Texas found no cheaters in the latest round of steroids tests of high school athletes.
The University Interscholastic League on Thursday released results of tests for the spring semester of the 2009-2010 school year. Of the 3,308 boys and girls tested last semester, all of the student athletes were clean.
About 50,000 tests since February 2008 have found only about 20 confirmed cases of steroid use.
The program has been shrinking since lawmakers created it in 2007 with a $3 million annual budget. In May 2009, when the small number of positive tests caused some to question whether testing should be stopped, state lawmakers cut the program to $1 million annually.
Budgets cuts have prompted more cuts. Last May, state officials reduced the program budget to $750,000
Weird bust involving controlled delivery of FedEx package from Thailand.
Drug enforcement agents who tracked a suspicious FedEx package from Thailand to a southeast Memphis apartment earlier this year found hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana-laced cookies and small bottles of LSD.
They also found a virtual pharmacy of other drugs and controlled substances that could result in the owner losing more than the $65,000 in bank accounts federal authorities are now seeking to claim as proceeds of suspected illegal drug activity.
No criminal charges have been filed.
According to a complaint for forfeiture filed this week, Anthony Richard Webb, 26, of 3281 Remington Trace in the Fieldstone Apartments, admitted ordering two bottles of Gamma Butyl Lactone (GBL) from Brightsmiles Dental Co. in Bangkok, Thailand.
He told authorities he drank GBL to calm an anxiety disorder and then gave them permission to look around his apartment.
Inside, according to court papers, agents found marijuana-laced cookies in the refrigerator and tin foil packages of dropper bottles and paper cards containing LSD.
Another package contained hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms and DMT powder that produces psychedelic effects when smoked or taken orally. They also found Mason jars with soil and holes punched in the top for growing the mushrooms.
Webb showed investigators a fake dictionary with a locked box inside that contained small bags of methamphetamine, ecstasy power, cocaine, crushed mushroom powder, 118 Adderall pills and 73 Xanax pills.
Elsewhere were bottles of testosterone, the anesthetic Ketamine, the antidepressant Seroquel, the fertility steroid Clomiphene Citrate and the stimulant Modafinil, agents said.
Numerous syringes, a plastic herb grinder, a digital scale and a ceramic mortar and pestle also were found.
Webb, who works at International Paper with a $56,857 annual salary, told agents he bought the drugs for trying them himself, but authorities said they believe he was using his residence as a lab to manufacture and sell drugs illegally.
They also found a virtual pharmacy of other drugs and controlled substances that could result in the owner losing more than the $65,000 in bank accounts federal authorities are now seeking to claim as proceeds of suspected illegal drug activity.
No criminal charges have been filed.
According to a complaint for forfeiture filed this week, Anthony Richard Webb, 26, of 3281 Remington Trace in the Fieldstone Apartments, admitted ordering two bottles of Gamma Butyl Lactone (GBL) from Brightsmiles Dental Co. in Bangkok, Thailand.
He told authorities he drank GBL to calm an anxiety disorder and then gave them permission to look around his apartment.
Inside, according to court papers, agents found marijuana-laced cookies in the refrigerator and tin foil packages of dropper bottles and paper cards containing LSD.
Another package contained hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms and DMT powder that produces psychedelic effects when smoked or taken orally. They also found Mason jars with soil and holes punched in the top for growing the mushrooms.
Webb showed investigators a fake dictionary with a locked box inside that contained small bags of methamphetamine, ecstasy power, cocaine, crushed mushroom powder, 118 Adderall pills and 73 Xanax pills.
Elsewhere were bottles of testosterone, the anesthetic Ketamine, the antidepressant Seroquel, the fertility steroid Clomiphene Citrate and the stimulant Modafinil, agents said.
Numerous syringes, a plastic herb grinder, a digital scale and a ceramic mortar and pestle also were found.
Webb, who works at International Paper with a $56,857 annual salary, told agents he bought the drugs for trying them himself, but authorities said they believe he was using his residence as a lab to manufacture and sell drugs illegally.
Australian Go Kart driver suspended for attempted Sustanon use :-)
he Australian Karting Association has banned a driver in Townsville in north Queensland from racing for two years for the attempted use of testosterone.
Hayden Stephensen will be ineligible to participate as an athlete or support person in the sport until July 2012.
The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service intercepted a package containing Sustanon in June 2009 and notified the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
The president of the Townsville Kart Club, Scott Armstrong, says Stephensen has been a valued member of the club for many years. "I was surprised but we support Hayden Stephensen - he's a valued member of the Townsville Kart Club and has been a valued member for many years," he said.
"We'll stand by him in any way and whatever decision is made, we'll support him with that. I think as any sport, to get a competitive edge these days people are prepared to go to different lengths. From what I understand it could have nothing to do with motor racing, so as I said that's why we're standing by him."
Hayden Stephensen will be ineligible to participate as an athlete or support person in the sport until July 2012.
The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service intercepted a package containing Sustanon in June 2009 and notified the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
The president of the Townsville Kart Club, Scott Armstrong, says Stephensen has been a valued member of the club for many years. "I was surprised but we support Hayden Stephensen - he's a valued member of the Townsville Kart Club and has been a valued member for many years," he said.
"We'll stand by him in any way and whatever decision is made, we'll support him with that. I think as any sport, to get a competitive edge these days people are prepared to go to different lengths. From what I understand it could have nothing to do with motor racing, so as I said that's why we're standing by him."
New steroid book : The Body Shop: Parties, Pills, and Pumping Iron - Or, My Life in the Age of Muscle
( on sale from July 26 in hardback )
As a scrawny college freshman in the mid-1970s, just before Arnold Schwarzenegger became a hero to boys everywhere and Pumping Iron became a cult hit, Paul Solotaroff discovered weights and steroids. In a matter of months, he grew from a dorky beanpole into a hulking behemoth, showing off his rock hard muscles first on the streets of New York City and then alongside his colorful gym-rat friends in strip clubs and inthe homes of the gotham elite. It was a swinging time, when "Would you like to dance?" turned into "Your place or mine?" and the guys with the muscles had all the ladies--until their bodies, like Solotaroff''s, completely shut down.
But this isn't the gloom-and-doom addiction one might expect--Solotaroff looks back at even his lowest points with a wicked sense of humor, and he sends up the disco era and its excess with all the kaleidoscopic detail of Boogie Nights or Saturday Night Fever.
Written with candor and sarcasm, THE BODY SHOP is a memoir with all the elements of great fiction and dazzlingly displays Paul Solotaroff's celebrated writing talent.
As a scrawny college freshman in the mid-1970s, just before Arnold Schwarzenegger became a hero to boys everywhere and Pumping Iron became a cult hit, Paul Solotaroff discovered weights and steroids. In a matter of months, he grew from a dorky beanpole into a hulking behemoth, showing off his rock hard muscles first on the streets of New York City and then alongside his colorful gym-rat friends in strip clubs and inthe homes of the gotham elite. It was a swinging time, when "Would you like to dance?" turned into "Your place or mine?" and the guys with the muscles had all the ladies--until their bodies, like Solotaroff''s, completely shut down.But this isn't the gloom-and-doom addiction one might expect--Solotaroff looks back at even his lowest points with a wicked sense of humor, and he sends up the disco era and its excess with all the kaleidoscopic detail of Boogie Nights or Saturday Night Fever.
Written with candor and sarcasm, THE BODY SHOP is a memoir with all the elements of great fiction and dazzlingly displays Paul Solotaroff's celebrated writing talent.
Scientists think MLB's new growth hormone testing is a PR stunt.
A scientist who has worked to develop a urine test for human growth hormone says the blood test baseball plans to use for minor leaguers can only detect the substance for 6 to 12 hours.
Don Catlin said Friday that the test, announced a day earlier by baseball commissioner Bud Selig, is of limited use. In February, a British rugby league player became the first athlete suspended following a positive HGH test.
"The fact that it's been around for a few thousand tests and only one positive suggests that either there's much less growth hormone being used than we thought, which is doubtful, or the period of detectability is really pretty short -- a few hours. It's probably the latter," said Catlin, adding detection probably would work only with "middle-of-the-night testing."
Players with minor league contracts will be given the blood test, which Selig called "a significant step."
Victor Conte, whose Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative triggered a federal investigation of steroids use and distribution among athletes, also criticized the blood test. He said it would detect little and called it "flawed" because baseball will collect only postgame blood samples.
"It wouldn't take much of an IQ for a player to circumvent this proposed HGH testing procedure," he wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "A baseball player could possibly inject HGH as soon as leaving a ballpark and test negative from a blood sample collected postgame the following day. HGH injections are routinely done at night before bed, so a morning blood sample would be the target. The available test for HGH requires a random blood collection protocol to be considered anything more than a PR move by MLB."
Don Catlin said Friday that the test, announced a day earlier by baseball commissioner Bud Selig, is of limited use. In February, a British rugby league player became the first athlete suspended following a positive HGH test.
"The fact that it's been around for a few thousand tests and only one positive suggests that either there's much less growth hormone being used than we thought, which is doubtful, or the period of detectability is really pretty short -- a few hours. It's probably the latter," said Catlin, adding detection probably would work only with "middle-of-the-night testing."
Players with minor league contracts will be given the blood test, which Selig called "a significant step."
Victor Conte, whose Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative triggered a federal investigation of steroids use and distribution among athletes, also criticized the blood test. He said it would detect little and called it "flawed" because baseball will collect only postgame blood samples.
"It wouldn't take much of an IQ for a player to circumvent this proposed HGH testing procedure," he wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "A baseball player could possibly inject HGH as soon as leaving a ballpark and test negative from a blood sample collected postgame the following day. HGH injections are routinely done at night before bed, so a morning blood sample would be the target. The available test for HGH requires a random blood collection protocol to be considered anything more than a PR move by MLB."
Tennessee's English Pub steroids dealer makes court appearance.
A Paragould man arrested in connection with the sale of illegal drugs at a restaurant in Cordova, Tenn., appeared in court last week and his case was set for a preliminary hearing in October, Shelby County officials said.
Heath Baldwin, 35, was arrested on four counts of possession with intent to manufacture, deliver and sell steroids and one count of distributing steroids last month. The arrest was the result of an on-going investigation by the West Tennessee Drug Task Force into illegal activities taking place at the Fox and Hound English Pub and Grille, located at 819 Exocet Dr. in Cordova.
Baldwin was not an employee of the restaurant, but was linked to the investigation.
“At the October 15 hearing, the prosecution will have to show the judge probable cause to send the case to the grand jury for indictment,” Jennifer Donnals, communications director for the Shelby County District Attorney General’s office, said.
Baldwin was arraigned in Memphis District Court last month and was released on a $25,000 bond. Baldwin was originally scheduled to appear in court July 7, but his case was postponed until July 16 when the preliminary hearing was set, Donnals said.
The Cordova restaurant was allowed to reopen last month after meeting specific requirements from the district attorney general, including performing criminal background checks on all employees, making a payment of $1,2500 to the West Tennessee Drug Task Force for reimbursement of the cost of the investigation, sending all employees to a class addressing drug prevention and state drug laws and enforcing strict anti-drug policies among employees.
Heath Baldwin, 35, was arrested on four counts of possession with intent to manufacture, deliver and sell steroids and one count of distributing steroids last month. The arrest was the result of an on-going investigation by the West Tennessee Drug Task Force into illegal activities taking place at the Fox and Hound English Pub and Grille, located at 819 Exocet Dr. in Cordova.
Baldwin was not an employee of the restaurant, but was linked to the investigation.
“At the October 15 hearing, the prosecution will have to show the judge probable cause to send the case to the grand jury for indictment,” Jennifer Donnals, communications director for the Shelby County District Attorney General’s office, said.
Baldwin was arraigned in Memphis District Court last month and was released on a $25,000 bond. Baldwin was originally scheduled to appear in court July 7, but his case was postponed until July 16 when the preliminary hearing was set, Donnals said.
