As expected, Congress’ kneejerk reaction to the spectacle of drugs in sports is to have more hearings, introduce more legislation, spend more money enforcing additional civil and criminal penalties for sale and possession of performance-enhancing drugs. The reliable anti-steroid warriors Sen. Charles Grassley [R, IA] and Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY] have introduced bills to […]
Steroid News
Steroid News Stories and Contextual Ads
Google has made millions of dollars from companies selling steroids through Google’s contextual ad service. But Google was assisted by mainstream news outlets like NYTimes.com and CNN.com who displayed the ads offering “steroids for sale.” Michael Arrington recently commented on this at TechCrunch: The problem with automated advertising on news sites has always been the […]
“Therapeutic Use Exemption” Loophole
Major League Baseball claimed, in the Mitchell Report, that they have not issued “therapeutic use exemptions” (TUE) for growth hormone (GH). The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) describes these medical exemptions as follows: Athletes, like all others, may have illnesses or conditions that require them to take particular medications. If the medication an athlete is required […]
Hearsay and Steroid Use in Baseball
The Mitchell Report has received its fair share of commentary including my own criticisms of the report. But many are erroneously describing much of its content as hearsay, especially the “outing” on anabolic steroid users in baseball by federal informants, Kirk Radomski and Brian McNamee. For example… Scott Boras, prominent sports agent for many pro […]
Testosterone Loophole in Drug Testing
Is it conceivable that every Major League Baseball player could use performance-enhancing dosages of testosterone and never test positive for a banned substance? Sure, although unlikely, the information is out there. There are more than a few chemists who could figure out how to exploit a testosterone loophole in drug testing: I could figure out how to take […]
Evidence of Steroid Use in Baseball
The Mitchell Report made some nice weekend reading; it was a good piece of investigative journalism on the history of steroid use in professional baseball. I’ve offered my criticism of the Mitchell Report as being an overpriced review of secondary sources that was extensively documented elsewhere. But I must admit there was a good amount of primary […]
Therapeutic Use Exemptions for Performance Enhancing Drugs
I’ve previously discussed known loopholes for testosterone use in drug testing programs. And of course, the fact that growth hormone use is undetectable via drug testing urinalysis makes it an easy and attractive drug for the athlete seeking performance enhancement. Just as problematic is the loophole of “therapeutic use exemptions” (TUE) for performance-enhancing drugs on […]
BALCO “Cream” Protocol and Problem with Drug Testing
What if every baseball player used the BALCO “cream” according to protocol? Would anyone fail the current MLB doping controls? I could figure out how to take a fair amount of testosterone and you’d never catch me, and if I can say that, a lot of others can too. Who is accredited with the aforementioned statement? Patrick […]
Steroid Use is “Like Terrorism”
Here is a recent example of an analogy that is used to demonize anabolic steroids in the context of doping in sports: It’s a little bit like terrorism. There’s always going to be a certain amount there, and maybe the best we can do is try to keep it at a low level. I don’t […]
Baseball’s Steroid Education Program
The Mitchell Report acknowledged that current steroid education programs used by Major League Baseball that focus on the dangerous side effects of anabolic steroids are generally ineffective: [T]hese health risks generally will not deter a player from using these substances. This is because players who use or are considering using performance enhancing substances do not […]