Anabolic Steroids
Anabolic Steroid Use
Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. The full name is androgenic (promoting masculine characteristics) anabolic (building) steroids (the class of drugs).
These derivatives of testosterone promote the growth of skeletal muscle and increase lean body mass. Anabolic steroids were first abused non medically by elite athletes seeking to improve performance.
Today, athletes and others use steroids to enhance performance and also to improve physical appearance.
Extent Of Use
Monitoring the Future assesses drug use among adolescents and young adults across the country.
Because of growing professional and public concern over the misuse and abuse of steroids by adolescents and young adults, questions regarding anabolic steroid use were added to the Monitoring the Future Study in 1989 to afford a better understanding of the extent of the problem.
From 1989 to 1993 there was a slight, gradual decline in lifetime and annual prevalence of anabolic steroid use among 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. In 1994 and 1995 the levels remained about the same. In 1996, the levels showed another decline.
Among the class of 1996, 1.9 percent of high school seniors had used anabolic steroids at least once in their lifetimes; 1.4 percent had used steroids in the past year.
In 1996, 1.8 percent of 8th-graders and 1.8 percent of 10th-graders had used anabolic steroids at least once in their lifetimes, and 0.9 percent of 8th-graders and 1.2 percent of 10th-graders had used anabolic steroids within the past year.
Anabolic Steroid Use By Students, 1996
| Category |
|
8th Grade | 10th Grade | 12th Grade |
| Ever Used |
|
1.8% | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| Used in Past Year |
|
0.9% | 1.2% | 1.4% |
| Used in Past Month |
|
0.4% | 0.5% | 0.7% |
|
|
|
In addition to data regarding use, the study reported students' attitudes toward steroid use.
In 1996, 67.6 percent of seniors perceived great risk in trying steroids; in 1995, that number was 66.4 percent.
In 1996, 91.7 percent of seniors said they disapproved of people who use steroids; in 1995, 91.0 percent disapproved.
In 1996, 40.3 percent of seniors felt it would be fairly or very easy for them to get steroids; in 1995, that number was 45.5 percent.
Attitudes Of High School Seniors Toward Anabolic Steroids
| Category |
|
1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
| Perceive Risk |
|
66.1% | 66.4% | 67.6% |
| Disapprove Of |
|
91.9% | 91.0% | 91.7% |
| Easy To Get |
|
42.9% | 45.5% | 40.3% |
Methods Of Use
Steroids are taken orally or injected, and athletes and other abusers take them typically in cycles of weeks or months, rather than continuously, in patterns called cycling.
Cycling involves taking multiple doses of steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting again. In addition, users frequently combine several different types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects, a process known as stacking.
Supply
The supply of anabolic steroids comes primarily from three sources: anabolic steroids are manufactured legally or illegally outside the United States and smuggled into this country (most often through the mail); they are manufactured legally and diverted to supply the black market; and they are manufactured in clandestine laboratories.
The anabolic steroids seized by the U.S. Customs Service have come from several countries, including Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Great Britain, Portugal, France, and Peru. Many substances sold as anabolic steroids are actually counterfeits. There are dangers inherent in using steroids of unknown origin and purity.
Possession and distribution of anabolic steroids for nonmedical purposes are illegal under Federal law.
In November 1990, steroids were added to Schedule III of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, which made the nonmedical possession of anabolic steroids a criminal act and greatly increased the penalties for steroid distribution.
Possession of steroids is now punishable by up to 1 year in prison, and distribution can draw a sentence of up to 5 years and a fine of $250,000.
--- from the national institute on drug abuse
Books Anabolic Steroids:
Ultimate Research Guide
If you want to learn more about anabolic steroids, or use them in as safe a manner as possible, this book is easy to understand. This is not a book written by a doctors who have never used roids. The author is a user himself.
Anabolic Steroids
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