Internet sites bring illegal steroids into home
Users weigh desired results against dangerous side-effects
by Dennis Dobson, reporter

    Steroids in the new millennium—is there really anything to be worried about?

   Currently, the debate is whether steroids should be illegal.

   “No, not in my opinion, as long as you have stopped growing, and you are not stupid about it,” Dustin Hunter, a NE Campus student, said.

   Hunter, who has worked at a local gym for over three years, has seen the use of steroids first hand.

   “About 30 percent of people working out in gyms today either have or are using steroids,” he said.

   Some of the side effects of steroid abuse, according to Steroid-Encyclopaedia.com, include cancer, liver damage, male breast development, heart attacks, impotence, roid rage or depression.

   However, scientists do not have proof that all of these side effects are caused by the use of steroids.

   Kirk Stroud, a local gym owner and former competitive bodybuilder, points out that since steroids were made a controlled or banned substance, any and all true testing of the effects of steroids has stopped.

   Before steroids were made illegal, the main way to obtain steroids was through a private doctor, Stroud said.

   “The only way a doctor would prescribe them to you is if you came in for regular testing to monitor the effects on your health,” he said.

   Now that the illegal steroid market is completely black market, there are no safety regulations or controls.

   “It is very hard to find out good accurate information about the effects and how to use these drugs,” he said.

   Amplifying the problem, the black market has gone global with the Internet.

   When one simply types in a key word, hundreds of unregulated sites pop up offering “incredible muscle growth with no side effects.”

   “The scary thing about the Internet is that you never know who you are dealing with or what kind of product you are getting,” he said.

   A 22-year-old NE student admits to using steroids and also to buying them off the Internet.

   “If I do it again, I will definitely spend more time reading about the effects and the proper ways of using steroids,” he said.

   When used in proper supervised doses, steroids have been proved to have great medical and physical benefits, such as speeding the healing process in the elderly and helping to get over common illnesses such as ear infections and viruses.

   Steroids have also been shown to slow down and sometimes stop the AIDS virus.

   When used in proper doses with a correct diet and consistent workout schedule, users claim that incredible results can be obtained relatively risk free.

   However, those considering using steroids should realize that some risks are not “relative” or minor. Some are deadly.

   “You never get something for free. There is always a price,” Stroud said.