The Phoenix Police Department has experienced its fair share of problems with the use of anabolic steroids by its officers over the past couple of years. An investigation by the local Phoenix CBS affiliate and KPHO.com exposed widespread use of steroids in the Phoenix PD. A subsequent federal investigation by the DEA and internal probe by Phoenix P.D. confirmed the same thing (“Federal steroid probe widens: 5 investigates how Phoenix police are responding,” July 23, 2007).
As a result, the State of Arizona has been under a greater deal of political pressure to do something about the “problem.” Today, we learned that the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board has agreed upon a course of action to eliminate steroid use by Arizona police officers (“State acts on ending officer juicing: Doctor works with State board on new rules,” March 21).
Arizona could soon be the first state in the country to forbid the use of illegal anabolic steroids in their police officers.
The introduction to the article caught me by surprise. After all, the illegal use of anabolic steroids is already a felony under federal law therefore illegal in ALL states (police officers included). The non-medical use of anabolic steroids is already prohibited by federal law and most state laws; most police departments around the country have explicit policies forbidding illegal steroid use by its officers as well. So, how could Arizona be the first state to ban illegal steroid use by police officers?
After reading the article carefully, it appears the new rules really don’t do anything to further enforce existing rules banning the illegal use of anabolic steroids. Instead, they seek to restrict the “medical use” of anabolic steroids by the officers under its authority.
The new rules give the State the authority to intervene in the doctor-patient relationships of police officers and define the acceptable medical treatment should an officer’s physician prescribe anabolic steroids.
- Any officer using injectable anabolic steroids must notify their commander within 72 hours.
- They must supply a doctor’s prescription within a week.
- The prescription can’t be any stronger than the FDA approved dose of 300 mg per two weeks.
The rules are allegedly needed because some physicians illegally prescribe steroids to police officers. If the steroids are illegally prescribed, why aren’t the physicians targeted? Why are the medical records of officers invaded instead? Why are local police departments given authority to dictate acceptable medical treatment for its officers?
Why does the State of Arizona feel an invasion of medical privacy is justified? Apparently, anabolic steroids become unacceptable the moment an officer starts lifting weights or bodybuilding or getting bigger!
“If somebody needs steroids where they have a disease or they can’t produce testosterone, they’re OK but if someone’s using it to bodybuild or get bigger, they’re not under the protection of the law,” Gutman said.
If the primary concern is hyper-muscular officers or bodybuilding, then perhaps a more effective policy would be to enforce maximum body mass index (BMI) as a condition of employment? Or ban officers from working out?! Of course, that is silly.
“Arizona will be the first state in the nation to protect its police officers from the ill effects of long-term steroids use and protect the public from somebody who has a steroids rage,” Gutman said.
It seems a little hypocritical for state officials to point to protecting the “health” of officers when they send officers out on the street to face violent offenders where they put their life at risk everyday. It seems to me that the best way to protect the short-term and long-term “health” of officers would be to provide them with every possible advantage over their opponents (i.e. dangerous criminals).
That really leaves protecting the public from so-called steroid “roid rage” as the primary reason that use of anabolic steroids by law enforcement is a major concern. Roid rage and the psychological effects of anabolic steroids have been covered extensively by true scientific researchers like Jack Darkes, PhD, a substance abuse expert at the University of South Florida.
Attorney Philip Sweitzer also has an excellent analysis of the issue of anabolic steroids in law enforcement (“Drug Law Enforcement in Crisis: Cops on Steroids“). I highly recommend it.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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