The Cordova restaurant was allowed to reopen last month after meeting specific requirements from the district attorney general, including performing criminal background checks on all employees, making a payment of $1,2500 to the West Tennessee Drug Task Force for reimbursement of the cost of the investigation, sending all employees to a class addressing drug prevention and state drug laws and enforcing strict anti-drug policies among employees.
Interesting article on the Afghanistan bodybuilding scene.
Arif Sakhi preened and posed his well-oiled muscles to win the "Mr Afghanistan" crown earlier this year, but behind that perfectly sculpted physique his vital organs were breaking down under the strain of steroid abuse.
Sakhi's death last month at the age of 26 has shaken Afghanistan's body building community and shown it is not beyond the reach of the shady billion-dollar business in legal and illegal supplements.
"Unfortunately using illegal supplements has been seen among our young body builders, but we have no resources to stop it," said Ustaad Bawar Hotak, the head of Afghanistan's Bodybuilding Federation.
"I always tell any sportsmen to use natural products instead of using dangerous supplements that damage their health."
Hotak said there was evidence that both professional and amateur body builders in Afghanistan were using imported illegal supplements banned by the national federation.
But Hotak denied "Mr. Afghanistan's" death was due to using risky supplements, saying Arif Sakhi was poisoned by his rivals -- even as fellow body builders said the champion's liver and kidneys had been devastated by steroids.
"Everyone who prepares themselves for a competition uses steroids and other types of injections for their muscle growth," said Haroon, working out at the Kabul Gym.
"I do, he does and almost everyone else does," he said, pointing to other young men working on their physiques in a gym packed with costly workout machines and weights.
The federation says there are over 1,000 gyms in Afghanistan, including at least 200 in the capital, where giant posters of famous musclemen in tiny briefs are a sometimes shocking sight in a society where many women still veil themselves from head to toe in public.
On any given day, Kabul's gyms attract up to 300 men to work out. There are also around 15 women-only gyms drawing around 1,500 members who wouldn't have ventured outside without a male companion during the Taliban's regime, let alone engage in sport.
Sport took a back seat in the bloody civil war that followed Soviet occupation in the 1980s, and the hardline Taliban banned most or attached conditions making it impossible to compete.
The country's amateur boxers, for example, were barred from competitions because the bushy beards they were forced to cultivate under the Taliban absorbed punches.
Looking fit and strong is considered a sign of manliness in Afghan society, particularly among ethnic groups with roots in Central Asia. Many young men pay close attention to their appearance and even in the Pashtun south, some Taliban fighters make-up their eyes with traditional kohl.
"Nowadays bodybuilding has turned into a fashion. By looking fit you can earn respect and even girls' attention," said Noor-ul Uda Sherzad, the national trainer.
He said doping was a major problem facing the bodybuilding federation and both professional and amateur bodybuilders in a country where testing system does not even exist.
In Bush Bazaar, named for former President George W. Bush, dozens of shops and stalls sell protein shakes and supplements alongside combat gear and U.S. military clothes that "fell out of a container" on route to U.S. military bases in the country.
"I admit that some of these proteins are not genuine and have been refilled in Pakistan," said shopkeeper Abdul Mateen.
"But these items have regular customers and are cheap," he said, pointing to dozens of packets or bottles of outdated protein, creatine and steroids on the floor of his shop.
Mateen said controllers from the ministry of health rarely visit the market, but illegal bodybuilding supplements were not on their checklist anyway.
Calling the supplements a malign foreign influence, Mohammad Nabi, who trains newcomers at a Kabul gym, said there would always be athletes who sought rewards without effort.
"Nearly everyone who goes to the gym is keen to use this in order to get muscle definition before time," he said.
"(But) some of them can't read or write and they buy expired drugs that can seriously damage their health within months. Why are we killing ourselves by our own hands."
Sakhi's death last month at the age of 26 has shaken Afghanistan's body building community and shown it is not beyond the reach of the shady billion-dollar business in legal and illegal supplements.
"Unfortunately using illegal supplements has been seen among our young body builders, but we have no resources to stop it," said Ustaad Bawar Hotak, the head of Afghanistan's Bodybuilding Federation.
"I always tell any sportsmen to use natural products instead of using dangerous supplements that damage their health."
Hotak said there was evidence that both professional and amateur body builders in Afghanistan were using imported illegal supplements banned by the national federation.
But Hotak denied "Mr. Afghanistan's" death was due to using risky supplements, saying Arif Sakhi was poisoned by his rivals -- even as fellow body builders said the champion's liver and kidneys had been devastated by steroids.
"Everyone who prepares themselves for a competition uses steroids and other types of injections for their muscle growth," said Haroon, working out at the Kabul Gym.
"I do, he does and almost everyone else does," he said, pointing to other young men working on their physiques in a gym packed with costly workout machines and weights.
The federation says there are over 1,000 gyms in Afghanistan, including at least 200 in the capital, where giant posters of famous musclemen in tiny briefs are a sometimes shocking sight in a society where many women still veil themselves from head to toe in public.
On any given day, Kabul's gyms attract up to 300 men to work out. There are also around 15 women-only gyms drawing around 1,500 members who wouldn't have ventured outside without a male companion during the Taliban's regime, let alone engage in sport.
Sport took a back seat in the bloody civil war that followed Soviet occupation in the 1980s, and the hardline Taliban banned most or attached conditions making it impossible to compete.
The country's amateur boxers, for example, were barred from competitions because the bushy beards they were forced to cultivate under the Taliban absorbed punches.
Looking fit and strong is considered a sign of manliness in Afghan society, particularly among ethnic groups with roots in Central Asia. Many young men pay close attention to their appearance and even in the Pashtun south, some Taliban fighters make-up their eyes with traditional kohl.
"Nowadays bodybuilding has turned into a fashion. By looking fit you can earn respect and even girls' attention," said Noor-ul Uda Sherzad, the national trainer.
He said doping was a major problem facing the bodybuilding federation and both professional and amateur bodybuilders in a country where testing system does not even exist.
In Bush Bazaar, named for former President George W. Bush, dozens of shops and stalls sell protein shakes and supplements alongside combat gear and U.S. military clothes that "fell out of a container" on route to U.S. military bases in the country.
"I admit that some of these proteins are not genuine and have been refilled in Pakistan," said shopkeeper Abdul Mateen.
"But these items have regular customers and are cheap," he said, pointing to dozens of packets or bottles of outdated protein, creatine and steroids on the floor of his shop.
Mateen said controllers from the ministry of health rarely visit the market, but illegal bodybuilding supplements were not on their checklist anyway.
Calling the supplements a malign foreign influence, Mohammad Nabi, who trains newcomers at a Kabul gym, said there would always be athletes who sought rewards without effort.
"Nearly everyone who goes to the gym is keen to use this in order to get muscle definition before time," he said.
"(But) some of them can't read or write and they buy expired drugs that can seriously damage their health within months. Why are we killing ourselves by our own hands."
BALCO Cyclist's perjury appeal fails.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco today upheld the perjury conviction of a former championship cyclist who lied to a grand jury during the BALCO sports steroids probe.
Tammy Thomas, 40, was one of 30 professional athletes summoned to testify in 2003 before a federal grand jury investigating the sale of performance-enhancing drugs by the Burlingame-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.
In 2008, she was convicted of three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for telling the panel she never took anabolic steroids and never received illegal products from chemist Patrick Arnold, who worked with BALCO.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston sentenced her to six months of home confinement and five years of probation.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the conviction today.
The court rejected Thomas' claim that her convictions should be overturned because her answers to questions before the grand jury were literally truthful.
Thomas claimed her statement that she never received illegal products from Arnold was literally true because she received the items from his girlfriend.
She also said her statement that she never took any products Arnold gave her was true because he sold rather than gave them to her.
Circuit Judge Jay Bybee wrote in the court ruling that "a reasonable jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt" that Thomas understood the questions and answered falsely.
Tammy Thomas, 40, was one of 30 professional athletes summoned to testify in 2003 before a federal grand jury investigating the sale of performance-enhancing drugs by the Burlingame-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.
In 2008, she was convicted of three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for telling the panel she never took anabolic steroids and never received illegal products from chemist Patrick Arnold, who worked with BALCO.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston sentenced her to six months of home confinement and five years of probation.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the conviction today.
The court rejected Thomas' claim that her convictions should be overturned because her answers to questions before the grand jury were literally truthful.
Thomas claimed her statement that she never received illegal products from Arnold was literally true because she received the items from his girlfriend.
She also said her statement that she never took any products Arnold gave her was true because he sold rather than gave them to her.
Circuit Judge Jay Bybee wrote in the court ruling that "a reasonable jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt" that Thomas understood the questions and answered falsely.
Portugal's gyms checked for steroids.
Portugal’s health and safety institution ASAE has recently carried out random checks on 128 gymnasiums across Portugal, from which three criminal lawsuits and 48 cases of legal action were instigated.
Furthermore, 72 irregularities were also detected during the inspections, which were carried out in solariums, gymnasiums and health clubs.
According to information supplied from ASAE to Lusa News Agency, amongst the irregularities was the selling, trafficking or storing of illegal substances; unlawfully reproducing copy-right protected programmes and usurpation.
Four solariums and/or gym-health clubs were given notices to suspend their operations.
Amongst the most significant findings were 11 packages of steroids, 14 syringes, testosterone, human hormones, and 2,652 units of banned food supplements.
Last year ASAE carried out 259 inspections, with 15 establishments being temporarily shut down as a result.
Furthermore, 72 irregularities were also detected during the inspections, which were carried out in solariums, gymnasiums and health clubs.
According to information supplied from ASAE to Lusa News Agency, amongst the irregularities was the selling, trafficking or storing of illegal substances; unlawfully reproducing copy-right protected programmes and usurpation.
Four solariums and/or gym-health clubs were given notices to suspend their operations.
Amongst the most significant findings were 11 packages of steroids, 14 syringes, testosterone, human hormones, and 2,652 units of banned food supplements.
Last year ASAE carried out 259 inspections, with 15 establishments being temporarily shut down as a result.
Acetildenafil found in Canadian herbal ED product.
SX Male Enhancement is touted as a herbal product and has been sold online and through sex shops throughout Canada. Health Canada ordered a halt to its sales and issued a recall when it found the product contained acetildenafil, a substance similar to the prescription drug sildenafil.
Under orders from Health Canada, Lockerroom. net Marketing Inc. of Delta, B.C., has stopped selling the drug. Canada Border Services has also been alerted to ensure any shipments of SX Male Enhancement is stopped at the border.
Under orders from Health Canada, Lockerroom. net Marketing Inc. of Delta, B.C., has stopped selling the drug. Canada Border Services has also been alerted to ensure any shipments of SX Male Enhancement is stopped at the border.
Romainian source RxHealthDrugs .com gets free advertising in NY Daily News steroid article.
( Alflutop is of course neither an anabolic or cortico steroid )
So what did I do? I raided GNC's joint care section, and then I scoured the Web for alternative cures, and it wasn't long before I was exploring something called Alflutop.
What is Alflutop? It's an injectable treatment that actually seems to retard degenerative arthritis. It's commonly used in Europe, although not in the U.S. And it's a steroid.
But that last part hardly mattered ro me. For a little over $100, I could get two boxes of Alflutop from rxhealthdrugs.com in Romania. I was this close to pulling out a credit card to finance my 'roid regimen. If a follow-up with another doctor hadn't proved that I didn't have osteoarthritis - just a really mean case of tennis elbow - I'd be bandaging my latest injection right now.
So what did I do? I raided GNC's joint care section, and then I scoured the Web for alternative cures, and it wasn't long before I was exploring something called Alflutop.
What is Alflutop? It's an injectable treatment that actually seems to retard degenerative arthritis. It's commonly used in Europe, although not in the U.S. And it's a steroid.
