The American public believes that teenagers are facing much more serious problems in high schools today than the threat of anabolic steroids. This was the finding of a recent national survey study published by the researchers at the Center for Social Development and Education (CSDE) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The study was funded by the anti-steroid Taylor Hooton Foundation, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society.

The results of “The American Public’s Perception of Illegal Steroid Use” survey revealed that Americans believed that steroids were less of a problem than other illegal drugs such as alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.

Were they correct in believing that teenagers have bigger problems than steroids?

Americans tended to rate the issues affecting the greatest number of teens as more significant than those with a lower prevalence especially when it came to illicit drugs.

Only 19% rated steroids as a “big problem” whereas 55%, 46% and 25% felt similarly about alcohol, marijuana and cocaine, respectively. Bullying, obesity, STDs and eating disorders were also considered more serious problems than steroids.

Table 1. Percentage of people who believe steroid use is a big problem compared to other risk behaviors and conditions. (1)

According to the 2012 Monitoring the Future study of adolescent drug use published by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, the lifetime prevalence rates for alcohol, marijuana and cocaine were, in fact, significantly higher than the prevalence rates for steroids.

Table 2. Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs in Grades 8, 10, and 12. (2)

Should Americans consider the fact that 69.4%, 45.2% and 4.9% of high school seniors have used alcohol, marijuana and cocaine more significant than the 1.8% that have used steroids?

Yes. It would be a logical and rational conclusion.

Yet, the CSDE researchers, in what seems to be a blatant case of pandering to the (anti-steroid) organizations that paid for the study, attempted to argue that Americans were uninformed and clueless about the extent of the steroid “problem”.

The CSDE researchers suggested that Americans were mistaken in concluding that other problems were of relatively more significance than steroids.

“The results of this survey reveal a lack of awareness among the public about a problem that exists among adolescents today – the use of performance enhancing drugs. This is true of people throughout the country representing all education levels, those who are and are not interested in sports or are parents of children involved in sports. Perhaps most striking is that the public believes that steroid use ranks last in a list of problems facing adolescents today…

“In conclusion, there is a clear disconnect between what the public knows and believes about steroids and their perceptions of it as a problem or lack thereof among adolescents. To move forward and educate the public, this disconnect needs to be addressed.”

Rather than analyze how perceptions corresponded with actual prevalence data, the CSDE researchers told the Baseball Hall of Fame, Taylor Hooton Foundation and Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society exactly what they wanted to hear – Steroids really are a “big problem” when compared to other risky behaviors and conditions facing teens; the failure to recognize this simply reflected a “lack of awareness” by the American public.

The CSDE researchers made a weak and disingenuous attempt to minimize the high lifetime prevalence rates involving alcohol and marijuana.

Such prevalence rates may seem low compared to those of adolescent experimentation with alcohol (71%; CDC, 2012) and marijuana (40%; CDC, 2012). However, experimentation means one can try it once and never use it again. In contrast, steroid use is usually continuous and cyclic in nature; an individual does not simply try or use steroids once.

On the face of it, CSDE’s argument seems fair enough. But not so fast. If you look at the 30-day prevalence of daily use of alcohol and marijuana from the 2012 Monitoring the Future study, you see that the CSDE’s attempt to trivialize prevalence rates is pure propaganda.

Table 3. Trends in 30-Day Prevalence of Use of Various Durgs in Grades 8, 10, and 12. (2)

In fact, there are more high school seniors who’ve reported drinking on daily basis (2.5%) and far more using marijuana daily (6.5%) than there are seniors who have experimented with steroids at any point during their lifetime (1.8%).

Don Hooton, the president of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, accepted the researcher’s conclusions at face value and concluded that adults were “oblivious” to the issue of steroid use among teens.

“We have an adult population that is virtually oblivious to the fact that the problem even exists,” said Don Hooton.

The CSDE interpretation notwithstanding, the data actually suggested that adults, rather than being oblivious to reality, had accurately assessed the problem of steroids when compared to other illicit drugs. It’s just not as big a problem as the study authors or the organizations who commissioned the study wanted it to be.

Unfortunately, the CSDE researchers not only refused to accept how accurately American perceptions reflected reality, they also looked for ways to change public perception so that the public adopted the authors’ anti-steroid bias. Like any good piece of propaganda, the authors proposed methods of influencing the public to accept an exaggerated world view where steroids are considered a “big problem” similar to alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.

How did the CSDE researchers propose to convince the public that anabolic steroids really are a major problem relative to other risky behaviors?

• 1. Focus on morality: Use public’s perception of steroids as “cheating” as a way to exaggerate problem of steroids.

“It is perhaps the moral view of steroid use as cheating that could provide the foundation for beginning to raise public awareness through educational campaigns, along with clearly articulating the negative consequences of steroid use for young athletes.”

• 2. Steroids and aggression: Convince the public that a common side effect of steroids is “roid rage” which in turn can turn teens into violent criminals.

“[O]ne of the common side effects steroid users experience is a violent or aggressive demeanor, which in some cases has been documented to lead to criminal behavior such as violent assaults or homicide.”

• 3. Steroids and bullying: Convince the public that steroids cause bullying. Since “bullying” is already considered a big problem by  the majority of Americans, steroids will also be considered a big problem too.

