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Heartbreaker
12-28-10, 15:05
I'll start by saying I'm not an LEO or enlisted so for all I know both are common practice, I really don't know. There's a pretty big stigma surrounding both steroids and various forms of doping, and when brought up it's normally with the word cheating. On the other hand most research shows that with safe use, not abuse, both can be healthy and have minimal risks.

Anabolic steroids speed up muscle recovery and growth, leading to faster gains and shorter recovery periods, although most people associate them with getting huge they are used by all kinds of athletes from weightlifters to cyclists. Blood doping (whether done by transfusion of your own blood or EPO) increases the amount of oxygen your blood can carry, which in turn increases V02 max, endurance, and even helps with focus as more oxygen is brought to your brain.

Obviously the benefits for someone who is out in the field possibly encountering life and death situations are huge. My question to you is are you personally opposed to using performance enhancing drugs outside of competition environments? Do you think they should be made accessible to LEOs and soldiers whose lives could possibly be saved by them?

GotAmmo
12-28-10, 16:01
not against em and yes...if used smartly..... cause we're not "cheating" or getting paid 1 million a game, and noone really idolizes us (soldiers). we're only hero's cause we're in Iraq and Afghan right now

It is still somewhat easy to get away with if you're smart about it. Military Units dont wnt to spend there training funds on steriods testing unless they have the needle and vial you just shot in your butt cheek

but.......
Saw a Ranger from the 75th recently getting chaptered out for juicing

so it is frowned upon

Dano5326
12-28-10, 16:31
1) Some usage is probably, probably, ok (short term) in a highly structured manner with significant medical oversight and testing. Think east bloc Olympic athletes in the 80's & 90's

2) 99.9% of users don't do this and can cause significant short term hormonal balance issues and long term RNA/DNA problems.

3) no one really knows what the long term effects of illicit use is.. big brains at military biomedical performance conferences suggest nothing good.

In a military environment, where food, water, sleep, etc. can fluctuate all over the map, where no minute hormonal medical monitoring provided, not good. Inconsistencies in performance and judgment. Unstable hormones produce unstable performance.. watch the woman folk when the moon is full, or not, for a mild demonstration.

And it cost less than $100 to test individuals for stimulants, opiates, and steroids. As an instructor we routinely screened for those individuals who thought that some potion would help. Initially we intended to screen for ephedrine and other (us mil banned) thermogenic OTC products that were causing or exacerbating heat injuries.. but found more than we expected. We let some who popped positive continue forth in training anyway.. to see if they made it through "Hell Week" none did.

WillBrink
12-28-10, 17:23
Obviously the benefits for someone who is out in the field possibly encountering life and death situations are huge. My question to you is are you personally opposed to using performance enhancing drugs outside of competition environments? Do you think they should be made accessible to LEOs and soldiers whose lives could possibly be saved by them?

Although few and far between, there are some well informed educated people who see past the hysteria and hyperbole regarding AAS. This makes for some interesting reading for those interested in the topic:


STEROIDS AND SPORTS:
A PROVOCATIVE INTERVIEW WITH NORM FOST, M.D.

By Rick Collins, J.D.

By the time the torch was extinguished and the dust of Athens had settled at the end of the summer Olympics, a total of 24 athletes had been thrown out of the Games for cheating by the use of performance-enhancing drugs, double the previous record of 12 from the Los Angeles Games in 1984. And the testing process on other samples still isn't finished.

As the commanding general leading the war against performance-enhancing drugs in sports, World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound snared more headlines than most of the athletes. Sometimes it seemed like the war waged on cheating athletes overshadowed the events themselves. Perhaps more than by any other measure, a competitor's strength of character is now defined by the purity of his or her urine.

Under IOC rules, anabolic steroid use is cheating. That steroid use in sports is dangerous, immoral and unethical is the principle that underlies its prohibition. This principle is so entrenched that it would seem unthinkable to hear someone seriously challenge it.

That's where Norman Fost, M.D., comes in. This man has big cujones, which might seem to be an atypical descriptive term to stumble across when you're reading an article concerning steroids, but it's apt here. In this age of stifling political correctness and "same thinking", it takes big, brass ones to reject the popular military drumbeat and march in the opposite direction.