But that last part hardly mattered ro me. For a little over $100, I could get two boxes of Alflutop from rxhealthdrugs.com in Romania. I was this close to pulling out a credit card to finance my 'roid regimen. If a follow-up with another doctor hadn't proved that I didn't have osteoarthritis - just a really mean case of tennis elbow - I'd be bandaging my latest injection right now.
Britain's Independent newspaper the only one not blaming steroids for the Moat murders.
( I find the use of the term "steroid underclass" rather weird )
The steroid underclass.
At the start of the manhunt, much of the explanation for Moat's sudden murderous anger was blamed on his long-term use of steroids – so-called roid-rage. Moat was hardly alone in his steroid abuse. Crime surveys estimate there are 79,000 people taking steroids to help them build muscle, though many experts believe this figure is closer to 250,000, with numbers doubling in the past five years. North-east England has the highest rates of lifetime steroid use, with almost 12 users in every 1,000 people. Many users are unaware the drugs are illegal and the internet has made them available from cheap sources in India and China. Many in the security industry, where Moat worked for much of his life, see a beefed-up body as vital in getting a job.
However, experts question the link to steroid use in Moat's case. They say that, while not impossible, it is unlikely he would have been able to get steroids in prison. Jim McVeigh, of John Moores University, says: "There would certainly be no residual effects from steroids on Moat's personality. When you stop using, the amount of testosterone in your body does not return to a normal level; instead, it dips below what is normal."
The steroid underclass.
At the start of the manhunt, much of the explanation for Moat's sudden murderous anger was blamed on his long-term use of steroids – so-called roid-rage. Moat was hardly alone in his steroid abuse. Crime surveys estimate there are 79,000 people taking steroids to help them build muscle, though many experts believe this figure is closer to 250,000, with numbers doubling in the past five years. North-east England has the highest rates of lifetime steroid use, with almost 12 users in every 1,000 people. Many users are unaware the drugs are illegal and the internet has made them available from cheap sources in India and China. Many in the security industry, where Moat worked for much of his life, see a beefed-up body as vital in getting a job.
However, experts question the link to steroid use in Moat's case. They say that, while not impossible, it is unlikely he would have been able to get steroids in prison. Jim McVeigh, of John Moores University, says: "There would certainly be no residual effects from steroids on Moat's personality. When you stop using, the amount of testosterone in your body does not return to a normal level; instead, it dips below what is normal."
More info on the Canadian Football steroid scandal.
The University of Waterloo football program lies in ruins, and the names of the individuals alleged to be responsible for its destruction continue to surface.
Named Friday were two more of the nine who either failed doping control tests administered to 61 of the 62 athletes on the team or admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs. (One player refused to participate and was thereby handed an anti-doping rule violation.) The two identified Friday in a conference call with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport were third-year linebacker Matt Peto of Strathroy and first-year linebacker Eric Polini of Thunder Bay. Peto admitted to steroid use two days before testing and received a one-year sanction.
Polini admitted his use on March 31 when CCES conducted tests on the team. He received a two-year sanction. They joined Joe Surgenor and Jordan Meredith, who were identified previously and hit with two-year sanctions.
So far, three players and one former player are facing criminal charges in conjunction with what is being called the most significant steroids scandal in the history of Canadian university sport.
Receiver Nathan Zettler was arrested on charges of drug trafficking, which led to the entire Waterloo team being tested, Since then teammates Matthew Valeriote and Brandon Krukowski and former Warrior Eric Legare also have been charged.
The five oustanding positive tests have yet to sign their waiver and accept the anti-doping rule violation and the proposed sanctions, according to Paul Melia, president and CEO of CCES.
CCES has conducted more than 50 out-of-season, unannounced tests of players from university football programs across the country since the Waterloo scandal was unearthed.
The hope is to test at least one athlete from every football program in Canada by the time the 2010 season begins.
"(We want) to try to access how broad and how deep this use of prohibited substances in the CIS in the sport of football might be," Melia said. "Again trying to answer the question, 'Is it an isolated incident restricted to the Waterloo football program or is it more widespread?'"
In addition to the 61 urine tests carried out on March 31, CCES also conducted 20 blood tests, it was revealed Friday. Blood testing determines the presence of certain substances not detectable in urine like blood transfusions, synthetic EPO and human growth hormone.
One of those blood samples was a failed test or, as the scientists call it, an adverse analytical finding. The failed blood test was turned in by one of those players responsible for the nine positive urine tests so the cheat count remains at nine.
Named Friday were two more of the nine who either failed doping control tests administered to 61 of the 62 athletes on the team or admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs. (One player refused to participate and was thereby handed an anti-doping rule violation.) The two identified Friday in a conference call with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport were third-year linebacker Matt Peto of Strathroy and first-year linebacker Eric Polini of Thunder Bay. Peto admitted to steroid use two days before testing and received a one-year sanction.
Polini admitted his use on March 31 when CCES conducted tests on the team. He received a two-year sanction. They joined Joe Surgenor and Jordan Meredith, who were identified previously and hit with two-year sanctions.
So far, three players and one former player are facing criminal charges in conjunction with what is being called the most significant steroids scandal in the history of Canadian university sport.
Receiver Nathan Zettler was arrested on charges of drug trafficking, which led to the entire Waterloo team being tested, Since then teammates Matthew Valeriote and Brandon Krukowski and former Warrior Eric Legare also have been charged.
The five oustanding positive tests have yet to sign their waiver and accept the anti-doping rule violation and the proposed sanctions, according to Paul Melia, president and CEO of CCES.
CCES has conducted more than 50 out-of-season, unannounced tests of players from university football programs across the country since the Waterloo scandal was unearthed.
The hope is to test at least one athlete from every football program in Canada by the time the 2010 season begins.
"(We want) to try to access how broad and how deep this use of prohibited substances in the CIS in the sport of football might be," Melia said. "Again trying to answer the question, 'Is it an isolated incident restricted to the Waterloo football program or is it more widespread?'"
In addition to the 61 urine tests carried out on March 31, CCES also conducted 20 blood tests, it was revealed Friday. Blood testing determines the presence of certain substances not detectable in urine like blood transfusions, synthetic EPO and human growth hormone.
One of those blood samples was a failed test or, as the scientists call it, an adverse analytical finding. The failed blood test was turned in by one of those players responsible for the nine positive urine tests so the cheat count remains at nine.
Gay Games welcomes drug using bodybuilders.
My name is Dustin Robertson, 34, aka Aviddiva. I’m 6 feet tall, 225 pounds. I’ve competed in bodybuilding as a hobby for many years. What I enjoy most about competing is the discipline.
Getting into condition forces me to take my body the entire way down to my lowest body fat percentage. It feels great and it’s always fun to show off all my hard work in the gym. I can’t wait to show off my muscle on the dance floor at the opening party of the Gay Games. This will be my first Gay Games. I’m excited to meet other gay athletes from around the world.
At one point, I canceled my trip after the Gay Games wrote to explain that they would be drug testing for bodybuilding. I wouldn’t pass these drug tests, as I am a competitive bodybuilder who does use steroids and supplements, as do my competitors here in the U.S. within the division in which I compete.
I am scheduled to compete before in LA at the NPC Los Angeles Bodybuilding Competition on July 24 where they do not test for drugs. After canceling my plans to compete at the Gay Games, I got a call from the Gay Games saying they had successfully petitioned to make a separate category for visiting competitors for those bodybuilders who would not pass the drug tests. So my trip is back on.
Getting into condition forces me to take my body the entire way down to my lowest body fat percentage. It feels great and it’s always fun to show off all my hard work in the gym. I can’t wait to show off my muscle on the dance floor at the opening party of the Gay Games. This will be my first Gay Games. I’m excited to meet other gay athletes from around the world.
At one point, I canceled my trip after the Gay Games wrote to explain that they would be drug testing for bodybuilding. I wouldn’t pass these drug tests, as I am a competitive bodybuilder who does use steroids and supplements, as do my competitors here in the U.S. within the division in which I compete.
I am scheduled to compete before in LA at the NPC Los Angeles Bodybuilding Competition on July 24 where they do not test for drugs. After canceling my plans to compete at the Gay Games, I got a call from the Gay Games saying they had successfully petitioned to make a separate category for visiting competitors for those bodybuilders who would not pass the drug tests. So my trip is back on.
Prosecutors want Applied Pharmacy Services Doctor's sentence halved.
Federal prosecutors in Mobile asked a federal judge last week to cut almost in half a Colorado doctor's prison sentence on a steroids conviction, which would make him eligible for release soon.
Kelly Wade Tucker pleaded guilty to dispensing steroids outside the course of professional practice, admitting that in 2005 he signed off on steroids prescriptions -- for a fee of $100 each -- prepared by the owner of an anti-aging clinic that had customers across the country.
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade sentenced Tucker a year ago this month to a year and nine months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins wrote in a court filing that Tucker deserves a sentence reduction for his testimony in a five-week steroids trial in January. During the trial, Tucker identified and explained documents, including the order forms prepared by Infinite Health owner Brett W. Branch.
Those steroids prescriptions were sent to Applied Pharmacy Services, an online pharmacy in Mobile, which filled the orders and shipped the drugs.
A jury in Mobile convicted Branch and four men connected to the pharmacy in February.
"Tucker was an important and credible witness as he explained his association with Brett Branch, Infinite Health, and others," Dobbins wrote.
Without the reduction, Tucker is scheduled to be released in March.
Kelly Wade Tucker pleaded guilty to dispensing steroids outside the course of professional practice, admitting that in 2005 he signed off on steroids prescriptions -- for a fee of $100 each -- prepared by the owner of an anti-aging clinic that had customers across the country.
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade sentenced Tucker a year ago this month to a year and nine months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins wrote in a court filing that Tucker deserves a sentence reduction for his testimony in a five-week steroids trial in January. During the trial, Tucker identified and explained documents, including the order forms prepared by Infinite Health owner Brett W. Branch.
Those steroids prescriptions were sent to Applied Pharmacy Services, an online pharmacy in Mobile, which filled the orders and shipped the drugs.
A jury in Mobile convicted Branch and four men connected to the pharmacy in February.
"Tucker was an important and credible witness as he explained his association with Brett Branch, Infinite Health, and others," Dobbins wrote.
Without the reduction, Tucker is scheduled to be released in March.
Phoenix police officer gets suspended for five days over steroids.
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As a pro football player, Cedric Tillman used steroidlike supplements in the locker room.
But the first time he ever tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, he lost a different job - as a Phoenix police officer.
The former Arizona Rattlers wide receiver appealed his firing this year and on Thursday was given a five-day suspension instead of termination because of questions surrounding the legally purchased drugs he blamed for a false-positive test.
Through the appeal process, lawyers raised concerns about how the Phoenix Police Department tests its officers for strength-building supplements sold online and in nutrition stores. In many cases, products are advertised as legal anabolic steroids. The department tests for a chemical reaction rather than specific supplements.
Police Chief Jack Harris defended the department's steroid policy as a clear, zero-tolerance approach to cutting performance-enhancing drugs out of its ranks. Officers have been educated since 2004 on the potentially dangerous side effects of steroid use, including major psychological conditions that could adversely impact residents on the street.
Tillman, 40, is the second officer to earn his job back this year after testing positive for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid popular with athletes. He and another officer who earned his job back in March claimed they were unaware supplements that they purchased legally could metabolize into an illegal substance such as Nandrolone or lead to a positive test.
Harris said he was disappointed with the decisions made by the Phoenix Civil Service Board, the citizens panel that voted to reinstate both officers. Tillman had tested "off the charts," or nearly 90 times the police department's allowable limit for Nandrolone, due to squirting a steroidlike liquid under his tongue with a syringe, investigators said.
Any trace of an illegal substance such as Nandrolone, Harris said, is sufficient evidence to uphold an officer's termination. He disagreed that the department policy would need to be changed, though officers could be retrained to avoid similar appeals.
"I am completely confident that if that was any other dangerous drug other than steroids, they would have upheld the firing because with steroids, they don't seem to hold that as a dangerous drug," Harris said. "I don't understand their decision. I don't want officers to think it's OK to take steroids and endanger their own lives."
