Steroids and Blood Doping for LEO/Mil/Competitive Shooters

[JeffWard]

Anabolic use/risk has been blown WAY out of proportion by the press and legal fields.

Standard hormone-replacement dosages of testosterone and esters have MANY healthful and beneficial effects, which FAR outweigh the risks. Increased energy, and lean mass, and performance, with fat loss...

ABUSE of testosterone/steroids is the issue... But even when abused, steroids are a relatively benign substance.

Put it this way... 90%+ of the medical issues with steroids are suffered in professional/recreational bodybuilders, NOT athletes, cops, soldiers... or 65 year-old men who are on a scrip. The dosages used by bodybuilders are typically 20-30 TIMES the prescription dosage.

Ibuprofen, is available in prescription dosages of 600-800mg, taken up to 4 times per day. So a MILD prescription dosage of ibuprofen is 2400mg/day. Now, multiply that by 30!!!! That's 72,000mg of NSAID a day, 6 BOTTLES, or 360 200mg Advils.

This quantity of pain reliever/anti inflammatory would no doubt kill you from gastric ulceration and internal bleeding in days... While thousands of bodybuilder abuse steroids at this level for YEARS, and eventually die "early" in their 50's-60's of heart disease.

Ibuprofen is MUCH more dangerous than steroids.

It's all relative folks...

The question is, outside legal ramifications, is reasonable the USE of steroids potentially beneficial to LEOS/Mil/etc? YES, no doubt.

Is the ABUSE of steroids dangerous? YES, it is, but relative to other drugs, the risks are small.

AND THOUSANDS AREN'T DYING EVERY YEAR IN THE ILLEGAL STEROID SMUGGLING TRADE... So why are they classified as a Class III controlled substance with cocaine/meth/heroin?

JeffWard

[WillBrink]

Agreed. For obvious reasons, many medial professionals will have nothing to do with sports doping. Those who do, sometimes aren't the best.

As for how this relates to LE and military use... notice that all those sports situations where people exhibited superhuman performance were very carefully monitored by teams of professionals. The last thing I want is for dehydrated guys living in the woods on MRE's to have elevated hematocrit.

On the other hand, HGH, steroids and even plain old amphetamines probably have their uses on the battlefield.... within reason. Whatever your regimen is has to be 100% battle-proof.
- Can you miss dosages safely?

Yes. However, if missed for extended periods of time, there's going to be a lag time where the HPTA is suppressed and normal production of T returns, and that length and suppression depends on the three Ds. There are drugs that will prevent the HPTA suppression, but that's now another drug one would have to deal with, and poly pharmacy adds complications, costs, etc.

- Can you continue your regimen while malnourished, dehydrated, etc?

Generally yes. They may counteract the negative effects of being malnourished, but data as it applies directly to conditions face by mil populations is lacking. You may find a post I put up a while back on the effects of training, etc on hormones as they apply to mil interesting, albeit not a perfect fit to the topic at hand:

Effects of Training on Hormones: mil specific

- What about drug interactions if you're wounded and receive treatment?

Off the top of my head, AAS can increase bleeding time, which is why people are taken off them prior to surgeries, may alter effects of Coumadin, etc. From one write up:

"The heart drug Cordarone (amiodarone), the ulcer drug Tagamet (cimetidine), anabolic steroids such as Anadrol-50 (oxymetholone) and antibiotics such as Biaxin (clarithromycin), erythromycin or tetracycline can also make bleeding more hazardous for people on Coumadin"

Some AAS appear to have differing effects on that, and I think data is lacking in terms of specific recs.

[sniperfrog]

I've seen guys in the military use steroids before and while they got big and strong their overall performance usually suffered. Their cardio went to shit and alot of guys start having all kinds of joint problems and pulled/torn muscles, etc...

While I think steroids might not be as bad as many have you to believe I don't think they're good for military guys trying to get an edge. It seems steroids can make you more prone to injury which in combat is generally a bad thing.

[STS]

While I am not in support of anabolic steroid use, I am in complete support of doctor supervised testosterone replacement therapy to get your testosterone levels to a healthy high normal limit. As much as some of you may deny it, within ten years, damn near everyone of us on this board will be seeing a doctor to get our test levels back to a healthy high normal level.

