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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning for bodybuilding supplements that may contain illegal and dangerous steroids.Bodybuilding supplements make up a huge component of the health and fitness market because people think that by spending money on supplements and using them they can get in good shape.

According to the FDA products made by American Cellular Laboratories, Inc., may actually contain certain types of synthetic steroids that can be dangerous to your health.

They have sent a warning letter to the company regarding their supplements, which include; “TREN-Xtreme,” “MASS Xtreme,” “ESTRO Xtreme,” “AH-89-Xtreme,” “HMG Xtreme,” “MMA-3 Xtreme,” “VNS-9 Xtreme,” and “TT-40-Xtreme.”

Steroids have been proven to be harmful to the liver and kidneys, thus the agency is warning consumers to stay away from products that boast to contain steroid like ingredients.

“Although products containing synthetic steroids are frequently marketed as dietary supplements, they are not dietary supplements, but instead are unapproved new drugs that have not been reviewed by the FDA for safety and effectiveness,” the agency said in a statement.

Source - www.dbtechno.com

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July 28, 2009

The Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory today warning consumers to stop using body-building products that are marketed as containing steroids or steroid-like substances.

The FDA has received reports of “serious adverse events” associated with the use of these products, including serious liver injury, stroke, kidney failure and pulmonary embolism (artery blockage in the lung). The agency advises consumers to stop ingesting body-building products — no matter who is the manufacturer – that claimto contain steroid-like substances or to enhance or diminish androgen-, estrogen-, or progestin-like effects in the body.

The agency also issued a warning letter to American Cellular Laboratories Inc. for marketing and distributing body-building products containing synthetic steroid substances. The FDA said that although these products are marketed as dietary supplements, they are actually unapproved and misbranded drugs.

The FDA has received five adverse-event reports, including serious liver injury, in men taking products marketed as dietary supplements by American Cellular Laboratories including TREN-Xtreme and MASS Xtreme. Acute liver injury is known to be a possible side effect of using products that contain anabolic steroids. Some of the cases resulted in hospitalization, but there were no reports of death or acute liver failure.

“Products marketed for body-building and claiming to contain steroids or steroid-like substances are illegal and potentially quite dangerous,” said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg. “The FDA is taking enforcement action today to protect the public.”

The products listed in the warning letter to American Cellular Laboratories include “TREN-Xtreme,” “MASS Xtreme,” “ESTRO Xtreme,” “AH-89-Xtreme,” “HMG Xtreme,” “MMA-3 Xtreme,” “VNS-9 Xtreme,” and “TT-40-Xtreme,” and are sold on the Internet and in some stores. These products, which claim to contain steroid-like ingredients but in fact contain synthetic steroid substances, are unapproved new drugs because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective. In addition, the products are misbranded because the label is misleading and does not provide adequate directions for use.

Consumers taking body-building supplements that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances should stop using them immediately. Consumers should also consult a healthcare professional if they suspect they are experiencing problems associated with the products. Healthcare professionals and consumers are encouraged to report adverse events that may be related to the use of these types of products to the FDA’s MedWatch Program by calling (800) FDA-1088.

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OLYMPIA — A 20-year-old former Olympia High School football player who helped steal more than $12,000 worth of testosterone-enhancing bodybuilding supplements from The Vitamin Shoppe on Cooper Point Road in December was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days of work release from the Thurston County Jail.

Olympia police Det. Jeff Herbig learned in February that Zachary Riedel was using a personal e-mail address to sell “14 items that directly matched items stolen from the store,” court papers state.

During the burglary on Dec. 29, suspects gained entry by breaking a window and stole 286 “testosterone building products” used in bodybuilding that had a retail value of $12,609, court papers state.

As part of Riedel’s plea deal, he pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count each of second-degree burglary, first-degree theft, trafficking stolen property and unlawful manufacturing of marijuana, due to detectives finding 50 marijuana plants in his DuPont apartment when they served a search warrant there in February.

Riedel was a starting center on Olympia High School’s football team for the 2005 season, according to an article in The Olympian. He was listed as a senior in 2006, listed at 6-feet, 2-inches tall weighing 220 pounds. According to Riedel’s MySpace page, he is enrolled at South Puget Sound Community College, majoring in criminal justice.

In exchange for Riedel’s guilty plea, Thurston County deputy prosecuting attorney David Bruneau recommended that Riedel serve 90 days at the Thurston County Jail.

Bruneau said that there were two major reasons he recommended the one-year jail sentence for Riedel as part of a first-time offender program in exchange for his guilty plea. One is that Riedel has no prior criminal history. The other is that Riedel has cooperated with Olympia police and provided useful information in an ongoing investigation of a large number of burglaries — perhaps up to 50 — by other suspects in the Thurston County area.

Olympia police Lt. Jim Costa said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing, and there could be more arrests in other area commercial burglaries that go back years. He would not elaborate because of the investigation.

Riedel apologized in court Tuesday before his sentencing. Riedel said he’s sorry for what he’s done and added that he’s “taking full responsibility for my actions.”

Riedel’s attorney John Sinclair said that Riedel comes from a good family, is employed, and was not the ringleader in the burglary of The Vitamin Shoppe. Sinclair added that Riedel plans to pay full restitution for the burglary.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy told Riedel that he’s lucky he’s not going to prison for his four felony convictions. “If you weren’t so cooperative to police, you’d be going to prison,” she said.