Tillman declined comment through Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, which has cautioned rank-and-file officers to beware of legally purchased supplements and urged a more specific policy similar to the NFL's, which lists banned substances by name.
Attorneys and Civil Service Board members cited the investigation into Phoenix Officer Carl Ramirez as a factor in their decision to reinstate Tillman. Ramirez appealed his 2008 termination, also citing store-bought supplements as a reason for his positive urine test. In March, he received a 30-day suspension and returned to his job on a Cactus Park Precinct neighborhood-enforcement team.
Tillman denied using anything illegal but admitted buying supplements labeled as "the closest you can get" to legally taking anabolic steroids.
Canadian press investigates online steroid dealing.
( funny thing is all their screen shots are of sites that sell supplements with names designed to trick buyers into thinking they are real steroids )
Forget locker-room deals, stuffed gym bags and whispered words from a muscle bound man.
There’s a much simpler way to buy the kind of performance enhancing drugs that brought down the University of Waterloo’s football team – with a credit card and access to the internet.
Ordering steroids and human growth hormone through websites has become the single biggest way that those drugs are bought and sold, says the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
It’s a multimillion-dollar shadow industry that is highly illegal, and very hard to police. And it’s shipping its dangerous products to a mailbox near you.
Last year alone, agents with the Canadian Border Services Agency seized tens of thousands of dollars worth of steroids and growth hormone en route to mailing addresses in Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge. Records of those seizures, obtained through federal Access to Information legislation, show that the postal service has become the new pipeline for dealers trying get their products past authorities to demanding customers.
Some of the seized local shipments were as small as two glass vials of testosterone and boldenone, a type of steroid typically used for horses – worth about $100. Others packages that caught the eye of X-ray scanners at the border agency’s mail processing facility in Toronto included 950 pills of methandienone, an anabolic steroid used to aid muscle growth.
A typical order to a Kitchener address was 500 yellow, diamond-shaped pills of Stanozolol – the steroid linked to sports doping scandals from Ben Johnson to Barry Bonds. Another seizure was of 500 Methanoplex tablets, a potent steroid that can cause estrogen-like effects in men.
The seizures – which experts say are just a drop in the bucket in the river flowing into Canada – show just how common ordering from steroid websites has become. With names like steroid.com, buysteroids.com and roidstore.com, they operate out in the open like any other online retailer. Except, of course, they’re illegal.
“This is a lot bigger than most people realize. It’s dirt cheap and it just comes in the mail,” said Dusty Payne, a Washington, DC-based expert on steroids with the U.S. drug enforcement agency. “The biggest way people are selling steroids now is through these websites.”
In Canada and the U.S., buying steroids without a prescription is against the law. But that hasn’t stopped hundreds of websites from popping up, offering huge inventories of the drugs at rock-bottom prices, no questions asked. The operators of these websites are constantly on the move, trying to avoid authorities. Some maintain dozens of domain names as a virtual front for their basement and garage laboratories, making them hard to trace.
Many websites buy their product in raw form from China, repackage it and ship it off to addresses across North America. If your order is stopped by customs officers, don’t sweat it, they say. They’ll simply send out another one.
The risk is worth it to these websites because the markup on the drugs is so high, sometimes as much as 30 times.
“A lot of people picked up on that. They figured out they can deal with China directly, and they’re going to ship me a ton of steroids for next to nothing, pennies almost,” Payne said.
Investigators say the online steroid industry is simply too big and too mobile to stop, and there are far more high-profile drugs that get more resources and public attention.
In 2007, American drug agents, working with Canadian police, busted 56 steroid labs across the U.S. It was the largest steroid crackdown is U.S. history, seizing $11.4 million worth of steroids, $6.5 million in cash and 242 kilograms of raw steroid powder from China.
But even that was just a bump in the road for the booming black market industry.
The problem is steroid and growth hormone use is no longer just the realm of professional athletes, body builders and wrestlers. Now, many users are just guys (and some girls) who just want to look strong with less effort.
Tens of thousands of these casual users are believed to be behind a spike in seizures of illegal mail-order steroids by Canada’s border officials. Last year, 1,920 courier and mail shipments of steroids were stopped at Canada’s three international mail processing centres. In 2008, the Canada Border Services Agency seized 1,624 shipments of foreign-made steroids that Canadians tried to have mailed into the country.
That’s not to speak of the volume of steroids and growth hormone sent through domestic mail warehouses, driven across the border or smuggled through airports. There were 2,609 seizures of steroids stopped at all international entry points last year, up from 926 in 2004, according to Canada’s border agency.
When there is a seizure in the mail, the sender, receiver and police are notified. The border agency holds onto the steroids until they can be destroyed by the RCMP or Health Canada.
But sending steroids through the mail is hardly a foreign enterprise. Plenty of these websites are based in Canada, too.
In 2008, police shut down a Kitchener-based mail-order steroids company run by Fernando Reis. It was Canada’s largest steroid seizure, a profitable business that used multiple storage units and several houses around town. Reis’s steroid shipping enterprise unravelled when a customs officer at the Canada Border Services Agency found a suspicious package that was addressed to Reis.
The package actually contained knockoff Viagra, but it unravelled a steroid and prescription drug operation that was selling “health and nutrition” supplements to customers around the world. Reis was sentenced to 22 months in jail and two years on parole.
Authorities, meanwhile, agree with officials around the disgraced Waterloo Warriors teams who say the problem of steroid and growth hormone abuse is far more widespread than most of us think.
“Steroid abuse is still a lot more significant than people realize. A lot more people do steroids than you think,” Payne said.
Health Canada is concerned about these websites, warning that there’s no guarantee you’re getting what you’re paying for. Some of these steroid labs produce their shipments in bathroom sinks and tubs, with absolutely no sanitary controls. Never mind that steroids can have severe side effects for users, from kidney disease to heart problems.
Not that you’ll find much negative news about steroids or growth hormone on any of those illegal websites. Or any information about the people behind them, either. Very few offer any way to contact the operators.
One company that does, Houston-based Anabolic Research LLC, the enterprise behind the Roid Store and Steroid. com websites, lists a phone number that is disconnected. Parkes said that’s typical.
“They can be really elusive, and it’s really hard to find the body behind the server,” Payne said. “They know how to stay hidden.”
Forget locker-room deals, stuffed gym bags and whispered words from a muscle bound man.
There’s a much simpler way to buy the kind of performance enhancing drugs that brought down the University of Waterloo’s football team – with a credit card and access to the internet.
Ordering steroids and human growth hormone through websites has become the single biggest way that those drugs are bought and sold, says the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
It’s a multimillion-dollar shadow industry that is highly illegal, and very hard to police. And it’s shipping its dangerous products to a mailbox near you.
Last year alone, agents with the Canadian Border Services Agency seized tens of thousands of dollars worth of steroids and growth hormone en route to mailing addresses in Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge. Records of those seizures, obtained through federal Access to Information legislation, show that the postal service has become the new pipeline for dealers trying get their products past authorities to demanding customers.
Some of the seized local shipments were as small as two glass vials of testosterone and boldenone, a type of steroid typically used for horses – worth about $100. Others packages that caught the eye of X-ray scanners at the border agency’s mail processing facility in Toronto included 950 pills of methandienone, an anabolic steroid used to aid muscle growth.
A typical order to a Kitchener address was 500 yellow, diamond-shaped pills of Stanozolol – the steroid linked to sports doping scandals from Ben Johnson to Barry Bonds. Another seizure was of 500 Methanoplex tablets, a potent steroid that can cause estrogen-like effects in men.
The seizures – which experts say are just a drop in the bucket in the river flowing into Canada – show just how common ordering from steroid websites has become. With names like steroid.com, buysteroids.com and roidstore.com, they operate out in the open like any other online retailer. Except, of course, they’re illegal.
“This is a lot bigger than most people realize. It’s dirt cheap and it just comes in the mail,” said Dusty Payne, a Washington, DC-based expert on steroids with the U.S. drug enforcement agency. “The biggest way people are selling steroids now is through these websites.”
In Canada and the U.S., buying steroids without a prescription is against the law. But that hasn’t stopped hundreds of websites from popping up, offering huge inventories of the drugs at rock-bottom prices, no questions asked. The operators of these websites are constantly on the move, trying to avoid authorities. Some maintain dozens of domain names as a virtual front for their basement and garage laboratories, making them hard to trace.
Many websites buy their product in raw form from China, repackage it and ship it off to addresses across North America. If your order is stopped by customs officers, don’t sweat it, they say. They’ll simply send out another one.
The risk is worth it to these websites because the markup on the drugs is so high, sometimes as much as 30 times.
“A lot of people picked up on that. They figured out they can deal with China directly, and they’re going to ship me a ton of steroids for next to nothing, pennies almost,” Payne said.
Investigators say the online steroid industry is simply too big and too mobile to stop, and there are far more high-profile drugs that get more resources and public attention.
In 2007, American drug agents, working with Canadian police, busted 56 steroid labs across the U.S. It was the largest steroid crackdown is U.S. history, seizing $11.4 million worth of steroids, $6.5 million in cash and 242 kilograms of raw steroid powder from China.
But even that was just a bump in the road for the booming black market industry.
The problem is steroid and growth hormone use is no longer just the realm of professional athletes, body builders and wrestlers. Now, many users are just guys (and some girls) who just want to look strong with less effort.
Tens of thousands of these casual users are believed to be behind a spike in seizures of illegal mail-order steroids by Canada’s border officials. Last year, 1,920 courier and mail shipments of steroids were stopped at Canada’s three international mail processing centres. In 2008, the Canada Border Services Agency seized 1,624 shipments of foreign-made steroids that Canadians tried to have mailed into the country.
That’s not to speak of the volume of steroids and growth hormone sent through domestic mail warehouses, driven across the border or smuggled through airports. There were 2,609 seizures of steroids stopped at all international entry points last year, up from 926 in 2004, according to Canada’s border agency.
When there is a seizure in the mail, the sender, receiver and police are notified. The border agency holds onto the steroids until they can be destroyed by the RCMP or Health Canada.
But sending steroids through the mail is hardly a foreign enterprise. Plenty of these websites are based in Canada, too.
In 2008, police shut down a Kitchener-based mail-order steroids company run by Fernando Reis. It was Canada’s largest steroid seizure, a profitable business that used multiple storage units and several houses around town. Reis’s steroid shipping enterprise unravelled when a customs officer at the Canada Border Services Agency found a suspicious package that was addressed to Reis.
The package actually contained knockoff Viagra, but it unravelled a steroid and prescription drug operation that was selling “health and nutrition” supplements to customers around the world. Reis was sentenced to 22 months in jail and two years on parole.
Authorities, meanwhile, agree with officials around the disgraced Waterloo Warriors teams who say the problem of steroid and growth hormone abuse is far more widespread than most of us think.
“Steroid abuse is still a lot more significant than people realize. A lot more people do steroids than you think,” Payne said.
Health Canada is concerned about these websites, warning that there’s no guarantee you’re getting what you’re paying for. Some of these steroid labs produce their shipments in bathroom sinks and tubs, with absolutely no sanitary controls. Never mind that steroids can have severe side effects for users, from kidney disease to heart problems.
Not that you’ll find much negative news about steroids or growth hormone on any of those illegal websites. Or any information about the people behind them, either. Very few offer any way to contact the operators.
One company that does, Houston-based Anabolic Research LLC, the enterprise behind the Roid Store and Steroid. com websites, lists a phone number that is disconnected. Parkes said that’s typical.
“They can be really elusive, and it’s really hard to find the body behind the server,” Payne said. “They know how to stay hidden.”
Corrections officer sentenced to community service for steroids.
A former county corrections officer who admitted to possessing steroids was sentenced to 150 hours of community service this morning.
Zachary T. Lazore, 23, of 87 Whitesboro St., Utica, was sentenced by County Court Judge Barry M. Donalty to 150 hours of service and five years probation on charges of three counts of fifth-degree possession and two counts of fifth-degree sale of a controlled substance.