Dr. Fost isn't short on gray matter, either. A graduate of Princeton (A.B.), Yale (M.D.) and Harvard (M.P.H.), he's not only a practicing pediatrician, but also an expert in medical ethics. In fact, he's been the Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Program in Medical Ethics at the University of Wisconsin since 1973. He's Chairman of the Hospital Ethics Committee, heads the Child Protection Team, and is also a past-Chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics. Last year he received the William G. Bartholome Award for Excellence in Ethics from the American Academy of Pediatrics. His views are generating increasing mainstream media attention, and he has recently appeared on television and radio broadcasts including ESPN, CBS Evening News, NPR Morning Edition, and C-SPAN.

Cont:

http://www.steroidlaw.com/steroid-law-45.html

There are other good articles on that site regarding the topic of AAS in sports, as "cheating" and so forth.

kmrtnsn
12-28-10, 17:42
I'll start by saying I'm not an LEO or enlisted so for all I know both are common practice, I really don't know. There's a pretty big stigma surrounding both steroids and various forms of doping, and when brought up it's normally with the word cheating. On the other hand most research shows that with safe use, not abuse, both can be healthy and have minimal risks.

Anabolic steroids speed up muscle recovery and growth, leading to faster gains and shorter recovery periods, although most people associate them with getting huge they are used by all kinds of athletes from weightlifters to cyclists. Blood doping (whether done by transfusion of your own blood or EPO) increases the amount of oxygen your blood can carry, which in turn increases V02 max, endurance, and even helps with focus as more oxygen is brought to your brain.

Obviously the benefits for someone who is out in the field possibly encountering life and death situations are huge. My question to you is are you personally opposed to using performance enhancing drugs outside of competition environments? Do you think they should be made accessible to LEOs and soldiers whose lives could possibly be saved by them?

For those that like to self medicate, Anabolic Steroids are a Schedule III Controlled Substance. If you are buying them over the internet from China or Pakistan you are violating 21USC852 and 18USC545. These are federal felonies, you're attorney will not be talking to you about probation but federal jail time (truth in sentencing; you'll serve 85%). If you are buying them in bulk amounts and you recieve them then you are Possessing with the Intent to Distribute, a federal felony under 21USC841. Doing this with a friend? Conspiracy, 18USC371. If you are selling them to your friends at the gym, you are trafficking. Cop, personal trainer, or even a doctor (the selling of "cheap" foreign steroids by doctors is becoming more popular) buying these from overseas someone will eventually be coming for you. Keep them at your house? Expect a visit. If you go to your P.O. box to pick them up, they'll be seizing your car as a "fruit or instrumentality". The guys I know enforcing this give no second thought to arresting cops, firefighters, doctors, or professional athletes and the U.S. Attorney's Office loves the cases because they are slam dunks with great press exposure. Illegal steroids are not worth messing around with.

WillBrink
12-28-10, 18:00
Illegal steroids are not worth messing around with.

Important point made above: the discussion is strictly one of ignoring the current realities: legality, costs, quality = not worth using and that's what I advise to anyone who asks, LEO, Mil, athlete, etc.

Loss of job, felony record, poor quality (due to black market sourcing), and other real world factors, simply makes the risk to benefit, not worth using.

Always happy to discuss the science, ethics, etc, but that does not change the realities as kmrtnsn details so well.

MarkG
12-28-10, 19:10
Try and justify it anyway you want. If you take steroids or HGH, supervised or not, your a ****ing loser, plain and simple.

dookie1481
12-28-10, 20:20
Try and justify it anyway you want. If you take steroids or HGH, supervised or not, your a ****ing loser, plain and simple.

Why is that?

kartoffel
12-28-10, 20:30
My question to you is are you personally opposed to using performance enhancing drugs outside of competition environments? Do you think they should be made accessible to LEOs and soldiers whose lives could possibly be saved by them?

Not so sure about steroids because of (a) the potential for abuse and (b) the social stigma.

Also not sure about EPO or blood doping for military use. The aerobic gains are outweighed by the risk of your blood turning to glue as you get dehydrated. In a combat environment where you're not necessarily staying hydrated, I'd rather have normal hematocrit and take the performance hit.

Now on the other hand, Modafinil has plenty of .mil uses. Do I want LEO's popping Provigils for shift work? Go to your doc and see if you can justify an rx. Would be very interested in seeing what actual medical doctors think about it.

dookie1481
12-29-10, 11:47
Try and justify it anyway you want. If you take steroids or HGH, supervised or not, your a ****ing loser, plain and simple.

You know, you should go work for WADA...they are always in need of more pompous myopics.

I hope you don't "cheat" by taking Viagra, statins, exogenous insulin, vaccines, or any of those other "cheater drugs" that have improved quality of life or life expectancy.

Drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and calling anything on the other side "cheating" is intellectually dishonest.

dookie1481
12-29-10, 11:52
Try and justify it anyway you want. If you take steroids or HGH, supervised or not, your a ****ing loser, plain and simple.

You know, you should go work for WADA...they are always in need of more pompous myopics.

I hope you don't "cheat" by taking Viagra, statins, exogenous insulin, vaccines, or any of those other "cheater drugs" that have improved quality of life or life expectancy.

Drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and calling anything on the other side "cheating" is intellectually dishonest.

MarkG
12-29-10, 17:25
You know, you should go work for WADA...they are always in need of more pompous myopics.

I hope you don't "cheat" by taking Viagra, statins, exogenous insulin, vaccines, or any of those other "cheater drugs" that have improved quality of life or life expectancy.

Drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and calling anything on the other side "cheating" is intellectually dishonest.

Apples and oranges...

Littlelebowski
12-29-10, 17:48
I have no intention of ever taking these but are they THAT much of a danger to society?



For those that like to self medicate, Anabolic Steroids are a Schedule III Controlled Substance. If you are buying them over the internet from China or Pakistan you are violating 21USC852 and 18USC545. These are federal felonies, you're attorney will not be talking to you about probation but federal jail time (truth in sentencing; you'll serve 85%). If you are buying them in bulk amounts and you recieve them then you are Possessing with the Intent to Distribute, a federal felony under 21USC841. Doing this with a friend? Conspiracy, 18USC371. If you are selling them to your friends at the gym, you are trafficking. Cop, personal trainer, or even a doctor (the selling of "cheap" foreign steroids by doctors is becoming more popular) buying these from overseas someone will eventually be coming for you. Keep them at your house? Expect a visit. If you go to your P.O. box to pick them up, they'll be seizing your car as a "fruit or instrumentality". The guys I know enforcing this give no second thought to arresting cops, firefighters, doctors, or professional athletes and the U.S. Attorney's Office loves the cases because they are slam dunks with great press exposure. Illegal steroids are not worth messing around with.

dookie1481
12-29-10, 19:59
Apples and oranges...

No, it really isn't. YOU think it is. What makes the legal administration of, say, test enanthate morally reprehensible, while using a statin is just fine?

dookie1481
12-29-10, 20:00
I have no intention of ever taking these but are they THAT much of a danger to society?

Of course they are. The government said so.

EDIT: Sorry, I made a pointless, pithy little comment that didn't advance the discussion. Will Brink had a good post about the subject here (https://www.m4carbine.net/showpost.php?p=847098&postcount=22).

duckinthebox
12-29-10, 22:17
Good point..you'd be better off getting amp'd up on some cocaine. That way if you get caught you can plea down to a littering charge. Most weak public officials in charge of prosecuting are much more subject to understanding cocaine use because most do it. They know too much steroid useage might cause you to beat their asses!:D JOKING!

kmrtnsn
12-29-10, 23:06
I have no intention of ever taking these but are they THAT much of a danger to society?

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ans/psychology/health_psychology/anabolic_steroids.html

dookie1481
12-30-10, 00:02
The majority of studies on inexperienced weight trainers indicate that lean body weight, strength, and aerobic power are unlikely to change by the ingestion of anabolic steroids.

Laughing my mother****ing ass off.

Was that paper written for a COM 101 class? I hope you have better evidence than that.

nhskull21
12-30-10, 00:04
I say steroids should be fair game. Especially for people in combat 300-400mg of test per week would be perfect.

Hammer27
12-30-10, 18:40
Low doses for certain military personnel may be acceptable in the future (strictly controlled though) but its unlikely. By and large most LEO's don't need to be going to the supreme levels of fitness that AAS promise. I doubt we'll live to see the stigma/risks alleviated.

Hizzie
01-10-11, 17:01
OK so:

I can smoke tobacco products and give myself, and everyone around me, cancer, emphysema.

I can use smokeless tobacco products and give myself oral, asophougus cancer or stomach cancer.

I can drink alcohol and give myself liver disease. (DUI anyone?)

But I cannot use a little HGH or Winny V to get a nice six-pack of abs???

Makes perfect sense to me :rolleyes:

tgace
01-10-11, 17:14
Steroids?

I think that some of my brothers should start with diet and exercise first.

nhskull21
01-11-11, 00:21
OK so:

I can smoke tobacco products and give myself, and everyone around me, cancer, emphysema.

