For WSU Drugs&Society HE285 OL

1. ANABOLIC STEROIDS
THEY’RE NOT JUST FOR BODYBUILDERS ANYMORE
Tracy Weeks-Gariepy

2. IS IT A DRUG OR A HORMONE?
• WHILE MOST COMMONLY NAMED DRUGS (SUCH AS COCAINE, HEROINE,
MARIJUANA, ETC) ARE PLANT-DERIVED, ANABOLIC STEROIDS ARE NOT.
• ANABOLIC ANDROGENIC STEROIDS ARE MALE HORMONE REPLACEMENTS
• ANABOLIC: THE BUILDING AND GROWTH OF MUSCLE TISSUE
• ANDROGENIC: PERTAINING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MALE CHARACTERISTICS
• STEROIDS: A CLASS OF ORGANIC STRUCTURE CHARACTERIZED BY ITS SPECIFIC
COMPOUND, GENERALLY CONTAINING FOUR CARBON RINGS

3. Q: BUT AREN’T STEROIDS FOUND IN PLANTS
TOO?
• A: YES, MANY FOODS CONTAIN STEROIDS! THOSE ARE NATURAL STEROIDS, AND
NOT CONSIDERED A “DRUG” LIKE THE SYNTHETIC ANABOLIC STEROIDS ABUSED
TODAY

4. ANABOLIC STEROIDS ARE ABUSED BY MEN
AND WOMEN, FOR VARIOUS REASONS
BECAUSE OF ITS MUSCLE-ENLARGING
EFFECTS, SOME BODYBUILDERS, BOTH
MEN AND WOMEN, HAVE BEEN TEMPTED
INTO (OR ACCUSED OF) ABUSING
ANABOLIC STEROIDS
BUT EVEN THOSE IN MORE TRADITIONAL
PROFESSIONS LIKE FIREFIGHTING AND
LAW ENFORCEMENT HAVE BEEN VICTIMS
OF ADDICTION, BECAUSE OF THE
PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF ADDED
STRENGTH ON THE JOB

5. GROWING
PROBLEM IN THE
MILITARY
“I WANTED TO GET STRONGER. I KNEW WE WERE
DEPLOYING," ONE SOLDIER, WHO USED AN
INJECTABLE STEROID AS HE TRAINED FOR
AFGHANISTAN, TOLD INVESTIGATORS. "WE HAD
THIS ROAD MARCH THROUGH THE WOODS
[DURING TRAINING], AND I ALMOST FELL OUT,
AND THEY HAD TO TAKE MY WEAPON ... I
WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN
OVER THERE.“*
HTTP://WWW.SEATTLETIMES.COM/SEATTLE-NEWS/STEROID-USE-ON-THE-RISE-IN-THE-ARMY/
AN ARTICLE RELEASED BY THE SEATTLE
TIMES IN 2010 STATED A NUMBER OF
INTERVIEWS AND RESEARCH THAT
INDICATES ANABOLIC STEROID ABUSE IN
THE MILITARY IS ON THE RISE
• IN ONE BATTALION INTERVIEWED,
SOLDIERS ESTIMATED THAT AT
LEAST HALF OF THE BATTALION HAD
TRIED STEROIDS
• SOLDIERS IN IRAQ ADMIT THAT
STEROID USE IS OPEN AND
UNADDRESSED OR INVESTIGATED

6. OK, SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
• PEOPLE WHO ABUSE ANABOLIC STEROIDS MAY BE TAKING 10-100 TIMES THE
LEGAL DOSE THAT DOCTORS PRESCRIBE FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS (CANCER,
AIDS, ETC)
• USING AND/OR ABUSING STEROIDS DOES NOT CREATE THE “HIGH” THAT OTHER
DRUGS DO, AS IT DOES NOT HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON DOPAMINE LEVELS.
HOWEVER, LONG TERM ABUSE STILL NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE BRAIN, AND CAN
SEVERELY ALTER A PERSON’S MOODS AND BEHAVIORS
• SEVERE MOOD SWINGS LIKE THESE ARE SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS “ROID
RAGE”