A co-defendant and fellow corrections officer, Peter P. DiNardo, 42, of Floyd Avenue, Deerfield, is scheduled for trial on similar charges on July 26.
According to the indictment, both men sold the anabolic steroid Oxymetholone in Utica on July 22, 2009. Lazore is also accused of selling the steroid Stanozolo in Yorkville on July 31 and Aug. 10.
Zachary T. Lazore, 23, of 87 Whitesboro St., Utica, was sentenced by County Court Judge Barry M. Donalty to 150 hours of service and five years probation on charges of three counts of fifth-degree possession and two counts of fifth-degree sale of a controlled substance.
A co-defendant and fellow corrections officer, Peter P. DiNardo, 42, of Floyd Avenue, Deerfield, is scheduled for trial on similar charges on July 26.
According to the indictment, both men sold the anabolic steroid Oxymetholone in Utica on July 22, 2009. Lazore is also accused of selling the steroid Stanozolo in Yorkville on July 31 and Aug. 10.
Two more Canadian football players suspended for steroid use.
Two more University of Waterloo football players have been suspended for use of performance enhancing drugs.
The suspension of linebackers Matt Peto and Eric Polini was announced today by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the organization that conducted drug tests on the entire UW football team.
Peto, a third-year linebacker from Strathroy, received a reduced one-year suspension from Canadian Interuniversity Sport because he acknowledged use of steroids on March 29, prior to players being notified of team-wide testing on March 31.
Polini, a first-year linebacker from Thunder Bay, received a two-year ban as he waited until the tests were being carried out to admit that he had used steroids.
The suspension of linebackers Matt Peto and Eric Polini was announced today by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the organization that conducted drug tests on the entire UW football team.
Peto, a third-year linebacker from Strathroy, received a reduced one-year suspension from Canadian Interuniversity Sport because he acknowledged use of steroids on March 29, prior to players being notified of team-wide testing on March 31.
Polini, a first-year linebacker from Thunder Bay, received a two-year ban as he waited until the tests were being carried out to admit that he had used steroids.
New test for human growth hormone detects it for two weeks after your last injection.
A new test that provides a breakthrough in detecting human growth hormone in blood is expected to become available soon and make it more difficult for athletes to use HGH without getting caught.
It's a test some experts consider so good, however, it could blunt the push for the urine-based test sought by some in baseball and football, possibly stalling promising research that has already cost many thousands of dollars.
The new test, called a biomarkers test, scans the blood for chemicals the body produces after HGH use, which are detectable for up to two weeks. The test, expected to be available in the coming weeks or months, is a complement to - or maybe an improvement over - the current test, called an isoform test, which scans blood for synthetic HGH.
The isoform test detects synthetic HGH in the blood for only about 48 hours after use, making it easier for users to avoid detection.
It's a test some experts consider so good, however, it could blunt the push for the urine-based test sought by some in baseball and football, possibly stalling promising research that has already cost many thousands of dollars.
The new test, called a biomarkers test, scans the blood for chemicals the body produces after HGH use, which are detectable for up to two weeks. The test, expected to be available in the coming weeks or months, is a complement to - or maybe an improvement over - the current test, called an isoform test, which scans blood for synthetic HGH.
The isoform test detects synthetic HGH in the blood for only about 48 hours after use, making it easier for users to avoid detection.
New info on the Ohio domestic steroids bust.
( Here's a little more info on yesterday's domestic steroids bust in Ohio)
A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday for a Perrysburg man charged with possessing and manufacturing suspected anabolic steroid drugs.
The drugs and money were found during a search Wednesday of the home of Mr. Kreuz. He is being held in the Wood County jail on a bond of $250,000.
Chief Gilmore said Mr. Kreuz is believed to be a distributor whose customers extend well beyond the Perrysburg area. "This was primarily a distributor, but the charges haven't come to that yet," he explained.
"We haven't gotten to his computer yet. We haven't gotten to his customers."
He declined to specify how the investigation started.
"We've been working on it for quite a few months, and the investigation led to enough probable cause to get a search warrant and an arrest warrant," he said.
The police raid and arrest surprised neighbors, who said they did not notice a lot of traffic to and from Mr. Kreuz's house.
Another nearby neighbor, Jeffry Coleman, 47, said he and his son were going fishing yesterday when they saw police officers wearing gloves and carrying what he thought were metal detectors in the neighborhood.
A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday for a Perrysburg man charged with possessing and manufacturing suspected anabolic steroid drugs.
The drugs and money were found during a search Wednesday of the home of Mr. Kreuz. He is being held in the Wood County jail on a bond of $250,000.
Chief Gilmore said Mr. Kreuz is believed to be a distributor whose customers extend well beyond the Perrysburg area. "This was primarily a distributor, but the charges haven't come to that yet," he explained.
"We haven't gotten to his computer yet. We haven't gotten to his customers."
He declined to specify how the investigation started.
"We've been working on it for quite a few months, and the investigation led to enough probable cause to get a search warrant and an arrest warrant," he said.
The police raid and arrest surprised neighbors, who said they did not notice a lot of traffic to and from Mr. Kreuz's house.
Another nearby neighbor, Jeffry Coleman, 47, said he and his son were going fishing yesterday when they saw police officers wearing gloves and carrying what he thought were metal detectors in the neighborhood.
Domestic steroids source / Underground lab from Ohio busted.
( oddly no pictures in the press showing the brand of steroids they found )
A Perrysburg man has been arrested and charged with drug possession and manufacturing drugs after police seized over $1 million worth of suspected steroids from his home.
Greg A Kreuz, 39, of 1903 Coe, is being held in the Wood County Jail after police raided his home and found a large amount of suspected anabolic steroids and cash. The raid came after months of investigation by Perrysburg Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Authorities say the street value of the drugs seized in Kreuz's home is estimated to be over $1 million. Kreuz has been charged with two counts of possession of drugs and one count of manufacturing drugs.
A Perrysburg man has been arrested and charged with drug possession and manufacturing drugs after police seized over $1 million worth of suspected steroids from his home.
Greg A Kreuz, 39, of 1903 Coe, is being held in the Wood County Jail after police raided his home and found a large amount of suspected anabolic steroids and cash. The raid came after months of investigation by Perrysburg Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Authorities say the street value of the drugs seized in Kreuz's home is estimated to be over $1 million. Kreuz has been charged with two counts of possession of drugs and one count of manufacturing drugs.
Kong Labs steroids gang sentenced.
Brandon Joseph Millay, age 43, Jimmie Lynn Garrison, age 43, and Mary Kay Hamilton, age 32, all of Owensboro, and Kevin Seth Revelette, age 38, of Greenville, Kentucky, have been sentenced on steroid related charges in United States District Court.
Chief Judge Thomas B. Russell sentenced Millay, a former professor at Kentucky Community and Technical College in Owensboro, to two years in prison for conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids, operating an unregistered establishment for processing and packaging anabolic steroids, and misbranding anabolic steroids.
Revelette, the 2006 Mr. Kentucky body building champion, was sentenced to two years for conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids.
Garrison was sentenced to year home confinement followed by two additional years of probation for conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids and obstructing a federal criminal investigation.
Hamilton was sentenced to two years' probation for obstructing a federal criminal investigation. Millay and Revelette were also sentenced to 2 years' supervised release following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal judicial system.
Millay, Revelette and Garrison had pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids between October 2006 and April 2008.
Federal officials say Millay imported raw anabolic steroid powder from China and had some of those shipments delivered to Garrison and others. In his home, Millay processed the steroid powder into injectable liquid form, and bottled the steroids. Millay then sold the steroids in Owensboro and online to others.
Millay and Revelette supplied each other with steroids and assisted one another in identifying sources of supply. On May 6, 2008, government lawyers say Garrison and Hamilton obstructed the federal criminal investigation by concealing steroid related materials from federal agents.
Chief Judge Thomas B. Russell sentenced Millay, a former professor at Kentucky Community and Technical College in Owensboro, to two years in prison for conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids, operating an unregistered establishment for processing and packaging anabolic steroids, and misbranding anabolic steroids.
Revelette, the 2006 Mr. Kentucky body building champion, was sentenced to two years for conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids.
Garrison was sentenced to year home confinement followed by two additional years of probation for conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids and obstructing a federal criminal investigation.
Hamilton was sentenced to two years' probation for obstructing a federal criminal investigation. Millay and Revelette were also sentenced to 2 years' supervised release following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal judicial system.
Millay, Revelette and Garrison had pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids between October 2006 and April 2008.
Federal officials say Millay imported raw anabolic steroid powder from China and had some of those shipments delivered to Garrison and others. In his home, Millay processed the steroid powder into injectable liquid form, and bottled the steroids. Millay then sold the steroids in Owensboro and online to others.
Millay and Revelette supplied each other with steroids and assisted one another in identifying sources of supply. On May 6, 2008, government lawyers say Garrison and Hamilton obstructed the federal criminal investigation by concealing steroid related materials from federal agents.
Pattaya pharmacy busted for supplying UG Thaiger Pharma steroids and unlicensed Kamagra.
"Top Pharmacy" in Pattaya Thailand was raided yesterday and the owner arrested yet mysteriously none of Thailand's english language press has made any mention of the steroids that were found during the raid and has instead concentrated on the Kamagra and other items.
If you take a look at Thai langauge versions of the story you'll see that Police found over a thousand vials of Thaiger Pharma products and even named them all.
จากการเข้าตรวจค้นร้านดังกล่าวพบนายวิชา ทิพย์พาวัลย์ อายุ 44 ปี แสดงตัวเป็นเจ้าของร้านพร้อมพาตรวจค้น จากการตรวจค้นพบยาเพิ่มพลังทางเพศแบบเม็ด และเยล ยี่ห้อต่างๆ จำนวนมากกว่า 500 แผง อาทิ คามากร้า 100 มก.แบบเม็ด คาเวอร์ต้า 100 มก.แบบเม็ด คามากร้าแบบเยล นอกจากนั้นยังพบสารกระตุ้นฮอร์โมนเร่งกล้ามเนื้อที่ไม่ผ่านการรับประกัน ของ อย. จำนวนมากเกือบ 1,000 ขวด อาทิ FINEXAL 100 , SU-250 , DEXXA 250 , FINAVEX 200 และ VENAJECT 50 หลังจากนั้นจึงควบคุมตัวมาสอบสวนพร้อมส่งพนักงานสอบสวน สภ.เมืองพัทยา ดำเนินคดีตามกฏหมายต่อไป
The Thai Police also claim to be hunting the importer / owner of Thaiger Pharma.
Top Pharmacy was listed by a number of well known UG and Thai HG labs as being an official distributor and as a result of this steroid bust I suspect there will be a number of very nervous guys in Thailand.
This bust will make quite a dent in the easy availibilty of steroids in Pattaya and Thailand as a whole and I expect temporary closure of quite a few Thai based steroid sites.
I'm am of course wondering if this bust is in any way related to the UK/Thai steroid bust I blogged about earlier today.
( Please note the person posting comments on Thai news sites using my handle is an impersonator who seems to know far more about the Bangkok scene than me and likes replying to his own posts ).
If you take a look at Thai langauge versions of the story you'll see that Police found over a thousand vials of Thaiger Pharma products and even named them all.
จากการเข้าตรวจค้นร้านดังกล่าวพบนายวิชา ทิพย์พาวัลย์ อายุ 44 ปี แสดงตัวเป็นเจ้าของร้านพร้อมพาตรวจค้น จากการตรวจค้นพบยาเพิ่มพลังทางเพศแบบเม็ด และเยล ยี่ห้อต่างๆ จำนวนมากกว่า 500 แผง อาทิ คามากร้า 100 มก.แบบเม็ด คาเวอร์ต้า 100 มก.แบบเม็ด คามากร้าแบบเยล นอกจากนั้นยังพบสารกระตุ้นฮอร์โมนเร่งกล้ามเนื้อที่ไม่ผ่านการรับประกัน ของ อย. จำนวนมากเกือบ 1,000 ขวด อาทิ FINEXAL 100 , SU-250 , DEXXA 250 , FINAVEX 200 และ VENAJECT 50 หลังจากนั้นจึงควบคุมตัวมาสอบสวนพร้อมส่งพนักงานสอบสวน สภ.เมืองพัทยา ดำเนินคดีตามกฏหมายต่อไป
The Thai Police also claim to be hunting the importer / owner of Thaiger Pharma.