I can use smokeless tobacco products and give myself oral, asophougus cancer or stomach cancer.

I can drink alcohol and give myself liver disease. (DUI anyone?)

But I cannot use a little HGH or Winny V to get a nice six-pack of abs???

Makes perfect sense to me :rolleyes:


Or if you really wanted to screw with nature you could get a sex change and they would feed you all the hormones you want.

theblackknight
01-11-11, 15:55
Try and justify it anyway you want. If you take steroids or HGH, supervised or not, your a ****ing loser, plain and simple.


http://images2.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/4674231/You-Mad-BRO.jpg?imageSize=Medium&generatorName=Awesome-Privilege-Denying-Dude

Hizzie
01-12-11, 11:34
Or if you really wanted to screw with nature you could get a sex change and they would feed you all the hormones you want.


Umm, I'm confused. How do performance enhancing drugs and gender reassignment surgery have anything to do with each other? Or are you just trying to be antagonistic and insulting?

kartoffel
01-12-11, 11:45
Can't we just discuss the pros and cons of drug enhanced performance? The roid raging needs to stop.

stifled
01-12-11, 12:05
While, like most drugs, steroids can be and are used responsibly, I would be worried giving them to soldiers for one primary reason: the roid raging psychopath stereotype. While this is an unfair representation, I'd be concerned that if a soldier who was using steroids got involved in a fire fight and in the heat of things accidentally shot a civilian who looked like they had a weapon, or anything else happened that could potentially call their judgment into question... would the steroid use be held against them?

The military not using these drugs, at least apparently not, makes me wonder if super soldier programs are real or if science fiction movies have been lying to me for 40 years. :D

Hizzie
01-12-11, 12:24
I have been going to professional gyms for more than 15 years and encountered many "enhanced" athletes. Some of which were doctors and PHD candidates in molecular biology. The biggest problem with the average "enhanced" athlete is that they think since some is good, more must be better. Look at the Greg Lamont-tour de france doping scandal. Those guys were using mirco-pulsing and achieving tremendous results. The lab boys have been testing the mirco-pulse doping regime and have been unable to get any test subject to piss hot. All this while taking test subjects from being able to cycle at max threshold for less 5 minutes to almost an hour. The largest stumbling block is that most doctors will have nothing to do with an "enhanced" athlete. Those that find helpful (not drug dealing) and cooperative Docs get the needed testing and care for safe "enhancement".

kartoffel
01-12-11, 13:22
I have been going to professional gyms for more than 15 years and encountered many "enhanced" athletes. Some of which were doctors and PHD candidates in molecular biology. The biggest problem with the average "enhanced" athlete is that they think since some is good, more must be better. Look at the Greg Lamont-tour de france doping scandal. Those guys were using mirco-pulsing and achieving tremendous results. The lab boys have been testing the mirco-pulse doping regime and have been unable to get any test subject to piss hot. All this while taking test subjects from being able to cycle at max threshold for less 5 minutes to almost an hour. The largest stumbling block is that most doctors will have nothing to do with an "enhanced" athlete. Those that find helpful (not drug dealing) and cooperative Docs get the needed testing and care for safe "enhancement".

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?
- Can you continue your regimen while malnourished, dehydrated, etc?
- What about drug interactions if you're wounded and receive treatment?

tgace
01-12-11, 13:56
I don't know if "battlefield dosing" is really the issue. Garrison or non-deployment use to increase physical capacity could be considered. I just think that it would have to be so closely monitored that the administrative hasstle would outweigh any potential benefits.

JeffWard
01-12-11, 14:10
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
01-12-11, 17:07
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 (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=46479)


- 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
01-12-11, 18:19
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
01-12-11, 19:20
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
01-12-11, 19:31
Good post, Scot.

ZuluDeltaBravo
01-12-11, 20:54
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
01-12-11, 21:01
Go ahead and take steroids. When your dick goes limp come on back here and tell us about it.

kmrtnsn
01-12-11, 21:13
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
01-12-11, 21:17
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
01-12-11, 21:22
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.

dookie1481
01-12-11, 22:27
Go ahead and take steroids. When your dick goes limp come on back here and tell us about it.

Another well-informed post :rolleyes:

theblackknight
01-12-11, 22:37
administrative hasstle would outweigh any potential benefits.