As more and more research comes out showing just how unhealthy it is to have low test levels that come with age, you will see more and more men seeking treatment after age 40.

Trust me guys, this is one of those moments like when you were a teenager and your dad told you something and you just rolled your eyes and though "ya right whatever" and 15 years later you think "damn, the old man was right!"

I say this because many of the firefighters on my department have been dealing with the effects of low testosterone due to stress, lack of sleep, and high physical activity. The changes that guys have experienced from having their hormones brought back to a healthy level has been simply amazing. Their sleep has improved, stomach problems have disappeared, sex drive returned (no more viagra) their mental clarity improved, blood panels improved, etc. And these are all guys who are ex-mil, fitness buffs who eat right. Fact is you can do all that and still have low testosterone.

We have been dealing with it for about two years now. In fact we are just starting to have our testosterone levels checked on our annual physicals - it is that vitally important to a man's health. We dealt with many of the same reactions I've seen in this thread. People said it is steroids, real men don't need it, just workout more, eat better, etc etc. All that only can do so much.

So my point is for all you to just keep an open mind and do some research. Get rid of the whole "steroid" mentally. That is ignorance at it's best.

[dookie1481]

Good post, Scot.

[ZuluDeltaBravo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8kExGzZfuM

This is an interesting documentary, it's got 11 parts all on You Tube. It really made me think about my misconceptions of steroid use. Watching this also solidified my decision to drop all of the hyped up wunder-supplements that were populating my pantry.

[panzerr]

Go ahead and take steroids. When your dick goes limp come on back here and tell us about it.

[kmrtnsn]

Ex-customs agent gets probation for import of steroids and hgh from China.

A former agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Blaine was sentenced Monday morning to two years of probation for importing steroids from China.

Sean Patrick Ganley, 38, of Federal Way, pleaded guilty in June. He was also a former Tacoma police officer.

Ganley faced up to 10 years in prison. The sentence was part of a plea agreement between the prosecution and defense. U.S. District County Judge James L. Robart was unhappy with the agreement, saying he didn’t think it sent a strong enough message.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice defended the plea agreement. “It’s a felony conviction. It required his resignation from ICE and the presumed banishment from law enforcement jobs,” he said.

The investigation began in April 2008 by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations after customs agents at JFK International Airport in New York discovered human-growth hormone in a package arriving by mail from Beijing. The investigation revealed that Ganley had “surreptitiously sent three wire transfers to China and ordered the steroids using a false telephone number and fictitious address,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“We expect the utmost honesty and integrity of our federal law-enforcement officers,” James McDevitt, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane, said in June. “It will not be tolerated when they break the very laws they are sworn to uphold.”

McDevitt’s office handled the case to avoid a potential conflict of interest because Ganley had worked with federal prosecutors in Seattle.

Ganley resigned from ICE earlier this year.

In a letter delivered to Judge Robart before Monday’s sentencing, Ganley wrote that he thought getting himself into peak physical shape would keep him safe while working as a cop in Tacoma, which he called “the most violent city in the Pacific Northwest.”

“Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring police agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was ‘no big deal’ to use them,” Ganley wrote.

A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent caught importing steroids into the country won’t serve any prison time.

Federal Way resident Sean Patrick Ganley was still with ICE in April 2008 when customs inspectors found he was buying Chinese steroids, according to a Justice Department statement issued Monday.

In a plea agreement, an assistant U.S. attorney handling the case noted that Ganley began importing steroids in 2004 while he was employed as a Tacoma police officer. Ganley continued buying steroids after he went to work for ICE as a special agent, a position he resigned from earlier this year.

According to court documents, Ganley had the steroids — chiefly human growth hormone — sent to the Chehalis home of a friend. He also used a false name on money orders in an effort to avoid detection.

On Monday, Ganley was sentenced to a two-year term on probation. Federal prosecutors had agreed to request such a sentence.

Announcing the sentence, Michael Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, noted that “federal law enforcement officers are held to the highest standards of integrity and honesty.”