Top Pharmacy was listed by a number of well known UG and Thai HG labs as being an official distributor and as a result of this steroid bust I suspect there will be a number of very nervous guys in Thailand.
This bust will make quite a dent in the easy availibilty of steroids in Pattaya and Thailand as a whole and I expect temporary closure of quite a few Thai based steroid sites.
I'm am of course wondering if this bust is in any way related to the UK/Thai steroid bust I blogged about earlier today.
( Please note the person posting comments on Thai news sites using my handle is an impersonator who seems to know far more about the Bangkok scene than me and likes replying to his own posts ).
British Thai steroids gang busted.
( if anyone knows which web sites they ran please comment )
Cumbria's serious and organised crime squad has charged six people following a long-running investigation into an alleged money laundering plot.
They are now due before a court after all being charged with conspiring to facilitate the concealment, transferal and removal of criminal assets from the UK.
Those charged are:
Peter Henry Farquhar, 52, of Pattaya in Thailand;
Paul Short, 39, of The Willows, Egremont;
Anthony Thomas Norman, 42, of The Larches, Egremont;
Jenny Dalton, 44, of The Larches, Egremont;
Philip Burney, 48, of Clintz Road, Egremont;
Yvonne Burney, 36, of Clintz Road, Egremont.
Farquhar, Short, Norman and Dalton were also charged with evading the duty on items imported into the UK.
Philip Burney and Yvonne Burney both face two charges each of possessing steroids with intent to supply.
They were all bailed and are due to make their first appearance at Whitehaven Magistrates Court on Wednesday July 14.
Cumbria's serious and organised crime squad has charged six people following a long-running investigation into an alleged money laundering plot.
They are now due before a court after all being charged with conspiring to facilitate the concealment, transferal and removal of criminal assets from the UK.
Those charged are:
Peter Henry Farquhar, 52, of Pattaya in Thailand;
Paul Short, 39, of The Willows, Egremont;
Anthony Thomas Norman, 42, of The Larches, Egremont;
Jenny Dalton, 44, of The Larches, Egremont;
Philip Burney, 48, of Clintz Road, Egremont;
Yvonne Burney, 36, of Clintz Road, Egremont.
Farquhar, Short, Norman and Dalton were also charged with evading the duty on items imported into the UK.
Philip Burney and Yvonne Burney both face two charges each of possessing steroids with intent to supply.
They were all bailed and are due to make their first appearance at Whitehaven Magistrates Court on Wednesday July 14.
Doctor struck off in New Zealand for dodgy anabolic steroid prescriptions.
A doctor alleged to have a gang association and a reputation for supplying anabolic steroids to body builders has been struck off the register on charges relating to irregular prescribing.
Johannes Wilson was understood to have left the country and did not appear or defend himself at the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) hearing in Auckland yesterday and today.
Dr Wilson was found guilty of all of eight charges laid by the Medical Council's Professional Conduct Committee, including importing Jintropin, a non-consented growth hormone, without the testing data required under the Medicines Act 1981.
Dr Wilson ran three Auckland clinics from 2001: a men's health clinic, a clinic associated with a gym and a solo practice.
A witness who had been a body builder said Dr Wilson would inject him and fellow body builders with steroids and other body-enhancing drugs in quick consultations without any physical examination or history taken.
In September 2006, customs seized two parcels containing 50 ampoules of Jintropin addressed to Dr Wilson. He later admitted to Medsafe senior investigator Nicola Squire he did not have the required testing data.
Two of the charges related to Dr Wilson prescribing an erectile dysfunction drug and a weight loss drug, respectively, to two people, who were in fact Medsafe investigators, without consultations. The investigators simply phoned the men's health clinic he ran and asked for the drugs.
Other charges related to prescribing large quantities of a non-consented drug that Dr Wilson had compounded for his patients consisting of 60 per cent ephedrine and 30 per cent caffeine.
Between May 2003 and July 2007, Dr Wilson ordered more than 1.1 million tablets, each containing 60mg ephedrine.
Many scripts appeared to be written for Dr Wilson or fictitious patients.
Another witness reported seeing large numbers of prescriptions for Sudomyl, Xanax and Paradex at Dr Wilson's solo practice written out for patients not registered with the practice and who did not receive the drugs.
The witness claimed he saw a senior Head Hunters gang member, his girlfriend, and another man, calling at Dr Wilson's practice to collect large quantities of Sudomyl.
Medsafe lodged a formal complaint about Dr Wilson in January 2008 and his annual practising certificate was suspended from April 2008 until it expired in February 2009 when it was not renewed.
Dr Wilson was found guilty of all eight charges, fined $20,000 and ordered to pay half of the total costs of the investigation and hearing of $66,000.
Johannes Wilson was understood to have left the country and did not appear or defend himself at the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) hearing in Auckland yesterday and today.
Dr Wilson was found guilty of all of eight charges laid by the Medical Council's Professional Conduct Committee, including importing Jintropin, a non-consented growth hormone, without the testing data required under the Medicines Act 1981.
Dr Wilson ran three Auckland clinics from 2001: a men's health clinic, a clinic associated with a gym and a solo practice.
A witness who had been a body builder said Dr Wilson would inject him and fellow body builders with steroids and other body-enhancing drugs in quick consultations without any physical examination or history taken.
In September 2006, customs seized two parcels containing 50 ampoules of Jintropin addressed to Dr Wilson. He later admitted to Medsafe senior investigator Nicola Squire he did not have the required testing data.
Two of the charges related to Dr Wilson prescribing an erectile dysfunction drug and a weight loss drug, respectively, to two people, who were in fact Medsafe investigators, without consultations. The investigators simply phoned the men's health clinic he ran and asked for the drugs.
Other charges related to prescribing large quantities of a non-consented drug that Dr Wilson had compounded for his patients consisting of 60 per cent ephedrine and 30 per cent caffeine.
Between May 2003 and July 2007, Dr Wilson ordered more than 1.1 million tablets, each containing 60mg ephedrine.
Many scripts appeared to be written for Dr Wilson or fictitious patients.
Another witness reported seeing large numbers of prescriptions for Sudomyl, Xanax and Paradex at Dr Wilson's solo practice written out for patients not registered with the practice and who did not receive the drugs.
The witness claimed he saw a senior Head Hunters gang member, his girlfriend, and another man, calling at Dr Wilson's practice to collect large quantities of Sudomyl.
Medsafe lodged a formal complaint about Dr Wilson in January 2008 and his annual practising certificate was suspended from April 2008 until it expired in February 2009 when it was not renewed.
Dr Wilson was found guilty of all eight charges, fined $20,000 and ordered to pay half of the total costs of the investigation and hearing of $66,000.
Australian football player tests positive for Deca.
19-year-old East Perth footballer Dean Cadwallader was drug tested when he was a member of the 2010 WA state squad that played Victoria in May. Cadwallader was first stood down by East Perth when the club was notified that an "A" sample had tested positive to the anabolic steroid Nandrolone. This was revealed two weeks later on July 5, 2010, when a "B" sample also returned positive.
Flanked by East Perth coach Tony Micale and General Manager Alex Wilson, Dean Cadwallader fronted a press conference at Subiaco Oval on July 5, 2010. Reading from a prepared statement, he said: “I’d like to apologise to my family, my teammates, the East Perth Football Club and its staff, its members and our supporters. There is no excuse. I’ve made a huge mistake and I’m going to pay a heavy price for that mistake. I only hope that I can come back to the game in the future and make a positive contribution." It was a dramatic fall from grace for the pacy young midfielder who had attracted interest from AFL clubs shortly after making his league debut for the Royals in 2010.
Flanked by East Perth coach Tony Micale and General Manager Alex Wilson, Dean Cadwallader fronted a press conference at Subiaco Oval on July 5, 2010. Reading from a prepared statement, he said: “I’d like to apologise to my family, my teammates, the East Perth Football Club and its staff, its members and our supporters. There is no excuse. I’ve made a huge mistake and I’m going to pay a heavy price for that mistake. I only hope that I can come back to the game in the future and make a positive contribution." It was a dramatic fall from grace for the pacy young midfielder who had attracted interest from AFL clubs shortly after making his league debut for the Royals in 2010.
South African study on steroid use by Indian teenagers.
In a study of 500 KwaZulu-Natal Indian schoolboys, youngsters said they felt pressured to mould their bodies like movie actors.
University of KwaZulu-Natal post-graduate Jarred Martin investigated the relationship between traditional masculine beliefs, body-image discrepancy and socio-cultural influences on appearance among Indian boys aged 13 to 19.
The study followed an earlier research project into body image among all race groups, in which Indian boys presented with high anxieties about their appearance compared with their black and white counterparts.
It also showed that other race groups perceived Indian boys as having a "softer" masculinity.
Among the latest findings:
* 57% of boys indicated they thought Bollywood films put pressure on males to look muscular;
* 5.5% had used or were using illegal steroids;
* 25% had used only legal supplements or drugs; and
* 79.3% believed that having a muscular frame was tied to enhanced feelings of self-worth.
The study found that steroid use peaked in boys who experienced issues with their body image and thought Bollywood films put pressure on men to look muscular.
Doctors, pharmacists, pedlars at local gyms, veterinary nurses and assistants were the main suppliers of steroids such as deca durabolin, dianabol and equipoise (a horse steroid).
Professor Yoga Coo-poo of the University of the Witwatersrand's Centre for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine said the use of steroids had a number of ill-effects on young users, including muscle tears and reduced HDL - the high-density cholesterol that helps reduce heart disease.
"The Indian community generally has lower HDL levels, and a further decrease in it with the use of steroids creates greater risk of heart disease as they grow older," said Coopoo.
Former and present steroid users who took part in the study and spoke to the Sunday Times Extra on condition of anonymity through Martin said they wanted to emulate Bollywood stars.
One said: "You see the guys like Salman Khan. This guy is so popular with girls. I wouldn't mind looking like Khan." Another said: "The only way you can get like that is by using steroids."
He added that Indian boys were perceived as "softer" because "we have such close families. I think they don't believe we are independent guys, that we are just mommies' boys."
Martin said: "The way in which these cinematic heroes are portrayed is that they always get the girl. They get respect, adoration and envy from other men. It may be that Bollywood cinema, in its portrayal of its action heroes and leading men as muscular Adonises, simply capitalises on the anxieties of young boys about their masculinity and body image."
Counselling psychologist Rakhi Beekrum said: "The six-pack is portrayed as being favourable and desirable among Bollywood stars - this can be seen in the shift from Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor to Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham and even Shahrukh Khan."
Clinical psychologist Sherona Rawat said being perceived as "soft" was a "contributing factor in the young Indian male's decision to use a substance that has been clinically proven to be dangerous and damaging to the body. The pull on South African males of Indian descent to prove themselves masculine in relation to their South African counterparts of other cultures and communities is understandable in this light."
University of KwaZulu-Natal post-graduate Jarred Martin investigated the relationship between traditional masculine beliefs, body-image discrepancy and socio-cultural influences on appearance among Indian boys aged 13 to 19.
The study followed an earlier research project into body image among all race groups, in which Indian boys presented with high anxieties about their appearance compared with their black and white counterparts.
It also showed that other race groups perceived Indian boys as having a "softer" masculinity.
Among the latest findings:
* 57% of boys indicated they thought Bollywood films put pressure on males to look muscular;
* 5.5% had used or were using illegal steroids;
* 25% had used only legal supplements or drugs; and
* 79.3% believed that having a muscular frame was tied to enhanced feelings of self-worth.
