Abuse of anabolic steroids and their precursors by adolescent amateur athletes : hearing before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, One Hundred Eighth Congress, second session, July 13, 2004.

For more than two decades, the use of steroids by professional athletes has been widely reported. Indictments against executive officers of a San Francisco area nutritional supplements lab--and these indictments were Federal steroid distribution charges--have brought even more attention to the use of steroids. Recently, accusations of world-class track and baseball athletes using steroids have hit the news. But steroid use often begins even before athletes achieve international recognition. This hearing focuses on the availability of illegal steroids and on the pressures that young athletes face to use steroids to improve their performance. Anabolic steroids are easily purchased over the Internet, as well as from users who sell and distribute steroids in gyms. The ease with which anybody, including young people, can acquire these drugs, coupled with the high percentage of purchased steroids that are counterfeit, even heighten the severe health risks to the users. Opening statements for this hearing were provided by the Honorable Charles E. Grassley, U.S. Senator from Iowa; and the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, U.S. Senator from Delaware. Prepared statements from two panels were also presented. Panel I statements were presented by: Joseph T. Rannazzisi, Deputy Director, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration; Terrence P. Madden, Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; and William C. Martin, Donald R. Shepherd Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Panel II statements were presented by: John Doe, (hidden witness), College Athlete, NCAA Division I Football Team; Curtis A. Wenzlaff, Convict, Former User and Dealer of Illegal Steroids; Don Hooten, Father, Son Committed Suicide After Using Steroids; and Don H. Catlin, M.D., Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA Analytical Laboratory. Questions for the record were provided by: Joseph T. Rannazzisi; Terrence P. Madden; and Don H. Catlin, M.D.

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The first edition of this work, published in 1982, concentrated on the athlete's use of and the physician's knowledge of, anabolic steroids. This fully updated second edition discusses the continuing controversy over their use in competitive sports. An introduction of the use and abuse of anabolic steroids is followed by chapters on such topics as anabolic steroid compounds, the anabolic-to-androgen ratio, basic principles of muscle building, current anabolic steroid preparations, anabolic steroid regimes used by athletes, the enhancement of athletic performance, adverse physical effects and mental health risks, the classification of anabolic steroids as controlled substances, growth hormones and other anabolic hormones, the limits of urine drug testing, medical applications of anabolic steroids, muscle building and ergogenic supplements, and addictions.