Ormsby went on to contend Ganley’s sentence “will vindicate the federal interest” by insuring Ganley no longer works as a law officer.

In a letter to the court, Ganley, 38, expressed regret that his 15-year career in law enforcement was at an end.

Ganley told the court he began taking steroids while employed at the Tacoma Police Department after a King County deputy sheriff and Federal Way police officer were killed.

“Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was ‘no big deal’ to use them,” Ganley said in a letter to the court. “I was obviously sorely mistaken.”

Ganley had previously pleaded guilty to importing a controlled substance. He was jailed briefly after charges were filed, but has since been released.

After he was beaten up while working as a cop in Tacoma, Sean Patrick Ganley searched the Internet for something to help him feel better and quickly get back on his feet again.

Ganley says he found the answer in an online advertisement for steroids from China with precise steps for U.S. residents to order the illegal drug. He started taking steroids, which he claimed was quite common among fellow law enforcement officers, and continued even after being hired as an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Blaine.

On Monday, Ganley, 38, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years of probation for importing human-growth hormone from China.

“I made a big mistake, there’s no sugarcoating it,” Ganley said in court. “I felt that was what I could do to increase my strength. I wish I would have never done it.”

U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart criticized the sentence recommended for Ganley for failing to send a sufficiently strong message to other police officers who might be taking illegal steroids. The judge said he followed the sentence because it was agreed upon by the prosecution, probation officials and the defense

Tom Rice, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said that Ganley not only pleaded guilty, but also resigned from his job with ICE and will be “banished from other law enforcement jobs” because of his felony conviction.

Ganley retired from ICE earlier this year.

John Crowley, Ganley’s attorney, said he has since moved to the Tri-Cities to live with his father, a retired police officer. The father and son are starting a private security company, Crowley said.

Had Ganley not pleaded guilty, he would have faced up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The investigation into Ganley began in April 2008 by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations after customs agents at JFK International Airport in New York discovered human-growth hormone in a package arriving by mail from Beijing. The investigation revealed that Ganley had “surreptitiously sent three wire transfers to China and ordered the steroids using a false telephone number and fictitious address,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In a letter delivered to Judge Robart before his sentencing, Ganley wrote that he believed steroids would allow him to get into peak physical shape and keep him safe while working in Tacoma, which he called “the most violent city in the Pacific Northwest.”

“Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring police agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was ‘no big deal’ to use them,” Ganley wrote.

The prosecution of Ganley was handled by the U.S. Attorneys Office for Eastern Washington to avoid a potential conflict of interest because Ganley had worked with federal prosecutors in the Seattle-based Western District of Washington.

[kmrtnsn]

October 6, 2010: Chinese Company, CEO Admit to hGH Smuggling; Pay $7.5 Million in Assessments and Forfeiture

Food and Drug Administration
Office of Criminal Investigations

U.S. Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
October 6, 2010

U.S. Attorney's Office

District of Rhode Island

Peter F. Neronha


GeneScience Pharmaceutical also Forfeited $2.7 Million Seized from Banks

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Chinese drug manufacturer, GeneScience Pharmaceutical Company, and its CEO, Lei Jin, pleaded guilty today to illegally marketing human Growth Hormone in the U.S. The company and Jin jointly forfeited $4.5 million as a result of the criminal charges and will pay an additional $3,000,000 to finance a Clean Competition Fund designed to counter the effects of illicit doping in sports.



United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Mark Dragonetti, Special Agent in Charge of the Food And Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and Robert Bethel, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, jointly announced the guilty pleas. The defendants entered the pleas before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi in U.S. District Court, Providence.



In addition to the criminal forfeiture and assessments imposed today, the company previously forfeited $2.7 million dollars linked to its hGH smuggling. Federal agents seized that money in 2007 from New York branches of Chinese banks in which GeneScience maintained accounts.



At the plea hearing today, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adi Goldstein said that Jin, through GeneScience, used the Internet to market hGH under the company’s brand name, Jintropin. Persons in Rhode Island and elsewhere in the United States purchased the hGH and then redistributed it to others. GeneScience never obtained approval from the FDA to market Jintropin in the U.S., where hGH is available only through doctor’s prescription for strictly defined uses.