“One could argue that in the high school context, this [steroid-induced] aggression could manifest itself in the form of bullying, a major public health problem.”

Steroid use by teenagers is a problem. But let’s not get carried away and call it as big a problem as other much more common issues like alcohol use.

More importantly, let’s be more critical of scientific researchers who become advocates ignoring data that is inconsistent with their agenda. Such misleading research is designed to change public perception in favor of the demonization of anabolic steroids.

The Center for Social Development and Education (CSDE) study provided a disservice to the organizations that commissioned the study and especially to those interested in a dispassionate, objective analysis of steroid use in adolescents. CSDE, while trying to help them with their advocacy, actually accomplished the opposite.

The truth is always more important than anti-steroid propaganda.

Center for Social Development and Education (CSDE) at University of Massachusetts Boston – anti-steroid advocacy and steroid use by adolescents

Sources:

1. Siperstein, G. N., Romano, N., Iskenderoglu, G., Roman A., Iskenderolgu G., Roman A., Folwer, F. J., and Drascher, M. (2013). The American Public’s Perception of Illegal Steroid Use: A National Survey. Funded by National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Taylor Hooton Foundation, and Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society.

2. Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2013). Monitoring the Future national results on drug use: 2012 Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan.

3. Associated Press. (May 2, 2013). Study: Adults minimize steroid use as problem. Retreived from http://online.wsj.com/article/AP72081e516c2c4881b56f8b29c6078c41.html

Originally published at: American Public Believes Teenagers Have Bigger Problems Than Steroids – And They’re Right

The new Michael Bay movie “Pain & Gain“, starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, opened this past weekend in cinemas around the country.

The movie is about a group of “steroid-abusing bodybuilders” involved in the brutal kidnapping, extortion, torture, dismemberment and murder of several victims. A bodybuilding promoter and gym owner uses his accounting expertise to help the bodybuilders extort millions of dollars from the victims.

The movie release has been eagerly anticipated by bodybuilders. And the bodybuilding media has been generous in its promotion of “Pain & Gain.”

Muscle & Fitness described Johnson and Wahlberg’s portrayal of the movie’s main characters, complete with their utter stupidity and steroid-fueled violence, as “one of the best movie duos ever.”

The leading bodybuilding and fitness magazine was so taken by the movie that it featured Johnson and Wahlberg on the cover of its May 2013 issue of Muscle & Fitness. When the public thinks ‘bodybuilding’, Muscle & Fitness apparently wants it to think of the bodybuilding characters in Pain & Gain.

It seems that few people in the world of bodybuilding took the time to consider how damaging this movie is for bodybuilding. To say the movie reinforces negative bodybuilding stereotypes is an understatement.

“Pain & Gain“ is bad for bodybuilders. And it is even worse for steroid users. Bodybuilders aren’t just portrayed as dumb, their stupidity seemingly has no limits. Steroid users aren’t just portrayed as prone to “roid rage”, the extent of their violence is utterly sadistic.

The movie’s mocking satire of the entire self-improvement subculture of bodybuilding and its revisiting of a particular dark chapter in the history of the National Physique Committee (NPC) assured that the movie would denigrate every aspect of the bodybuilding subculture.

It is difficult to understand why any bodybuilding magazine or website would want to publicize and promote the negative portrayal of bodybuilders in “Pain & Gain“.

The movie is loosely based on a true story. The screenplay was adapted from a long-form article documenting the crime in nauseating detail for the Miami New Times.  The New Times “Pain & Gain” article series by Pete Collins has been accessible on the Internet since before the movie project was announced. So, anyone promoting the movie should have been fully informed to its contents.

Anyone who spent a mere thirty minutes researching the story on the Internet would know that a movie about the depraved bodybuilders in the “Sun Gym Gang” who committed one of the most gruesome crimes in recent history could not possibly reflect positively on bodybuilders.

The involvement of John Carl Mese in the murder plot was yet another sign that a movie adaptation was the last thing bodybuilding needed. Mese was a popular, influential and well-connected Florida NPC bodybuilding contest promoter; he was also the acting secretary general of the National Physique Committee (NPC). Mese, as a certified public accountant, played a crucial role in forging the documents, notarizing the money transfers and laundering the money extorted from the victims.

Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal, two of the real-life members of the Sun Gym Gang, are currently sitting on Florida’s death row after receiving death sentences for the kidnapping, extortion, and murder of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton and the kidnapping and extortion of Marcelo Schiller.

John Carl Mese was originally convicted of the same charges. But after numerous appeals,  the murder charges were dropped. Mese was sentenced to 56 years in prison for the kidnapping and extortion of Schiller and 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit racketeering. He died in prison on October 4, 2004.

All of the criticisms notwithstanding, many people will argue that bodybuilders should accept the negative cinematic depictions of bodybuilders and otherwise just learn to laugh at themselves. I doubt you will see feminist groups applauding the rampant misogyny or gay rights groups celebrating the gay stereotypes of this Michael Bay production.

The Advocate magazine certainly won’t promote the gay stereotypes of “musk-cles” loving Pastor Randy (Larry Hankin) and the drooling gun shop clerk (Patrick Bristow) on the cover of its latest magazine.

