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The Fight Against Steroids In High School by Loring A. Windblad

Okay, let`s get real for a minute. I use steroids and have been for several months - again. And yes, I have used them in the past. I have them on doctor`s prescription, to help heal a very minor injury which caused a staff infection and two bouts of I/V antibiotics (21 total days at 2/day IVs) this year. The steroid I`m using is a hydrocortisone salve to help heal my skin from an abrasion and, hopefully, to help prevent another staff infection.

But – I’m not using steroids to help build muscle mass, improve physical performance at sports, or even to maintain my youthful sexual prowess into my dotage! My use is bad enough, that kind of use is downright dangerous.

How dangerous, you might ask? Well, see my article on the dangers of a simple little thing like artificial sweeteners, and the mounting evidence of not only carcinogenic damage but, worse, DNA damage to the genes. You know, the stuff you pass along to your children so they will grow up to be normal human beings rather than distorted freaks or sickly weaklings, or cripples, or..... But enough digression, back to Steroids, High School abuse and possible long-term consequences.

Way back in the late 1970`s I knew a woman who was so vain that she wanted to stay young, active and sexually attractive even though she was nearly 60. She was using steroids and she looked like she was sixtyish and using drugs, but she felt good, thought she looked great and her husband accepted it. She just wanted to `maximize the human experience` as long as possible and they both accepted the long-term consequences of her actions. We talked about it quite a lot at the time, and she had no illusions about rapid deterioration after use and possible cancer or tumors because of using the steroids.

First a brief look at Major League Sports - football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and track and field. The world has been using steroids and/or other performance enhancing drugs for about 40 years, to the point where Olympic Testing constantly turns up `champions` who have been using one or another of the performance enhancing drugs. Football stars, retired, have died in their 30`s and early 40`s of complications from performance enhancing drug use. A couple of young up and comers in pro baseball have recently died and several have tested positive for steroid use. So far there`s no real evidence in that either Hockey players or Basketball players have been using steroids, but I`ll wager that they have been and speculation on Television Sports Shows indicates that they have been.

Is there a steroid problem in High Schools? The answer is an emphatic yes! Is there a steroid problem in Junior Highs and Grade Schools? The answer is still an emphatic yes! Though not quite as bad as in our High Schools. Are we, as a nation, doing something about it? The answer is `Slowly, but a growing movement` is gaining steam against High School Steroid Use. Here`s a look at what`s happening nationwide (no data available on Canada).

According to a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, steroid use among high school students more than doubled between 1991 and 2003. More than 6% of 15,000 students surveyed admitted trying steroid pills or injections. At the same time less than 4% of the nation`s high schools were testing for steroids, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations` survey of athletic directors. Further, John Stewart, Commissioner of the Florida High School Athletic Association, asserts `there has to be a trickle-down effect` at the college and high school level, when citing the use of steroids at the professional level.

Independent surveys estimate 1.5% to 2% of Florida`s high school athletes might be using steroids. `But against a student base of 215,000 athletes, it`s kind of scary to think that possibly 4000 are at risk out there,` Stewart says. `We don`t want to see any youngster`s life at risk.` Stewart is also concerned by a study that showed not only football players and weightlifters, but females in the 9-to-11-year-old age group using them (steroids) to enhance their build. `That`s scary because it means parents are buying them for kids. And its a scary thing that society is dictating to kids that young that it`s OK to put your health at risk to have a body type that seems so critically important,` Stewart says.

Not only are steroids and other performance enhancing drugs being tested for, but there is a growing movement to test for all `recreational` drugs as well. With School Board approval, Polk County in Florida began testing for recreational drugs in 2004 and added steroid testing in January of this year, 2005.

The major problem faced by School Districts, School Boards and Athletic Departments is funding. At this time recreational drug tests cost approximately $18.00 per student to administer. The random steroid tests run upwards of $100 per test.

Other counties in Florida are following suit with both drug and steroid testing. Other states are also jumping on the bandwagon of testing. In May (2005) the Fort Zumwalt School District board in St. Charles County, MO, approved a voluntary testing program. Also last month the Texas House approved a bill directing the University Interscholastic League to develop a comprehensive education program for students, coaches and parents, and to survey high school students to gauge the level of anabolic steroid use. A 2002 study by Texas A&M University estimated up to 42,000 Texas students were abusing steroids. `Most parents would be shocked to learn - as I was - that teenagers use veterinary-grade anabolic steroids from Mexico - drugs made for horse, cattle and pigs,` King (Rep. Phil, Texas) notes.

Lawmakers in other states have considered bills that would mandate statewide testing programs for student athletes. Opponents argue that money and time could be spent far more efficiently. California has implemented new regulations requiring parents, players and school officials to sign contracts promising athletes will avoid steroid use. Just before the California Interscholastic Federation voted in favor of the new rules, Frank Marrero of Vacaville recalled how his 19-year-old son`s addiction to steroids and paranoia led to his suicide by gunshot.

In summary, we do seem to have an epidemic of drug and steroid use among both athletes and non-athletes (see ref. to 11-year-old girl above). We already have proof that continued abuse with steroids will cause the body to break down physically, will cause in particular certain types of tumors to develop, and will often eventually develop into a form of cancer. I`m reminded of the long-term problems resulting from exposure to Agent Orange by Vietnam Vets. I`m also put in mind of the DNA and genetic changes documented above, in artificial sweeteners, and believe that time and testing will show possible genetic/DNA damage from steroids, as well.

We are playing with our human genetic future using all sorts of `chemical substitutes and enhancements` - steroids, performance enhancing drugs, artificial sweeteners, genetically modified organisms (food grains, etc., hard to digest).

Disclaimer: This article in no way should be taken as “medical advice” on any product, condition or course of action, nor does it constitute in any way “medical advice” endorsing any specific product, specific result, nor any possible cure for any condition or problem. This article is meant as a source of information upon which you may base your decision as to whether or not you should begin using any vitamin, mineral and/or herbal supplement for better health, or begin using a “greens” product as a dietary supplement.

If in doubt, or if you have questions, you should consult your physician and, if possible, consult a second physician for a possible different opinion. The author does not bear any responsibility for your decisions nor for the outcome of your actions based upon those decisions.

Reference includes Author`s personal experience and memory and USA Today Sports Weekly for June 8-14, 2005. Check this edition for additional and very frightening information on High School steroid use.

Author Info:

Loring Windblad has studied nutrition and exercise for more than 40 years, is a published author and freelance writer.

This article is Copyright 2005 by http://www.organicgreens.us, http://www.organicgreens.ca and Loring Windblad. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text, including the Authors Resource Box, intact and unchanged except for minor improvements.

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