We’re concerned about the athlete and want to make sure that there’s nothing wrong with him and if this was something that was a natural occurrence, we then want to know about it because it could happen again,” he added.

Meanwhile, New York Jets quarterback Erik Ainge was reported to be under a drug treatment or entering a rehab facility. According to the Daily News sources, Erik Ainge was on the reserve/non-football illness list before the start of the training camp. It was also revealed that the Jets were very disappointed on what happened. Ainge was already suspended in 2008 for violating the anabolic steroids and related substances policy of the league. This will be the second time for Ainge which means he will be given an 8-game suspension upon his return. Although the team did not confirmed the news, an update on the twitter account of Ainge made it apparent that he was into a big trouble. “I am taking some personal time to address a non-football related illness,” he said.

Last month, Falcons linebacker Robert James was also suspended for 4-games by the NFL for violating the policy on anabolic steroids. James is still eligible to participate in the training camp and the preseason but will be out for the first 4 weeks of the season. A 5th round draft pick in 2008, James could lose his position to other players.

If the major league players are not enthusiastic about including HGH testing in the anti-doping policy of the league, the minor league players on the other hand, are not bothered of the new policy. The MLBPA maintained its position questioning the validity of the hgh tests. Their chief also said that it could encroach into their player’s privacy. Since the minor league has no union, any new policy can be implemented without any hindrance. According to the Red Sox team representative to the union, there’s nothing that could be done to stop it from happening. “There’s nothing we can do to protect them. It seems like they’re kind of the guinea pigs. It’s not fair, but there’s no way to stop it from happening,” said relief pitcher Daniel Bard.

HGH use has become popular to professional athletes because it can help grow muscles and help them recover faster from injuries. Its use in the Olympics and other major sports organizations is prohibited. It will be the first time in baseball that blood testing will be used to detect hGH. There are already some research being conducted on using urine samples to detect this performance enhancing drug but it is not yet approved as a reliable method.

According to Portland Double-A pitcher Alex Wilson, testing for human growth hormone doesn’t really matter to most minor league players. “It really doesn’t matter to most guys anymore, because we get tested randomly for the other drug tests. HGH –– OK, you have another test. But the guys, for the most part, I haven’t heard anybody saying, ‘Oh, gosh, why are we doing this?’ It’s come to the point where everybody expected it would happen at one point or another,” he said.

Anthony Rizzo of Sea Dogs also shared the same sentiment. “I could care less about it. It’s good for the game to get all that out of the game and make sure no one’s doing it anymore. As far as changing anything, I don’t think anyone — at least I hope — has anything to worry about changing what they do,” Rizzo told Projo.com.

The thing that concerns some of the players is the manner and time frame these blood samples will be taken from them. Wilson said that it would really matter if you are pitching or playing all day. “Taking blood, it does tire you out a little bit and even makes some guys faint. But as long as it was after a game or you weren’t playing that day, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. If they’re taking your blood three hours before a game, that’s absurd,” he said.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the new drug testing policy is also coupled with news of steroid suspensions of several minor leaguers. Pitcher Jose Valdez of the Tigers was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a metabolite of boldenone. It is an anabolic steroids primarily used for horses but was commonly used by athletes.

Other players suspended due to nandrolone were Brewers third baseman Allixon Cequea, outfielder Erickson Salaya and pitcher Leonard Lorenzo. Athletics pitcher Leudis Benzant was also suspended because of a positive test for stanozolol. They are all part of the Dominican Summer League and received 50 games suspension. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Prentice Redman was also suspended for 100 games due to second violation of the steroid policy of the league. He was playing for Triple-A Albuquerque.

Proponents of steroid testing in high schools will be happy with the result of a recent study that drug testing in local schools lowers the incidence of banned substance use and abuse. In the published study of the Institute of Education Sciences, “Effectiveness of Mandatory-Random Student-Drug Testing”, the schools with random drug testing program have reported lesser substance abuse as compared to high schools without a drug testing policy.

Behavioralhealthcentral.com detailed some of the findings of the study. The Institute Education Sciences was funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug Free School in 2006. There were 36 high schools in seven districts across South Texas which was included in the study. Although the percentage was not big enough to say that drug testing in high school helps eliminate substance abuse problem, this could at least become a basis for reevaluation of existing policies of high schools when it comes to the use of prohibited substances like recreational drugs and performance enhancing drugs. The institute found out that 16 percent of students in schools with drug testing policy are still involved in the use of prohibited substances like steroids. In high schools with no similar drug policy, the incidence is a little bit higher which is at 22 percent.

Right now, not all high schools in Texas have implemented their own drug testing program. Most of them still rely on the random drug test being conducted by the UIL or University Interscholastic League. However, this is more focused on the student athletes. According to Jane Stephenson, executive director for instruction in the West Orange-Cove school district, a testing policy was discussed several years ago but never implemented in their district. The common problem in implementing these programs is the cost of the testing especially for steroids.

Schools with drug testing program can impose sanctions to erring students by restricting their privileges or by prohibiting them to compete and represent the school in competitions. Aside from these disciplinary actions, the student will be required to undergo substance abuse counseling.

Marc Keith, Principal of Port Neches-Groves High School, said that the implementation of the random drug testing is considered as an effective tool in reducing the drug use rate in their campus. It dramatically decreased when the drug tests started. “I know the data we’ve seen through the years have shown a lot less drug activity,” Keith said.

The policy has also helped the students to resist peer pressure because of the sanctions that can be imposed against them. “We have seen some great results. When we first implemented it, the kids that wanted it said they would use it against peer pressure, and I think it makes it easier for them to say, ‘no.’ It’s getting students to think twice about getting involved in those drug activities.” Keith added.

Another good finding of the study showed that adopting a drug testing policy in high schools doesn’t reduced the number of students who are active in extra curricular activities to avoid drug testing. There were also no negative effects on the attitude of the students towards their schools.