But Muscle & Fitness? It gladly promotes “one of the best movie duos ever” in Daniel Lugo (Wahlberg) and Paul Doyle (Johnson) on its cover.

To be fair, portrayals of bodybuilders and bodybuilding gym culture are rarely featured, either positively or negatively, in mainstream Hollywood movies. So when two actors with roots in the bodybuilding community get a major movie role, it is big news. The immediate industry reaction is to celebrate the successs of “one of its own” while promoting additional acting roles for hypermuscular individuals.

Yet some portrayals may do more harm than good for rest of the bodybuilding community. Do you really want mainstream America, who generally has little contact with the bodybuilding culture, to walk away from the cinema with the impressions of Daniel Lugo and Paul Doyle as representatives of bodybuilders and steroid users on their minds?

The movie is good news for Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg. But not so much for the rest of us.

Johnson and Wahlberg told both Muscle & Fitness and Bodybuilding.com how thankful they are to the bodybuilding community for providing the tools used to create the physiques necessary for such roles.

Bodybuilding.com, in an interview with Johnson and Wahlberg, suggested that the actors would make bodybuilders proud by “prepar[ing] their bodies to flex the mass bodybuilders are famous for carrying.”

Unfortunately, Pain & Gain doesn’t give much back to the bodybuilding community. It shouldn’t make any bodybuilder proud.

The movie could very well be very successful and popular. No matter how cool and stylized, entertaining and funny Michael Bay makes stupid bodybuilders, murder and torture seem, it’s still not a good thing when it comes to the public perception of bodybuilders.

And the portrayal of bodybuilders isn’t even the worst thing about the movie.

Much will surely be written by others concerning the movie’s treatment of the real-life victims.

The movie killers are portrayed more sympathetically than the real-life murderers. And while the brutality may not actually be downplayed, it is certainly trivialized. The killers are sometimes funny (if only because of their imbecility) and the acts of torture and murder are often a laughing matter as well.

“What Hollywood is going to do Hollywood is going to do,” according to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “My thoughts are with the victims. To trivialize this horrible tale of torture and death makes a mockery out of their lives and the justice system.”

Perhaps Michael Bay will consider making a “dark comedy” based on the true story of the Boston Marathon bombings. He could hire Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg to play the roles of real-life bombers Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Bay would certainly do his best to generate a few laughs with all of the dismembered body parts.

Muscle & Fitness promotes the negative portrayal of bodybuilders and steroid users with it’s May 2013 cover featuring “Pain & Gain” actors Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mark Wahlberg

Pain & Gain movie’s negative portrayal of bodybuilders and steroid users

Originally published at: Pain and Gain Movie Makes Bodybuilders and Steroid Users Look Bad

Kane Roberts, the former heavy metal guitarist and songwriter for Alice Cooper during the late 1980s, defended his previous use of anabolic steroids in a recent interview with Gerry Gittelson for the Metal Sludge website published on April 13, 2013. Roberts was likely the first heavy metal musician to become involved in the bodybuilding lifestyle complete with the use of steroids. And Kane Roberts had the physique to prove it.

Roberts was always recognizable on stage due to his hypermuscular “Rambo-like” appearance. While the resemblance to Sylvester Stallone’s popular movie character may have been coincidental, Roberts played up the similarities and transformed himself into a glam rock version of Rambo complete with a machine-gun styled electric guitar.

The Metal Sludge interview represented the first time Roberts publicly discussed his use of anabolic steroids. Roberts explained that he “dabbled” with steroids but didnt’ “go crazy on steroids.” He didn’t experience any serious side effects and his use was generally limited to what sounded like one 12-week cycle per year. The benefits from his use of steroids clearly outweighed the costs according to Roberts.

“Yeah, I did that, but there were no side effects. I think you can abuse any drug, even if you take too many aspirin, but recreational drugs are a different deal,” Roberts told Gittelson of Metal Sludge. “I don’t want to get on a soap box, but if you do drugs, you’re life will go nowhere. You’ll just be standing still. That’s really true. You need to keep your brain firing on all pistons. But with steroids, there are some benefits to it, so I took ‘em. Still, sometimes I would walk into Gold’s gym, and some of the women would be three times bigger than the men, and that used to blow my mind. I wouldn’t go crazy on steroids. I would do ‘em, then do nine months clean on the road. But yeah, I definitely dabbled. Good or bad, the side effects, it’s make you feel a little different, but I don’t think there was any damage.”

Roberts has credited bodybuilding (and steroids) for helping him turn his life around in a dramatic “Charles Atlas” type transformation. His new-found bodybuilding lifestyle provided a healthier alternative to the previous period in his life that was dominated by alcohol and psychoactive drugs.

“It was a weird thing because I used to do a lot of drugs, I used to drink and I was 130 pounds – real skinny,” Roberts told Chris Hunt of Guitarist magazine in February 1988. “A little more than five years ago when the smoke cleared I was lifting weights – and here I am 90 pounds later! It wasn’t something that I planned on doing, it wasn’t like I said ‘boy, this is great marketing idea’.”

It was Roberts’ clean living lifestyle and abstinence from drugs (except for steroids) that attracted a newly-sober Alice Cooper to him. Cooper had his own problems with substance abuse addiction and he was looking for a guitarist who stayed away from drugs while on tour.