7. SOME NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS DEPEND ON
THE USER
MEN
• ADDITIONAL TESTOSTERONE IN
THE SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY
SYNTHETIC, CAN CAUSE THE
TESTICLES TO SHRINK
• THIS CAN ALSO LEAD TO
DECREASED SPERM
PRODUCTION
• MEN MAY ALSO EXPERIENCE
BALDNESS
• INCREASED RISK OF PROSTATE
CANCER
WOMEN
ALTHOUGH WOMEN HAVE SOME
TESTOSTERONE IN THEIR BODIES
NATURALLY, INCREASING THIS
SYNTHETICALLY CAN LEAD TO:
• MALE-PATTERENED BALDNESS
• EXCESS FACIAL HAIR/BODY HAIR
• DEEPENED VOICE
• ALTERATION OF MENSTRUAL
CYCLE
CHILDREN/TEENS
INCREASING HORMONE LEVELS IN
CHILDREN AND TEENS WILL SIGNAL
THE BODY TO STOP NECESSARY
BONE GROWTH, CAUSING
• STUNTED GROWTH
• STUNTED HEIGHT
ESSENTIALLY, THE LONG TERM
EFFECT IS THAT TEENS WILL SEE
THE OPPOSITE EFFECT FROM WHAT
THEY WERE SEEKING.

8. STEROID ABUSE CAN BE LIFE-THREATENING
• MAJOR HEALTH EFFECTS OF
STEROID ABUSE INCLUDE LIVER
FAILURE, KIDNEY FAILURE, AND A
NUMBER OF HEART-HEALTH ISSUES
INCLUDING
• INCREASED BLOOD PRESSURE
• INCREASED SIZE OF THE HEART
• CHANGES TO BLOOD CHOLESTEROL
• INCREASED RISK OF HEART ATTACK
AND STROKE, EVEN AT YOUNG
AGES

9. TREATMENT OPTIONS
• EVEN THOUGH ANABOLIC STEROIDS DO NOT CREATE THE HIGH THAT OTHER
DRUGS DO, THEY CAN STILL BE ADDICTIVE
• SUDDEN DISCONTINUATION OF STEROID ABUSE CAN LEAD TO WITHDRAWAL,
THEREFORE SOME PATIENTS HAVE REQUIRED MEDICINAL
INTERVENTION/THERAPY
• BEHAVIORAL THERAPY HAS ALSO BEEN EFFECTIVE IN SOME PATIENTS

10. YOU DECIDE: SHOULD STEROIDS BE
INCLUDED IN THE WAR AGAINST DRUGS?
SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER:
• STEROIDS ARE NOT SOUGHT OUT FOR A “HIGH” AS THEY DO NOT AFFECT THE BRAIN AND
BODY THE SAME WAY OTHER DRUGS DO
• STEROID USE APPEARS TO BE ON THE DECLINE WITH TEENAGERS, DOWN TO APPROXIMATELY
1.5%
• STEROID USE IS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 1-6% OF ATHLETES
• OUTSIDE OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS, VERY LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON
STEROID USE, ABUSE, AND TREATMENT OPTIONS
SO…
IS IT A NON-PROBLEM OR AN UNKNOWN PROBLEM?

11. REFERENCES
NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE (2006) RESEARCH REPORT SERIES,
ANABOLIC STEROID ABUSE. RETRIEVED FROM:
HTTPS://WWW.DRUGABUSE.GOV/PUBLICATIONS/DRUGFACTS/ANABOLIC-
STEROIDS
BERNTON, H. (NOV 20, 2010) STEROID USE ON THE RISE IN THE ARMY, SEATTLE
TIMES. RETRIEVED FROM: HTTP://WWW.SEATTLETIMES.COM/SEATTLE-
NEWS/STEROID-USE-ON-THE-RISE-IN-THE-ARMY/