The study found that steroid use peaked in boys who experienced issues with their body image and thought Bollywood films put pressure on men to look muscular.
Doctors, pharmacists, pedlars at local gyms, veterinary nurses and assistants were the main suppliers of steroids such as deca durabolin, dianabol and equipoise (a horse steroid).
Professor Yoga Coo-poo of the University of the Witwatersrand's Centre for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine said the use of steroids had a number of ill-effects on young users, including muscle tears and reduced HDL - the high-density cholesterol that helps reduce heart disease.
"The Indian community generally has lower HDL levels, and a further decrease in it with the use of steroids creates greater risk of heart disease as they grow older," said Coopoo.
Former and present steroid users who took part in the study and spoke to the Sunday Times Extra on condition of anonymity through Martin said they wanted to emulate Bollywood stars.
One said: "You see the guys like Salman Khan. This guy is so popular with girls. I wouldn't mind looking like Khan." Another said: "The only way you can get like that is by using steroids."
He added that Indian boys were perceived as "softer" because "we have such close families. I think they don't believe we are independent guys, that we are just mommies' boys."
Martin said: "The way in which these cinematic heroes are portrayed is that they always get the girl. They get respect, adoration and envy from other men. It may be that Bollywood cinema, in its portrayal of its action heroes and leading men as muscular Adonises, simply capitalises on the anxieties of young boys about their masculinity and body image."
Counselling psychologist Rakhi Beekrum said: "The six-pack is portrayed as being favourable and desirable among Bollywood stars - this can be seen in the shift from Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor to Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham and even Shahrukh Khan."
Clinical psychologist Sherona Rawat said being perceived as "soft" was a "contributing factor in the young Indian male's decision to use a substance that has been clinically proven to be dangerous and damaging to the body. The pull on South African males of Indian descent to prove themselves masculine in relation to their South African counterparts of other cultures and communities is understandable in this light."
Cyclist Floyd Landis gives an exclusive tour through what he and others say is a culture of systematic doping in the sport.
Nine days into the 2004 Tour de France, the U.S. Postal Service cycling team, led by Lance Armstrong, checked into a hotel near the village of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.
It was July 12, one of two rest days on the Tour—the rare breaks that give riders a chance to rest and gird themselves for the punishing climbs and sprints that make this the most depleting event in professional cycling.
According to one of the U.S. Postal team's most prominent riders at the time, Floyd Landis, one room at the hotel had been set aside for a secret procedure.
Outside its door, Mr. Landis said, team staff members were stationed at each end of the hall to make sure nobody showed up unannounced. The riders were told before they went into the room not to talk when they got inside, he said. The smoke detectors had been taken down, he said, plastic was taped over the heater and the air-conditioning unit, and anything with a hole in it was taped over. The purpose, Mr. Landis figured, was to obscure the view of any hidden camera.
The riders on the team who participated in this procedure lay down on the bed, two at a time, Mr. Landis said, with a doctor on each side. Mr. Landis said he got a blood transfusion. He said he also saw Mr. Armstrong and two other team members, George Hincapie and José Luis Rubiera, taking blood. He said he didn't see any other riders getting transfusions that day.
The procedure, which enhances performance by boosting a rider's red-blood-cell counts, is considered cheating by the International Cycling Union, the sport's governing body.
Mr. Landis said that he isn't sure what happened to the empty blood bags, but that on other occasions he had seen team staffers dispose of them by cutting them into tiny pieces and flushing them down the toilet.
Doping is a scourge in professional athletics, and pro cycling has seen numerous scandals and suspensions over the past decade. The picture painted by Mr. Landis in the interviews, and in a series of emails he wrote to cycling sponsors in May, provides the most detailed view yet of what may be one of the biggest and most intricately coordinated cheating conspiracies in sports history. It involves blood transfusions taken in a bus on a remote alpine road, riders wearing testosterone patches to bed, and an operative posing as an autograph-seeking fan to deliver a bag of blood to a rider after a race.
It was July 12, one of two rest days on the Tour—the rare breaks that give riders a chance to rest and gird themselves for the punishing climbs and sprints that make this the most depleting event in professional cycling.
According to one of the U.S. Postal team's most prominent riders at the time, Floyd Landis, one room at the hotel had been set aside for a secret procedure.
Outside its door, Mr. Landis said, team staff members were stationed at each end of the hall to make sure nobody showed up unannounced. The riders were told before they went into the room not to talk when they got inside, he said. The smoke detectors had been taken down, he said, plastic was taped over the heater and the air-conditioning unit, and anything with a hole in it was taped over. The purpose, Mr. Landis figured, was to obscure the view of any hidden camera.
The riders on the team who participated in this procedure lay down on the bed, two at a time, Mr. Landis said, with a doctor on each side. Mr. Landis said he got a blood transfusion. He said he also saw Mr. Armstrong and two other team members, George Hincapie and José Luis Rubiera, taking blood. He said he didn't see any other riders getting transfusions that day.
The procedure, which enhances performance by boosting a rider's red-blood-cell counts, is considered cheating by the International Cycling Union, the sport's governing body.
Mr. Landis said that he isn't sure what happened to the empty blood bags, but that on other occasions he had seen team staffers dispose of them by cutting them into tiny pieces and flushing them down the toilet.
Doping is a scourge in professional athletics, and pro cycling has seen numerous scandals and suspensions over the past decade. The picture painted by Mr. Landis in the interviews, and in a series of emails he wrote to cycling sponsors in May, provides the most detailed view yet of what may be one of the biggest and most intricately coordinated cheating conspiracies in sports history. It involves blood transfusions taken in a bus on a remote alpine road, riders wearing testosterone patches to bed, and an operative posing as an autograph-seeking fan to deliver a bag of blood to a rider after a race.
More background info on the Signature Pharmacy case from NY investigator's "Changing Gear" steroid book.
On the 22nd page of his book manuscript, New York investigator Mark Haskins recalled a conversation he had with an assistant district attorney about an ongoing steroids probe:
"I can't promise you what will happen, but I promise you, I'll make you famous."
Now the operators of an Orlando pharmacy that was one of Haskins' targets say his manuscript bolsters their claim that he was out for fame and personal gain as he built a case against them.
In that manuscript, "CHANGING GEAR: The Internet, Steroids and How Three People Took on a 250 Million Dollar Steroid Ring and Won," Haskins details media leaks, legal maneuvering and his own deceptions — lying to a Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor and appearing to pose as a federal agent.
The manuscript was made public recently when Signature's attorneys included it as part of a federal civil case against the New York officials.
Last month, New York prosecutors again aimed at Signature's operators, whom they accuse of providing performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes. A new set of indictments against company officers marks the return of a case brought by Albany County District Attorney David Soares in 2007, one that turned a national spotlight on baseball players and other athletes linked to the steroid probe.
Soares' first case was tossed by a New York judge but not before the pharmacy was painted as a hub of a steroid network.
Five company officers responded to allegations by filing suit against Soares, Haskins and others associated with the criminal case, claiming the team ruined the pharmacy's reputation and cost it business.
The trial was set for mid-July but was postponed because of a second set of indictments against Naomi Loomis and her husband, Robert "Stan" Loomis, both of Windermere; his brother and former Signature pharmacy operator Kenneth Michael Loomis of Winter Garden; former business manager Kirk Calvert of Windermere; and former business manager Tony Palladino of Ocoee.
"We view these recent indictments as the same intimidation tactics [as] three years ago," said Signature attorney Amy Tingley. "We believe [these] will be dismissed as were those brought previously."
Said Mae D'Agostino, who represents Soares and New York Assistant District Attorney Christopher Baynes in the civil case: "I don't find anything irregular or inappropriate about it."
Meanwhile, Haskins' manuscript stands as a crucial piece of evidence in the civil case, Signature's attorneys said.
In it, he wrote about leaks and how officials used the media, including a Sports Illustrated writer.
"Everyone would have to get a taste and they would all have to be massaged," he wrote about news outlets. "Countless hours were spent determining who would be the best source for a particular name."
In addition, he wrote, it "became obvious to most that much of the information was coming from our camp. This was an accusation we would always deny."
Although he notes that he was new to the "spin game" early on, "by the end of the case I could spin [expletive] into gold and I enjoyed it."
In court filings, Signature argues the writing shows that Haskins wasn't performing "legitimate job-related functions" as a senior investigator for New York's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement and that Haskins intended to leak information to the media to destroy the pharmacy during the criminal probe.
According to court documents filed in May, Haskins would admit to writing about 100 pages in the 142-page manuscript, although it's unclear how it landed in the company's hands. It was discovered "by pure chance through a non-party," according to court records.
Attempts to reach Haskins were unsuccessful. He is no longer an investigator with New York's health department.
Haskins' attorney, David A. Jones, declined to comment on his client's current job or residence.
Jones said Haskins admits to writing portions of the manuscript. In court filings, Jones said Haskins' statements to the media do not violate pharmacy officers' rights.
Haskins' interviews and statements were given within the scope of his authority, and he wasn't directly quoted by any reporter as using the name "Signature," records filed by Jones state; Signature also can't prove Haskins caused the company or its officers any harm.
"I can't promise you what will happen, but I promise you, I'll make you famous."
Now the operators of an Orlando pharmacy that was one of Haskins' targets say his manuscript bolsters their claim that he was out for fame and personal gain as he built a case against them.
In that manuscript, "CHANGING GEAR: The Internet, Steroids and How Three People Took on a 250 Million Dollar Steroid Ring and Won," Haskins details media leaks, legal maneuvering and his own deceptions — lying to a Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor and appearing to pose as a federal agent.
The manuscript was made public recently when Signature's attorneys included it as part of a federal civil case against the New York officials.
Last month, New York prosecutors again aimed at Signature's operators, whom they accuse of providing performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes. A new set of indictments against company officers marks the return of a case brought by Albany County District Attorney David Soares in 2007, one that turned a national spotlight on baseball players and other athletes linked to the steroid probe.
Soares' first case was tossed by a New York judge but not before the pharmacy was painted as a hub of a steroid network.
Five company officers responded to allegations by filing suit against Soares, Haskins and others associated with the criminal case, claiming the team ruined the pharmacy's reputation and cost it business.
The trial was set for mid-July but was postponed because of a second set of indictments against Naomi Loomis and her husband, Robert "Stan" Loomis, both of Windermere; his brother and former Signature pharmacy operator Kenneth Michael Loomis of Winter Garden; former business manager Kirk Calvert of Windermere; and former business manager Tony Palladino of Ocoee.
"We view these recent indictments as the same intimidation tactics [as] three years ago," said Signature attorney Amy Tingley. "We believe [these] will be dismissed as were those brought previously."
Said Mae D'Agostino, who represents Soares and New York Assistant District Attorney Christopher Baynes in the civil case: "I don't find anything irregular or inappropriate about it."
Meanwhile, Haskins' manuscript stands as a crucial piece of evidence in the civil case, Signature's attorneys said.
In it, he wrote about leaks and how officials used the media, including a Sports Illustrated writer.
"Everyone would have to get a taste and they would all have to be massaged," he wrote about news outlets. "Countless hours were spent determining who would be the best source for a particular name."
In addition, he wrote, it "became obvious to most that much of the information was coming from our camp. This was an accusation we would always deny."
Although he notes that he was new to the "spin game" early on, "by the end of the case I could spin [expletive] into gold and I enjoyed it."
In court filings, Signature argues the writing shows that Haskins wasn't performing "legitimate job-related functions" as a senior investigator for New York's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement and that Haskins intended to leak information to the media to destroy the pharmacy during the criminal probe.
According to court documents filed in May, Haskins would admit to writing about 100 pages in the 142-page manuscript, although it's unclear how it landed in the company's hands. It was discovered "by pure chance through a non-party," according to court records.
Attempts to reach Haskins were unsuccessful. He is no longer an investigator with New York's health department.