Roberts has been given a lot of credit for Alice Cooper’s heavy metal revival during the late 1980s during the Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell tours.

While bodybuilding and steroids helped Roberts during a critical period in his life, his obsession with bodybuilding represented a relatively short-lived phase for Roberts.

“I do know why I stopped though – the smaller my legs got, the bigger my dick looked,” Roberts explained.

Kane Roberts on steroids with Alice Cooper

Kane Roberts as Rambo on steroids with machine gun styled electric guitar. Photo credit: KaneRoberts.com

Kane Roberts as Rambo on steroids with rocket-firing, electric guitar shaped like a machine gun

Originally published at: Kane Roberts – Former Alice Cooper Guitarist Defends Anabolic Steroid Use

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) are the primary sources of counter-terrorism intelligence operations for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). They do it all when it comes to investigating terrorism threats against the United States. And when they’re not busy tracing sources of terrorist funding, responding to threats of anthrax and biological weapons, stopping terrorists with explosives or failing to act on warnings about the Boston Marathon bombers, they spend their free time cracking down on steroid dealers and keeping the streets of America safe from the muscle-building drugs known as anabolic steroids.

Pity the steroid dealers who bring the wrath of the “committed investigators, analysts, linguists, SWAT experts, and other specialists from dozens of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies” that comprise the JTTFs.

Amar Naim Tharee and Ahmed Aydan Hannon Al-Bishara never stood a chance. Never mind the fact that JTTF field office in San Antonio, Texas found no evidence linking the two men to terrorism. Tharee and Al-Bishara were suspected of involvement in the nefarious business of selling muscle-building drugs.

The suspicion was enough to warrant a five-month investigation by the FBI JTTF into the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids by the auto repair shop employee and the taxi cab driver.

The JTTF was able to allocate at least three agents – two Task Force Officers and one Special Agent – to conduct advanced surveillance and electronic monitoring of controlled buys (with the use of cooperating witnesses) on at least four occasions during the five-month steroid investigation.

The federal government filed a criminal complaint against Tharee and Al-Bishara on April 23, 2013 based on controlled buys involving 74 vials of anabolic steroids (38 vials of nandrolone decanoate and 36 vials of testosterone enanthate) purchased for a total price of $8,160. The two men were arrested on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids.

Like many things done in the United States in the name of “terrorism”, governmental counter-terrorism tools are often used to investigate activities that have nothing to do with terrorism. And when it comes to steroids, the government doesn’t even bother hiding the fact.

It is not the first time that the specter of terrorism was used to keep Americans “safe” from anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.  United States Attorney General Eric Holder proudly praised the Justice Department’s use of terrorism laws to disrupt the illegal distribution of human growth hormone (hGH) by Genescience Pharmaceutical (GeneSci) in 2009.

As the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces comes under criticism this week for its handling of intelligence about Tamerlan Tsarnaev  and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that could have possibly averted the tragic Boston Marathon bombing, they certainly needed some good news. Unfortunately, the only good news is that they were able to stop Amar Naim Tharee and Ahmed Aydan Hannon Al-Bishara from selling steroids.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces – keeping Americans safe from terrorists AND anabolic steroids. After all, some experts consider steroid use “a little bit like terrorism.”

FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force stops illegal distribution of anabolic steroids

Originally published at: FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Keeps Americans Safe from Anabolic Steroids

A California-based underground laboratory (UGL) was busted after its Chinese steroid powder source “ZQ” labeled a steroid package as containing two kilograms of pentaerythritol according to video provided by the NBC affiliate in Southern California. Pentaerythritol is a crucial building block of the highly explosive compound known as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). PETN is considered the “explosive of choice” among terrorists around the world.

Fortunately and unfortunately for Carlos Hernandez and Roxanne Hernandez, the package did not contain the main ingredients for the explosive. Instead, the powder tested positive for the presence of an unspecified anabolic steroid. The Hernandez’s were arrested for their involvement in an “apparent large-scale steroid distribution scheme” on April 8, 2013.

Since anabolic steroids are classified as controlled substances and importing them is highly illegal, sources usually intentionally mislabel steroid powder packages to avoid detection by U.S. Customs officials. Sources are known to use creative descriptions when declaring the contents of steroid packages e.g. “gay lube oil“. But pentaerythritol? Raising terrorism flags probably isn’t the best way to escape scrutiny by customs.

Pentaerythritol can easily be converted to PETN in simple, step-by-step instructions widely available on the internet. PETN, as the nitrate ester of pentaerythritol, only requires the availability of nitric acid to synthesize it from pentaerythritol.

PETN has uses in medicine as a treatment for angina pectoris. It is used pharmacologically as a coronary vasodilator similar to nitroglycerin. It is most commonly available in 10- and 50- milligram tablets and sold internationally under the brand names Duotrate, Pentylan, Peritrate and Pentalong.

An individual who orders two thousand grams of powdered pentaerythritol would not be ordering the chemical for therapeutic purposes. Such a shipment would likely arouse the suspicion of counter-terrorism authorities. After all, a bomb containing only 100-grams of PETN could destroy a car or blow a hole in the side of an airplane.

