The New York Times is reporting,
High Schools Take On Doping With No Consensus on Strategy OPELOUSAS, La. — The sheriff of St. Landry Parish announced in July that an undercover investigation of area gyms had produced the largest anabolic steroid bust ever in this rural Cajun county. In an investigation that has identified about 100 suspected steroid users and 15 dealers in the county, 10 people have been arrested, including two former high school football players, the sheriff said. He added that of those 100 suspected users, as many as 20 were high school athletes. That number stunned educators and law enforcement officials who had considered performance-enhancing drugs to be more of a big-city problem. “I think there’s more steroid use, after talking to my investigators, in sports activities than originally thought,” said Bobby J. Guidroz, the sheriff of St. Landry Parish, population 90,000, about two hours west-northwest of New Orleans. The use of muscle-building steroids by teenagers is of particular concern because it can prematurely close growth plates, doctors say. But throughout the country, efforts to deter performance-enhancing drug use among high school athletes have had indeterminate success, leaving doping experts and school officials wondering how best to tackle a problem that is not always readily apparent. Drug testing is expensive, scattered and full of loopholes. Some believe that education is a better preventive measure than testing, but experts question methods frequently used to inform athletes about the health hazards and ethical considerations of doping. In Cajun country and elsewhere, law enforcement officers and antidoping experts say, the problem can be exacerbated by coaches and parents who allow or even encourage their children to use steroids in hopes of building championship seasons and winning college scholarships. Sheriff Guidroz said his investigators received tips — never confirmed — that one coach in St. Landry Parish and another coach who had left the county encouraged athletes to use steroids. A former strength and conditioning coach for the girls’ basketball team in Oregon City, Ore., was fired in May as part of an ongoing federal investigation into whether he sold steroids to a police officer in Canby, Ore. No charges have been filed. Some studies indicate that the use of anabolic steroids is in decline in high schools. A survey by the University of Michiganrevealed that 2.2 percent of the nation’s 12th graders admitted in 2007 that they had used steroids at least once, down from 4 percent in 2002. And school districts report more urgent problems with alcohol and recreational drugs like marijuana. Still, many antidoping experts said they believed the numbers on steroid use were significantly underreported, especially in sports like football that put a premium on strength.
This is the one area where I agree with the anti-steroid groups, kids in high school should not take steroids. There are several reasons, but the simple ones being they normally have no clue of what they are doing, which leaves them at a higher risk for injury and medical issues. Next is that most High Schoolers aren’t fully grown, and there are several ways that steroids can stunt growth, though most studies aren’t definitive, it still is a real possibility. Also is that teenagers body is producing a lot of natural Test so the added amount is not needed and can mess up the natural amount produced, meaning get the most out of your natural capabilities before you decide to juice. So on to the article, this is where I get annoyed, they have a real issue within the steroid community ( high school steroid use), yet most of the busts I read about are middle age men who use steroids recreational and are responsible users ( you know the ones who harm no one and serves no purpose to arrest them), and big time dealers. But why aren’t they focusing on the high school users, instead of making useless busts that just make them look like they are wasting tax dollars. Now if they busted a dealer who knowingly and openly sold to mostly high school age teens that would make senses to me also, yet there is no structured approach to this issue. It makes me sick to see this, they have time to break the balls of hard working Americans who buy personal use only but can’t get off their ass to help the real problem, ABUSE! This is my issue, the half-assed way they handle their war against steroids, while the real issue goes unnoticed. I am sorry but why not get a clue, help those that need it most, the ones that fall under the abuse umbrella of ALL drugs and make a difference, instead of randomly harassing the responsible ones. How about do away with ALL high school steroid use and then we can talk about the rest. Just my feelings on the subject so take it or leave it.