That because it's soo tied up in nonessential bullshit as it is.It's designed that way.

nhskull21
01-13-11, 07:04
Umm, I'm confused. How do performance enhancing drugs and gender reassignment surgery have anything to do with each other? Or are you just trying to be antagonistic and insulting?

I agree with steroid use and I am all for it. What I meant to say its funny how the government doesnt want us to be healthy as we can, perform better, or be better at something cause they think hormones are bad and should be illegal to a man wanting to build a better body. But if you want to destroy your body with a sex change you can have all the hormones you want some that bodybuilders would use and they would give them to you legally. Though no doctor would think of giving them to you for enhancement. And even getting TRT is hard. Not insulting anyone just the government-fda-whoever decides what schedule drugs are.

nhskull21
01-13-11, 07:07
While, like most drugs, steroids can be and are used responsibly, I would be worried giving them to soldiers for one primary reason: the roid raging psychopath stereotype. While this is an unfair representation, I'd be concerned that if a soldier who was using steroids got involved in a fire fight and in the heat of things accidentally shot a civilian who looked like they had a weapon, or anything else happened that could potentially call their judgment into question... would the steroid use be held against them?

The military not using these drugs, at least apparently not, makes me wonder if super soldier programs are real or if science fiction movies have been lying to me for 40 years. :D

Doesnt the airforce still issue "go pills" Some sort of ampehtamine. Or did they stop that?

kartoffel
01-13-11, 07:10
Doesnt the airforce still issue "go pills" Some sort of ampehtamine. Or did they stop that?

Probably modafinil. Not an amphetamine.

nhskull21
01-13-11, 07:10
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.



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 (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=46479)



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.

This. The heightened blood pressure may have an affect of the bleeding issue. Also if if taken during surgery or post surgery antibiotics counter the effects of steroids. So while there fighting off steroids they could not be fully focused on fighting infection. Also some steroids strengthen the ammune system, some weaken it.

nhskull21
01-13-11, 07:12
Go ahead and take steroids. When your dick goes limp come on back here and tell us about it.

Useless waste of bandwidth.

nhskull21
01-13-11, 07:15
Probably modafinil. Not an amphetamine.

I recall it was for fighter pilots maybe pilots in general, dont remember the name. Though I could of sworn it was an amphetamine. There also was a scene in a mike moore movie where some US fighter pilots shot some friendly ground force and blamed it on there "go pills" Some kind of dextroamphetamine maybe? I havent seen it in awhile.

DaleKohl
02-02-18, 02:04
I never used steroids but special supplements like protein, omega, l-carnitin, etc. But most of guys at my gym take steroids and I must confess their results are way better than mine, some of them taking growth hormones 10+ years and they say they're okay with it. I guess everything depends on right dosage and cycle of consuming of HGH, if not abused everything will be ok. I am currently reading some info how HGH impacts weight loss ( here http://genf20plus.info/weight-loss-hgh.php ), I think I will consult a doctor, too, and ask for his opinion.

CPM
02-02-18, 10:23
I agree with steroid use and I am all for it. What I meant to say its funny how the government doesnt want us to be healthy as we can, perform better, or be better at something cause they think hormones are bad and should be illegal to a man wanting to build a better body. But if you want to destroy your body with a sex change you can have all the hormones you want some that bodybuilders would use and they would give them to you legally. Though no doctor would think of giving them to you for enhancement. And even getting TRT is hard. Not insulting anyone just the government-fda-whoever decides what schedule drugs are.

TRT is steroids. Don't let the name or the commercialization fool you.

Dr. Bullseye
02-02-18, 13:16
During WW2, the SS was issued Pervitin, a form of meth. It sharpened up the SS in the final days when sleep was impossible and moral would have been a problem. What I am saying is there is a long history of doping the military and we probably don't know 1/100th of the story.

WillBrink
02-02-18, 13:33
TRT is steroids. Don't let the name or the commercialization fool you.

That's some necro bump! Anyway, steroid is chemical term, which includes a wide range of compounds, testosterone being one of them. The term "steroid" is used incorrectly to mean anabolic steroids by most who use the term, usually with little to no understanding of them. TRT is TRT, and T is a steroid hormone. Most people aware of that least that much.

CPM
02-02-18, 21:01
That's some necro bump! Anyway, steroid is chemical term, which includes a wide range of compounds, testosterone being one of them. The term "steroid" is used incorrectly to mean anabolic steroids by most who use the term, usually with little to no understanding of them. TRT is TRT, and T is a steroid hormone. Most people aware of that least that much.

Let the record show there were two other posts today before mine!