PETN has a long history of use by Al-Qaeda terrorists. Adding to the popularity among terrorists is the fact that PETN is practically undetectable by airport x-ray technology and “sniffer” dogs. PETN is also a component of “plastic explosives” such as Semtex.

“If you can lay your hands on a reliable source, [PETN] would be the explosive of choice,” said Hans Michels, an explosives expert at Imperial College, London.

December 22, 2001 – American Airlines flight 63, Paris to Miami: Al-Qaeda terrorist Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber”, was subdued by passengers before he could detonate a PETN-explosive hidden in his black high-top shoes.

December 25, 2009 – Northwest Airlines flight 253, Amsterdam to Detroit: Al-Qaeda terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, known as the “underwear bomber”, unsuccessfully attempted to take the lives of 289 passengers and crew with a bomb containing PETN and TATP hidden in his underwear.

October 28, 2010 – UPS and FedEx cargo planes, Yemen to Chicago: Suspected Al-Qaeda operatives placed 300 to 400 grams of PETN inside of computer printer cartridges which were intended to be detonated by cell phone. The packages originated in Yemen and were destined for the United States. The packages were intercepted on cargo planes – one on a UPS plane at the East Midlands Airport in England and one on a FedEx plane at the Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – after a tip from Saudi intelligence.

Airport security in the United States has been doing everything it can to target PETN in the aftermath of these attempted terrorist attacks. In fact, the implementation of full-body scanners was a direct response to the PETN bombing attempts.

Carlos and Roxanne Hernandez were arrested on various steroid charges by the Irvine Police Department in cooperation with special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The Irvine Police made no mention of pentaerythritol being listed on the package description or the role of pentaerythritol and PETN in terrorism. Nonetheless, local and federal officials seemed just as thrilled to have succeeded in protecting the American public from the “serious health threat” caused by the “powerful chemicals” and “dangerous substances” known as anabolic steroids.

There was no grave terrorist threat to be averted. However, the government may have stopped few bodybuilders from using steroids to build muscle.

“There is no higher priority than for us to remove dangerous drugs and illegal weapons from our community,” said Irvine Police Chief Dave Maggard. “We are grateful for the cooperative relationships we have with our partners at Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

“The underground production and sale of steroids poses a serious health threat,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “These are powerful chemicals under any circumstances, but the risks increase exponentially when you’re dealing with homemade counterfeits that are being taken without a doctor’s supervision.”

“One of Customs and Border Protection’s primary roles is intercepting anything that can harm the American public,” said Brian J. Humphrey, CBP director of field operations in San Francisco. “This operation is a prime example of how CBP, HSI and local law enforcement work in partnership to keep dangerous substances and their distributors off the streets.”

We should all be thankful for the efforts our government officials make to keep the American public safe from the threats of terrorism. But don’t forget how tirelessly they work to protect us from the muscle-building effects of anabolic steroids too!

ZQ steroid powder source labels package a component of “explosive of choice” for Al-Qaeda terroristss

Originally published at: Steroid Source Labels Package as Containing Explosives Component Used by Terrorists

The Taylor Hooton Foundation has been hired by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) to conduct “anti-steroid” assemblies in Rhode Island high schools during the 2013-2014 academic year. The press coverage failed to mention that the THF has bodybuilders to thank for the new influx of revenue.

In an unusual turn of events, money spent by bodybuilders on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) has ended up in the pocket of THF president Don Hooton. Even stranger was the possibility that this may not have happened without the use of United States anti-terrorism laws!

The Taylor Hooton Foundation for Fighting Steroid Abuse was founded after its namesake committed suicide in 2003. Don Hooton has blamed steroids for the tragedy. The THF regularly conducts anti-steroid seminars and assemblies to discourage teenagers from using steroids.

So, how does money spent to buy anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (hGH) on the black market find it’s way to fund anti-steroid lectures for high school students? And what does this have to do with terrorism? Follow the money.

THF was paid by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) as part of its “Operation Clean Competition” project.  Where did RIIL get the money?

RIIL received a $75,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation (RIF). According to its website, the RIF is a “proactive community and philanthropic leader dedicated to meeting the needs of the people of Rhode Island.” The RIF happens to have its own special fund called the “Clean Competition Fund.” The fund has $3 million earmarked for “outreach, education, and testing of human growth hormone (“hGH”) steroids.”

Never mind that the RIF doesn’t know that hGH is not an anabolic steroid. Where did the RIF receive the $3 million dollar in anti-steroid payola?

The anti- “hGH steroids” initiative is being paid for entirely by a Chinese company called the GeneScience Pharmaceutical Company (“GeneSci”). For those unfamiliar with the PED black market, GeneSci is the manufacturer of the popular Jintropin-brand hGH.

Who would have thought that one of China’s largest biopharmaceutical company cared so much about “the needs of the people of Rhode Island”?

Actually, GeneSci doesn’t really give a rat’s ass about Rhode Island residents. The China-based GeneSci had little choice but to comply with the demands of the United States government.

GeneSci and its founder were indicted as part of Operation Raw Deal in 2007. They were charged with illegally marketing and distributing human growth hormone over the internet to bodybuilders, athletes, and pharmacies.

