The subject of steroids is one that’s guaranteed to cause confusion and controversy. These drugs seem to be in the news all the time, and some of the most well known professional athletes have had their names associated with anabolic steroids: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, Ben Johnson, Jose Cansenco, Jason Giambi, Ron Solt, Marion Jones. All have either admitted to use of steroids or been implicated by other players. Don’t even get started on some of the more flagrant abusers found in the world of professional wrestling. But it’s a given that the list of known or suspected users is only the tiniest tip of the iceberg. Most professional sports leagues, as well as most competitive sporting events such as the Olympics have policies in place that forbid the use of steroids. Yet every year, the list of known steroid users continues to grow. Why?
The allure of steroids for an athlete can hardly be underestimated. In a field where the slightest advantage over the competition can mean the difference between being another pro player versus being a star player with a huge contract and lucrative endorsement deals, it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with a scenario where a player chooses to use buy anabolic steroids in order to get to the top of their league. It’s become a decades long cat and mouse game, with players finding new types of steroids and new methods of concealing their use, while officials scramble to control the use, all the while trying to protect the reputation of their sport.
Outside of the world of pro sports, where does that leave the average athlete? Should an amateur body builder who wants to bulk up consider the use of legal steroids? After all, the pros have shown that they work. Given the confusion around the whole subject, does the average athlete even know what constitutes legal?
First of all, illegal is not the same as banned. Even if a steroid is legal, there’s a good chance that it is still considered a banned, performance enhancing substance when it comes to professional sports. That leaves amateur athletes. The only legal way to buy steroids in the US is to purchase second generation steroids (first generation drugs are illegal because of proven liver damage and blood pressure issues) with a doctor’s prescription. Unfortunately, the confusion over what’s legal and what’s not has led to a burgeoning black market that offers anabolic steroids for sale without the formality of a prescription or any documentation for that matter; so long as the customer has cash, they get drugs. Although it may be tempting at times, no-one should ever go this route. All purchases should be with a doctor’s consent and from a reputable company. That way the user is medically supervised, doses are controlled and the product is known and of suitable quality.
When it comes to steroids, there are too many health and legal issues at play to take chances.