Haskins' attorney, David A. Jones, declined to comment on his client's current job or residence.
Jones said Haskins admits to writing portions of the manuscript. In court filings, Jones said Haskins' statements to the media do not violate pharmacy officers' rights.
Haskins' interviews and statements were given within the scope of his authority, and he wasn't directly quoted by any reporter as using the name "Signature," records filed by Jones state; Signature also can't prove Haskins caused the company or its officers any harm.
Bulgarian weightlifter Polejanov tests positive for Dianabol.
Bulgarian weightlifter Boyan Polejanov has tested positive for steroids, the Bulgarian weightlifting federation said on Friday.
Polejanov, who finished seventh in the +105 kg category at the European Championships in Minsk in April, tested positive for the banned anabolic substance methandienone.
The 25-year-old has denied any wrongdoing but announced he would retire and not seek a B sample test.
"The whole situation is very confusing as no one can still explain where it came from," Polejanov told Bulgarian media. "Anyway, I'll not continue with weightlifting, that's for sure."
Bulgarian weightlifting has been hit by a number of doping scandals and organisational problems in recent years.
The Balkan country withdrew its team before the start of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing after 11 members failed doping tests and missed last year's world championships due to financial problems.
In December, Bulgaria's sports ministry stripped the domestic federation of its licence.
Polejanov, who finished seventh in the +105 kg category at the European Championships in Minsk in April, tested positive for the banned anabolic substance methandienone.
The 25-year-old has denied any wrongdoing but announced he would retire and not seek a B sample test.
"The whole situation is very confusing as no one can still explain where it came from," Polejanov told Bulgarian media. "Anyway, I'll not continue with weightlifting, that's for sure."
Bulgarian weightlifting has been hit by a number of doping scandals and organisational problems in recent years.
The Balkan country withdrew its team before the start of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing after 11 members failed doping tests and missed last year's world championships due to financial problems.
In December, Bulgaria's sports ministry stripped the domestic federation of its licence.
Steroid use in India's Bollywood.
They are Bollywood’s Greek Gods, with a seeming advantage even the Gods never had — steroids. As news of a leading actor being advised by doctors to stop gymming to counter acute muscle fatigue does the rounds, HT City spoke to celebrity fitness trainers and experts — and found some shocking truths about the shortcut men in the film industry use to get that perfect physique.
A renowned fitness trainer, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed, “A male star, known for his macho physique, approached me before he made it big and asked if he should take steroids to bulk up. I told him the pros and cons. I saw him after a month; he was a completely different person. Now that I see him in ads, I can bet my life that he’s on steroids. Recently, I read about him being unwell. He must be suffering from side effects.
"You don’t get big by training hard — you have hundreds of guys training in the gym... why don’t they get such bodies and only a handful of actors do? A male star who started the trend of taking his shirt off in films and a younger star who flaunted his rippling muscles in a double role in a recent hit film also rely heavily on steroids, he adds.
There’s a group of personal trainers who guarantee you a perfect body and put you on a steroid cycle,” he adds. He further says that a top actor who gave several interviews about how he acquired six-pack abs for one of Bollywood’s biggest hits and then lost all the bulk for a role of a college goer in his next film, is a “classic case”. “He might say he worked out hard for months but there are hundreds of guys who work out that much and drink protein shakes. They don’t get the kind of muscles he managed.”
Model-actor and former Mr India Aryan Vaid says, “I know of ‘trainers’ of mega stars who don’t know a thing about fitness. All they know is which steroids are legal so they can pump them into their clients. Most of the knowledge they have is off the Internet. But, they do good business because they have big names as their clients, some of whom pay these trainers as much as Rs 1 lakh a month for getting them perfect bodies. I’ve seen actors and models take injections to bulk up even before photo shoots… they don’t realise what it’s doing to their body.”
Actor Rahul Dev, who also co-owns a gym, adds, “The pressure is a lot, especially for newcomers, so some are left with no choice but to resort to shortcuts like steroids and liposuction.”
The editor of a popular health magazine, who did not wish to be named, told HT City, “When a super star, earlier known for his romantic roles suddenly got six pack abs for a movie, he relied heavily on medications burn fat. During the last two weeks before his shoot for a famous song, he had trouble even going to the loo because it would burn so much.”
We spoke to Satya Chaurasia, the fitness trainer whose clients include Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan, and he clarified that none of his clients have ever used steroids. “It’s a common practice in Bollywood to take anabolic steroids to bulk up fast for photo sessions or shoots. I don’t recommend them because I know the consequences.”
Medical experts warn of severe consequences. Delhi based sports medicine specialist, Dr Jatin Chaudhary, who has clients such as sports stars Sania Mirza and Yuvraj Singh, explains, “Some known Bollywood stars take steroids under guidance. They first rely on steroids to bulk up their bodies and then go to the US for detoxification treatment. Steroids can be risky if not taken under proper guidance. They can lead to cancer, hair fall, liver cirrhosis, liver failure and impotency.”
“Steroids produce results but have side-effects. Muscle mass and strength gained by using them is lost once usage is stopped,” says Deckline Leitao, who’s working with the Indian swimming and diving teams for the CWG as Performance Enhancement Specialist.
A renowned fitness trainer, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed, “A male star, known for his macho physique, approached me before he made it big and asked if he should take steroids to bulk up. I told him the pros and cons. I saw him after a month; he was a completely different person. Now that I see him in ads, I can bet my life that he’s on steroids. Recently, I read about him being unwell. He must be suffering from side effects.
"You don’t get big by training hard — you have hundreds of guys training in the gym... why don’t they get such bodies and only a handful of actors do? A male star who started the trend of taking his shirt off in films and a younger star who flaunted his rippling muscles in a double role in a recent hit film also rely heavily on steroids, he adds.
There’s a group of personal trainers who guarantee you a perfect body and put you on a steroid cycle,” he adds. He further says that a top actor who gave several interviews about how he acquired six-pack abs for one of Bollywood’s biggest hits and then lost all the bulk for a role of a college goer in his next film, is a “classic case”. “He might say he worked out hard for months but there are hundreds of guys who work out that much and drink protein shakes. They don’t get the kind of muscles he managed.”
Model-actor and former Mr India Aryan Vaid says, “I know of ‘trainers’ of mega stars who don’t know a thing about fitness. All they know is which steroids are legal so they can pump them into their clients. Most of the knowledge they have is off the Internet. But, they do good business because they have big names as their clients, some of whom pay these trainers as much as Rs 1 lakh a month for getting them perfect bodies. I’ve seen actors and models take injections to bulk up even before photo shoots… they don’t realise what it’s doing to their body.”
Actor Rahul Dev, who also co-owns a gym, adds, “The pressure is a lot, especially for newcomers, so some are left with no choice but to resort to shortcuts like steroids and liposuction.”
The editor of a popular health magazine, who did not wish to be named, told HT City, “When a super star, earlier known for his romantic roles suddenly got six pack abs for a movie, he relied heavily on medications burn fat. During the last two weeks before his shoot for a famous song, he had trouble even going to the loo because it would burn so much.”
We spoke to Satya Chaurasia, the fitness trainer whose clients include Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan, and he clarified that none of his clients have ever used steroids. “It’s a common practice in Bollywood to take anabolic steroids to bulk up fast for photo sessions or shoots. I don’t recommend them because I know the consequences.”
Medical experts warn of severe consequences. Delhi based sports medicine specialist, Dr Jatin Chaudhary, who has clients such as sports stars Sania Mirza and Yuvraj Singh, explains, “Some known Bollywood stars take steroids under guidance. They first rely on steroids to bulk up their bodies and then go to the US for detoxification treatment. Steroids can be risky if not taken under proper guidance. They can lead to cancer, hair fall, liver cirrhosis, liver failure and impotency.”
“Steroids produce results but have side-effects. Muscle mass and strength gained by using them is lost once usage is stopped,” says Deckline Leitao, who’s working with the Indian swimming and diving teams for the CWG as Performance Enhancement Specialist.
Louisiana Anti-Aging clinic owners in trouble over Chinese HGH imports.
A federal grand jury has indicted a physician, a chiropractor and a computer businessman affiliated with the Northeast Louisiana Anti-Aging and Wellness Center on charges of a conspiracy to smuggle and sell human growth hormone for illegal purposes.
Dr. Linda Bunch, chiropractor Dallas Humble and Paul Temple, owner of Temple Systems Inc., face 22 counts of violating federal law, which total thousands of dollars in fines, a maximum of 30 years in prison or both. The indictment also signals the U.S. government's intent to seize more than $400,000 from the three defendants, the center's property and at least one medical license.
The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits the knowing distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute, HGH for any use in humans other than the treatment of a disease or other recognized medical condition. Those medical conditions can include growth hormone deficiencies that can affect a child's kidneys or the severe weight loss associated with HIV.
The hormone also has been known to arrest the effects of aging, and the government alleges the co-defendants conspired to obtain HGH to use as an anti-aging treatment.
The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court Clerk's Office in Shreveport June 24.
According to the indictment, Temple e-mailed a Chinese supplier of HGH to ask about prices as early as July 23, 2003, and the other defendants would pay Temple to submit periodic orders for themselves and others. From 2003 until 2006, the indictment claims, each of the defendants spent thousands of dollars to have vials of HGH shipped from China and U.S.-based manufacturers, constituting a conspiracy and the first count of the indictment.
Counts two through 20 address the distribution of HGH, and the government claims on 19 separate occasions the center distributed the hormone to clients from July 2005 until June 2008. Counts 21 and 22 allege the three imported the hormone, knowing it was illegal to do so without approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Citing forfeiture laws, the government is seeking $406,648.75, a sum that equals the proceeds from the illegal hormone distribution. It also intends to seize the center's property at 3602 Cypress St. in West Monroe and Bunch's license to practice medicine.
Attorney Will Barham is representing Bunch in the federal criminal suit. "We're confident that when all the facts come out, the defendants will be exonerated," Barham said. Bob Noel, the attorney for Dallas Humble, offered a similar comment on the allegations. "They're false," Noel said. "We intend to defend the clients at trial and feel very confident the jury will find them not guilty."
Dr. Linda Bunch, chiropractor Dallas Humble and Paul Temple, owner of Temple Systems Inc., face 22 counts of violating federal law, which total thousands of dollars in fines, a maximum of 30 years in prison or both. The indictment also signals the U.S. government's intent to seize more than $400,000 from the three defendants, the center's property and at least one medical license.
The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits the knowing distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute, HGH for any use in humans other than the treatment of a disease or other recognized medical condition. Those medical conditions can include growth hormone deficiencies that can affect a child's kidneys or the severe weight loss associated with HIV.
The hormone also has been known to arrest the effects of aging, and the government alleges the co-defendants conspired to obtain HGH to use as an anti-aging treatment.
The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court Clerk's Office in Shreveport June 24.
According to the indictment, Temple e-mailed a Chinese supplier of HGH to ask about prices as early as July 23, 2003, and the other defendants would pay Temple to submit periodic orders for themselves and others. From 2003 until 2006, the indictment claims, each of the defendants spent thousands of dollars to have vials of HGH shipped from China and U.S.-based manufacturers, constituting a conspiracy and the first count of the indictment.
Counts two through 20 address the distribution of HGH, and the government claims on 19 separate occasions the center distributed the hormone to clients from July 2005 until June 2008. Counts 21 and 22 allege the three imported the hormone, knowing it was illegal to do so without approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Citing forfeiture laws, the government is seeking $406,648.75, a sum that equals the proceeds from the illegal hormone distribution. It also intends to seize the center's property at 3602 Cypress St. in West Monroe and Bunch's license to practice medicine.
Attorney Will Barham is representing Bunch in the federal criminal suit. "We're confident that when all the facts come out, the defendants will be exonerated," Barham said. Bob Noel, the attorney for Dallas Humble, offered a similar comment on the allegations. "They're false," Noel said. "We intend to defend the clients at trial and feel very confident the jury will find them not guilty."
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