GeneSci was pressured into a plea bargain agreement after the United States government seized $2.7 million from its bank accounts.

After all, when a world super power announces that it has the “legal” right to seize/steal/take millions of dollars from a bank account “physically located” in a sovereign country and belonging to a foreign company, then what choice did GeneSci have?

The successful asset forfeiture of $2.7 million GeneSci was legally justified using the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was presumably passed to fight terrorism. But critics knew all along that it would be (ab)used for other purposes. It turns out that the Patriot Act is finding good use in the U.S. war on steroids and PEDs.

GeneSci consequently pleaded guilty to a felony in 2010 and agreed to a total asset forfeiture of $7.2 million. Peter F. Neronha, the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, saw a golden opportunity to benefit “the needs of the people of Rhode Island” with the plea agreement. Neronha decided to squeeze an extra $3 million out of GeneSci for the “Clean Competition Fund” administered by the Rhode Island Foundation.

GeneSci has paid the RIF $1 million per year for the past three years in order to fulfill the conditions of their plea agreement. And the RIF is finally spending the money with it’s inaugural grant of $75,000 to the RIIL.

So, from the pockets of bodybuilders to black market sources to the makers of Jintropin hGH to the Rhode Island Foundation to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League and finally to the Taylor Hooton Foundation, this is the unbelievable story of how Don Hooton got your money.

Don Hooton of the Taylor Hooton Foundation (THF), an anti-steroid education organization

Originally published at: Steroid and hGH Users – The Unbelievable Story of How Don Hooton Got Your Money

The New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez purchased documents linking him to the Biogenesis steroid scandal in an effort to suppress incriminating information. How do we know? Because the New York Times tells us so. The perpetuation of the A-Rod witch-hunt is made possible through the magic of anonymous sources and the generous use of hearsay.

The anonymous sources used by the New York Times were “two people” who said “investigators” were told by “ex-employees” that “various people” sold documents to an “intermediary” working for Alex Rodriguez. No kidding.

According to The New York Times’ Michael Schmidt in “Yankees’ Rodriguez Tied to Clinic Records Purchase” (April 12, 2013):

The two people said that the investigators were told by the ex-employees and others that documents said to be from the clinic had been put up for sale by various people and that Rodriguez had arranged for an intermediary to purchase at least some of them.

Take a moment to digest that sentence. The story doesn’t just involve anonymous sourcing. It includes hearsay evidence offered by anonymous sources. And not just hearsay. But triple hearsay.

Is such a best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s uncle’s version of events even allowed in journalism?

Well, it is the New York Times.

Anonymous sourcing has long been a topic of debate in journalism ethics. Sometimes the public has a need to know and the public interest is best served by the use of anonymous sources.

Without the use of anonymous sources, there would have been no “Deep Throat”. And there would have been no Watergate scandal.

The public interest was clearly served by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

But what about the question of whether Alex Rodriguez uses anabolic steroids?

Is A-Rod’s alleged use of steroids sufficiently important to justify the use of anonymous sources. Is anonymous sourcing appropriate in any story that tries to identify professional athletes who are steroid users?

Even if you think it is a journalistic necessity in these cases, does journalism really need anonymous sources to provide triple hearsay evidence?

The New York Times thinks so. And so goes the neighborhood.

New York Times and anabolic steroids (Photo credit: WallyG / Flickr)

Originally published at: A-Rod, Steroids and the Most Reliable Triple Hearsay from the New York Times

Former IFBB pro bodybuilder Nasser el Sonbaty died in his sleep in the early hours of March 20, 2013 after being ill for several months. He was 47 years old. Guillermo Tom, his training partner and friend, told MuscleMag that Nasser had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and kidney damage in November 2012. Nasser did not qualify as a candidate for a heart transplant and decided to spend his final days with his parents and sister in Egypt.

“In November [Nasser] was admitted to the hospital here in San Diego for breathing problems,” Tom told MuscleMag. “It was then that he was diagnosed with heart failure and kidney damage. He was on dialysis from that day on. “

Given that Nasser el Sonbaty admitted using anabolic steroids in a sport where steroid use is pervasive, many people predictably blamed Nasser’s death on his use of steroids. This does a terrible disservice to those genuinely interested in making sense of such a tragic early death. Blaming Nasser’s death on steroids doesn’t facilitate an understanding of other important factors that may have played a role in Nasser’s deteriorating health.

Did steroids play a role in Nasser’s death? Did other bodybuilding drugs? Did the modern-day “bodybuilding lifestyle”? Did his body size? Did genetic factors? Health is a complicated phenomenon. Those who are truly interested in understanding the cause(s) of Nasser’s death and helping others in similar circumstances avert a similar outcome will examine the entire constellation of events that could have precipitated the tragic loss of life.

Even worse than blaming Nasser’s death on steroids are those who seek to condemn Nasser simply because he was a steroid user who participated in the steroid-fueled sport of bodybuilding. In an article written by Keith McLemore, and reprinted in its entirety on the Taylor Hooton Foundation website, McLemore adamantly refused to offer condolences to the family of Nasser while withholding the usual wishes for eternal peace in the afterlife.

