Apr 10 2011
What Makes Steroids From China Dangerous?
Federal and local law enforcement agencies are continuously doing their best to curtail the illegal importation of steroids. Anabolic steroids are controlled substances that are regulated by the government. It should only be used for specific medical conditions. However, the presence of internet makes it hard for the authorities to control purchases of steroids from other countries.
In the investigation of the Drug Enforcement Agency and other law enforcement authorities, the bulk of steroid being sold in the country comes from China. According to DEA spokesperson Rusty Payne, the steroids are imported from European countries like United Kingdom, Germany and Eastern Europe. “But most of them come from China,” Payne told the NewsTimes.
This information is backed up by a thorough investigation by the DEA which started in 2007. The “Operation Raw Deal,” which is considered as the most successful operation of the DEA against anabolic steroids, nabbed more than 50 steroid laboratories in the country. The investigation also led them to steroid operators in Mexico and Canada. All of these improvised laboratories get their raw materials from China.
The Real Danger
The DEA said the anabolic steroids purchased from China are in dry powder so it must undergo into another process. However, the great danger is on how these steroids are made into finished products. The improvised laboratories were usually set up in basement or unsanitized rooms. According to Payne, The raw materials are mixed in the sink or bathtubs.
Don Hooton, the founder of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, detailed why buying steroids from China could put the users at great health risks. He agreed that most of the steroids are coming from China but the quality is questionable. “There’s one study that showed 21 percent of what was sold from China had lead, mercury, tin or arsenic in it,” said Hooton, who devotes much of his time educating young student athletes from the dangers of anabolic steroids. His son committed suicide because of steroid use. The lack of strict government regulations on steroids is also a problem in China.
Another horrifying fact about underground laboratories in the country is the way they manufacture these steroids. The raw materials imported from China were usually mixed with oils (any oil). “It can be Wesson oil, peanut oil, sesame oil. We found it mixed with motor oil on the West Coast,” Hooton said.
The Type of Users
While professional athletes buy from legitimate supplement stores, students and other people who just want to improve their image tend to buy from illegal dealers and acquaintances. And these are the dangerous steroids which could harm them. It is a fact that steroid dealers targets students and amateur athletes because these are the people who hide their use of performance enhancing drugs. The case of Mark Mansa, a steroid dealer in Danbury, CT, revealed that majority of his clients were student athletes and bodybuilders.
This is the problem of most sports officials in the different schools around the country. They know that steroids are there but they have a difficult task in identifying steroid users. “It is around, but we just don’t know how much or where. Nobody knows that,” said an athletic director.
[...] cover Philadelphia but throughout the country. He imports steroids and HGH on a monthly basis from China and Europe and then repacked these drugs at his home. His co-conspirators were responsible in the [...]
[...] cover Philadelphia but throughout the country. He imports steroids and HGH on a monthly basis from China and Europe and then repacked these drugs at his home. His co-conspirators were responsible in the [...]
[...] human growth hormone allegedly imported from China were manufactured. The “generic” growth hormones from China are then turned into “commercial” product (HGH and HGC) and sold [...]