U.S. Attorney Neronha said, “HGH, when distributed and used unlawfully, poses a serious health threat, particularly to young people who ignore the risks of such substances in an effort to enhance athletic performance. Today’s guilty pleas and sentencings address this threat in two ways. First, the defendants paid directly for their misconduct through the forfeiture of significant assets, totaling $7.2 million in illegally gained profits, which will deter them and others from engaging in this kind of misconduct. Second, by paying an additional $3 million to finance research, testing, and screening, the defendants will pay to counter the effects of hGH and steroid abuse.”



The charges to which the company and Jin pleaded guilty today supplanted an indictment filed against them in 2007. A multi-agency task force anchored by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigation, developed evidence that resulted in the criminal charges and the civil forfeiture.



Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Dragonetti, of FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations, said, "Today's announcement demonstrates the continued commitment of FDA's Office of Criminal Investigation and its law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who sell unapproved and potentially harmful products over the Internet, whether they are located here or abroad. FDA takes very seriously its responsibility to protect the health and safety of the US consumer."



GeneScience today submitted to the Court a check for $4.5 million, made out to the United States Marshals Service, which satisfies the criminal forfeiture judgment.



Under the terms of plea agreements filed with the charges, the company and Jin will jointly pay $1,000,000 per year for the next three years to finance a Clean Competition Fund, which will be used for programs that support anti-doping in sports, drug testing, screening and detection of hGH, steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, and research involving either the appropriate uses of performance enhancing drugs or the health implications resulting from their use.



William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation stated, "This is an important victory for the American public in federal counter-drug law enforcement.Not only isthe criminal held accountable for the crime, but a significant portion of the proceeds associated with the illegal activity has been seized through the mechanism of asset forfeiture. The mission of IRS Criminal Investigation in narcotics law enforcement is to financially disrupt and dismantle significant drug trafficking organizations through the investigation and prosecution of their members as well as the seizure and forfeiture of assets associated with the crime.”



In addition to FDA, OCI, the task force investigating the case included the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration provided assistance.



Inspector in Charge Robert Bethel of the United States Postal Inspection Service said, “The primary objectives of the Postal Inspection Service in this investigation were to rid the mail of illicit drug trafficking, preserve the integrity of the mail and, most important, provide a safe environment for postal employees and the American public. The Postal Service has no interest in being the unwitting accomplice to anyone using the U.S. Mail to distribute illegal drugs.”



Assistant U.S. Attorneys Goldstein and Stephanie S. Browne conducted the criminal prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Iannotti and Milind M. Shah litigated the civil forfeiture.

[kmrtnsn]

ONLINE ANABOLIC STEROID DISTRIBUTOR CHARGED
March 24, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

North Carolina Man is Third to be Charged with Illegal Distribution of Steroids

Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and David W. Bourne, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office, announced today that Eric Davis, 36, of China Grove, North Carolina, has been charged with conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids. Davis was arrested this morning in the Middle District of North Carolina. On March 4, 2010, a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale charged Davis with conspiring with the intent to distribute 12.54 kilograms of anabolic steroid powder and 10,930 milliliters of anabolic steroid liquid. Davis is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Andrea Simonton in Miami on March 29, 2010.

According to court documents, from at least October 2007 through at least September 2009, Davis, using the alias “Triple H,” conspired with Michael Reich, using the alias “Gasman,” and Timothy Tate, using the alias “Bossman,” to operate an online business named Pro Labs. The defendants would have steroid powder sent to locations throughout the United States, including North Carolina, from China. The steroid powder was then manufactured into bulk steroid liquid and then provided to end-users in 10ml and 50ml vials. Through Pro Labs, the defendants caused to be distributed thousands of vials of anabolic steroids throughout the United States.

In separate, but related cases, Reich and Tate have each pled guilty to conspiring with the intent to distribute anabolic steroids. Reich was sentenced on July 29, 2009 to serve one year and a day in jail. Tate is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26, 2010.

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the FDA agents involved in this case. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Neiman.

An Indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.