“We offer no kind words to describe [Nasser el Sonbaty]… The enormity of their structures was influential to young generations determined to initiate steroid cycles even though they would become too addicted to observe Nasser’s final outcome and deviate from their destructive behavior,” McClemore wrote. “For these reasons, we offer no ‘Rest In Peace’ sentiments. Rather, we say ‘It Is What It Is.’”

To compound the disrespect towards the late Nasser el Sonbaty, McLemore tastelessly posted a picture of a lifeless Nasser with significant discoloration across his torso. The picture showed Nasser lying with his eyes closed on his back in a hospital. The intended effect was obviously to give the appearance of a post-mortem Nasser. However, the photograph was actually taken six years earlier in late 2006 when Nasser underwent surgery to repair a hernia and to remove lymphomas.

What those who condemn Nasser failed to realize was that the former bodybuilder openly and honestly discussed anabolic steroids with anyone who asked about them; he also warned about the unhealthy lifestyle of a professional bodybuilder. Nasser’s candor about the risks faced by numerous competitors in their pursuit of a hypermuscular physique made him a particularly controversial figure.

In a multi-part interview with bodybuilding scribe David Robson, Nasser admitted using anabolic steroids, diuretics, human growth hormone (hGH), insulin, ephedrine and caffeine. He freely discussed anabolic steroids but seemed more concerned about the variety of other drugs that found their way into the elite ranks of pro bodybuilding.

But the bodybuilders are treated almost like racehorses. When a racehorse breaks a foot or a leg, then it is no longer profitable. It is shot right away. Bodybuilders do not get shot with guns (with exceptions like Ray McNeill) but get shot with needles. And in many cases you have to just wait for too many shots over extended periods of time to cause a casualty or these guys just drop out because of fear of more health issues, or they are so deteriorated from being used for too long without getting the proper reimbursement, which is often “only” a fair placement.

Either they (the bodybuilders) comply with the demands to look great (which means brutal diets and regular drug intake) in order to make money, or they deteriorate (which can be extreme after several contest years, combined with injuries and a general shutdown of their abused systems) or they just get out of the sport.

And then, after so many shows the “men in charge” – the despotism judging clique acts all surprised by incidents “involving the drug monsters” like Münzer, and many others. But the show must go on.

Nasser didn’t shy away from discussing the casualties of pro bodybuilding e.g. Flex Wheeler (kidney), Don Long (kidney), Tom Prince (kidney), Luke Wood (kidney), Mike Morris (kidney), Mike Francois (colon cancer), Dennis Newman (leukemia), etc. not to mention competitors who allegedly had life-threatening problems with specific drugs and/or were hospitalized e.g. Dennis James (insulin), Mustafa Mohammad (diuretics), Paul Dillett (diuretics), Mike Matarazzo (diuretics), Armin Scholz (diuretics), etc.

Nasser told Robson that a big part of bodybuilding success at the elite level was the ability to tolerate large amounts of bodybuilding drugs.

It is not only what your genetics are like if your aim is to turn pro or how hard you train or your consistency, it is also very important how your body reacts to all the different kinds of drugs you are ingesting for years and years. Not only the positive, anabolic effects but also the negative effects, the side effects.

You need to have a constitution like a horse. For example if Ronnie Coleman and now Jay Cutler didn’t have constitutions of a horse they would have been sick a long time ago and wouldn’t be able to actually continue competing like they are competing.

Nasser warned readers about the prolonged use of bodybuilding drugs especially in the absence of regular medical supervision.

I do not believe that it is healthy for the body to take, over long periods of time, drugs including prescribed medicines and antibiotics, or even vitamins or anything in that direction…

Using all of these drugs [Winstrol, Parabolan, Equipoise, Masteron, Primobolan, Oxandrolone, etc] for longer periods of time – like over many, many months with short breaks over many years – causes a negative balance of hormones in the body.

Adding calorie reduced diets to this with contests and guest-posing appearances where you want to look great is definitely not the smartest thing to do. And additionally adding thyroid hormone, GH, IGF 1 and Insulin can result in hormonal chaos within the system. All these things taken can have individually different side effects. Some people also have, for instance, an ulcer problem or a pancreas problem that they had not been (clearly) aware of, so things can get out of control, especially when not having regular medical check-ups by qualified doctors.

Nasser competed in over 50 professional bodybuilding contests yet he was never under the illusion that he was participating in a “healthy” sport. And he never missed an opportunity to speak out about the dangers of some of the practices seen in bodybuilding.

Regrettably, Nasser’s death and his discussion of the risks  of bodybuilding polypharmacy will only be seen by anti-steroid crusaders as confirmatory evidence to support the demonization of steroids.

What relevance does long-term and extreme drug use by elite amateur and professional competitive bodybuilders have for the average steroid user? Not much.

Extreme drug use is rarely healthy no matter what the drug. Drugs that can be used safely can also be abused. The distinction between use and abuse is often overlooked by those with an anti-steroid agenda. Why should extreme examples of steroid use be used to demonize the average user of steroids?

In life, Nasser invited an intelligent and honest discussion of the health risks seen in competitive bodybuilding. In death, the complexity of Nasser’s life experiences should not be overlooked so that anti-steroid crusaders can conveniently assign blame to steroids.

Nasser el Sonbaty at the 1997 Mr. Olympia. Nasser was always open and honest about anabolic steroids to anyone who asked. Picture courtesy Muscletime.com.

Originally published at: Nasser el Sonbaty and Anabolic Steroids

Q: I am 42-years old and currently on 100-milligrams of testosterone enanthate per week as part of a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) prescribed by my doctor. I plan on remaining on TRT indefinitely. But I’d like to have a little boost. I am currently 220-lbs but my goal is to return my physique to where it was a decade ago. I weighed a lean 245-lbs between the ages of 28 and 32 and have done many cycles over the years.

I am considering a cycle of 750-mg testosterone enanthate and 400-mg Masteron enanthate per week for 12 weeks. What do you think of this plan?

A: Since you are on TRT anyway,  the concerns for HPTA suppression most likely don’t apply.

In this case, the cycle length is not so much an issue, but rather total amount of steroids used per year is I think the closest, although imperfect, approximation of overall health impact.

Unless in an extreme rush, you could accomplish your goal with far lower dosage and not that much greater time.

Simply adding the Masteron and leaving testosterone the same would give you rapid progress towards your goal and it would be probably, roughly speaking, 90% achievable in a reasonable time frame. A rather short period at higher dose could then get you fully to your goal. The total amount of drugs used would be less, because of operating at a more efficient part of the dose/response curve .

The kind of dosage you posted is way into the “diminishing returns” area.

For quite a while into it, your results with half your posted dosage level would give nearly the same results per week, because of the above reason and also because you are regaining. So it would be more efficient and would use less drugs per year to use a much lower dose for a somewhat longer time, on the assumption that LH production has been given up on anyway.

In that case I expect you will be very pleased from adding just Masteron while keeping testosterone the same.

I would monitor blood lipids, blood pressure, and red blood cell count to be sure of not overdoing it.

Because of planning on permanent HRT anyway, cycle length isn’t really a concern.

If focusing strongly on health and talking about the long term, I would look at keeping total steroid use down to a probable maximum of something like 20 grams per year, or an average of about 300-400 mg/week.

So, having a period of going above that will mean having periods of being below that, to average things out. The more you go over, the more you will later have to go under.

Adding for example 300-400 mg/week Masteron to your 100 mg/week testosterone will do a lot for you in your situation and I think you’ll be very pleased with it. To say the least you will add some lean mass and largely regain what you have achieved before, with reasonable speed. And you could likely continue with 100 mg/week Masteron indefinitely after your cycle and be well ahead of the game compared to having done a higher dose cycle but then having to use less later to compensate.

Keep in mind, the 20 grams per year value is a really rough number that has to be interpreted as being a ballpark value rather than a sharp cutoff. It is definitely just a general approximation rather than a proven value let alone accurate for every individual.

Then at some point in the future, having regained the greater part of what you had before, then it could be productive to go for a short time at a much higher dose to push to a new level, if desired.

But right now you don’t need that level, because you are regaining, and as HPTA recovery isn’t an issue, there isn’t the factor of packing in the same amount of drug into a shorter time frame (using higher dose per week) to achieve better recovery for given results.

Masteron (drostanolone propionate)

Originally published at: Masteron as an Addition to Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT)

Q: Is Masteron or Equipoise the better steroid to gain muscle?

A: The answer depends on how it’s being looked at.

Effectiveness milligram per milligram: One way is, having the rest of a stack already, and wanting to add X mg of boldenone, or the same mg of Masteron.

To some extent it would depend on what the rest of the stack was, but in most cases I’d call this a pretty even match.

Cost per milligram: Another would be, having the rest of a stack already, and having $X to spend on either boldenone or Masteron. Usually the answer would be, whichever is cheapest per mg. I think this would usually be the boldenone but not always.

Side effects: Still another would be, having the rest of a stack already, and picking appropriate doses for each drug, considering side effects. Depending on preferences or on the rest of the stack, Masteron would win in many cases; boldenone in some others.

When looking at side effects, it’s always necessary to look at the sum total of the stack. Too often an individual component gets blamed, when the problem is that that the total was simply too much, and omission of another of the compounds would also have avoided the problem.

I don’t think Masteron is the slightest bit worse than anything else when it comes to hair loss or effect on the prostate for any given amount of anabolic effect.

But if you had what was a substantial steroid dosage already and then added another steroid to it, the total could easily be more than personally suitable for you.

However if you used it alone and found it unsuitably harsh for you, that would be a different story. That would be unusual though: I’ve never encountered it.

Single steroid stack: THEN you have the question of using by itself.

If mass is the only consideration and if only one can be picked, boldenone. Not recommended as the way to gain the most mass in either case.

If mass is the only consideration and there’s the option of using both: Using both.

I have used only Masteron and boldenone in a cycle for myself only once: I’ve never had anyone else using it.

It was Masteron propionate 100 mg/day, boldenone propionate 50 mg/day, so just over a gram per week total. Nice. Nothing wrong with it at all, I’d be fine with doing it again.

The enanthates would have been more convenient as it was an 8 week cycle and would be fine, but propionates were what was on hand.

Equipoise (boldenone undecylenate)

Originally published at: Masteron vs Equipoise – Which is Better to Gain Muscle?