When Olympia police served a search warrant at Riedel’s DuPont apartment in February, they found 50 marijuana plants in the basement, along with “62 bottles of miscellaneous bodybuilding supplements and other products which matched the stolen property list,” court papers state.

Sinclair said that Riedel can serve his sentence on work release, spending nights at the jail but working during the day, provided he keeps his job. Sinclair would not give details of Riedel’s employment.

Riedel and his family declined to comment after Tuesday’s court hearing.

Source - http://seattletimes.nwsource.com

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Abu Dhabi: Health Ministry and Customs inspectors have foiled an attempt to smuggle 33,000 hormone injections into the country through Abu Dhabi airport.

Dr Amin Hussain Al Amiri, Executive Director of Medical Practices and Licensing Affairs at the ministry, said interception took place two weeks ago when the shipment was detected by inspectors after three people came to the office to release a garments shipment.

The men told the inspectors there were medicines for personal use included in the shipment.

The inspectors discovered that the shipment did not include clothes, as declared in the insurance policy, but instead it included commercial quantities of hormone injections.

Al Amiri added that the ministry has coordinated with Abu Dhabi Customs and the Economic Development Department on taking legal measures against the shipper and consignee.

Source - www.gulfnews.com

ABU DHABI // Customs officers and health inspectors have foiled an attempt to smuggle 33,000 steroid injections – typically used by bodybuilders – into the country, according to the state news agency, WAM.

Inspectors uncovered the cargo at Abu Dhabi International Airport earlier this month when three people claiming to work for a fabric importing company asked for clearance for a container marked as containing clothes, fabrics and what they claimed was medication intended for personal use.

When they checked the container, inspectors found a large quantity of a controlled hormonal drug in the form of injections that they said was intended for sale. The drugs, which were manufactured in Bulgaria, may have been counterfeit, according to health officials. There was no sign of any clothes or fabric.

Amin al Amiri, executive director for medical practices and licensing at the Ministry of Health, said the “misleading behaviour” was “fraudulent and liable to legal prosecution”.

“Having resorted to deceit and forgery in its bill of lading,” the company concerned must be subject to the pertinent legal procedures, he said.

Mr al Amiri said the drugs were a type of anabolic steroids scientifically labelled as “androgens” that are widely used among bodybuilders.

“These androgens are indeed the most dangerous form of doping, as they have a rapid boosting effect on muscle volume and body stimulation,” he added.

“Men and women use them despite their dangers and side-effects, namely, hormonal imbalance leading to aggressive tendencies.”

The ministry has listed the products as a controlled drug that must be used in strictly controlled medical treatment.It is illegal to give them to patients without a specialist’s prescription, which is then held at the pharmacy to make sure it is not reused.

The hormone injections seized at the airport were not registered with the ministry and had been imported from Bulgaria.

Mr al Amiri told The National: “Those medications are illegal and not registered in the country. Some of the medication was counterfeit.

“These people want to gain money illegally. The medicine is used in bodybuilder clubs to increase muscles and for illegal practices. It is dangerous because medications should only be prescribed by physicians. Usage may cause serious complications.”

Source - www.thenational.ae

When it comes to characteristics associated with muscle dysmorphia, there is no difference between bodybuilders who use steroids and those who do not, a University of Arkansas researcher found.

Muscle dysmorphia is a disorder characterized by an individual’s excessive preoccupation with muscularity and body fat percentage, usually in bodybuilding. It is predominantly evident in males when there is a pathological preoccupation with a lack of muscular size and leanness.

Timothy Baghurst, a visiting assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Arkansas, believes he had the disorder at one time in his life, which prompted his research in the area. Daniel Kissinger is a licensed professional counselor who helped shape and integrate the mental health elements of the study and discussion of muscle dysmorphia with Baghurst.

“One of the problems associated with classifying muscular dysmorphia is that, while it is receiving increasing attention in the mental health literature, muscle dysmorphia is not recognized by the American Psychological Association as a distinct mental illness,” said Kissinger.

However, “studies have linked muscle dysmorphia with diagnoses from several recognized diagnostic categories, including somatoform disorders, eating disorders and anxiety disorders,” he said. “Still, it is likely that the notion of muscle dysmorphia and its larger clinical implications remain unfamiliar to many mental health professionals.”

Baghurst also found that there is no agreement as to how muscle dysmorphia should be measured.

“Currently, there is no way to measure if a person has muscle dysmorphia,” Baghurst said. “Inventories measure only the degree of traits and characteristics associated with muscular dysmorphia.”

“With respect to muscle dysmorphia, there is no cut off to determine whether or not someone has it,” Baghurst said. “We have a continuum, where some people fall on the high end, some on the low end, but most fall in the middle.”

In his research, Baghurst made a distinction between bodybuilders that was not previously made. He divided bodybuilders into the sub-groups of “natural” and “non-natural.” Natural bodybuilding refers to competitions in which participants are drug-tested and must pass a polygraph regarding their lack of prohibited drug use. Non-natural bodybuilding refers to those competitions in which participants are not required to pass a polygraph, nor are they drug tested prior to competition.

Baghurst found that steroid use is not necessary to be heavily concerned with muscularity and leanness.

“Most people will assume bodybuilders using steroids are those with muscle dysmorphia,” he said. “By separating natural and non-natural bodybuilders, I found that either group is equally likely to have all of the traits of muscle dysmorphia with the exception of pharmacological use.”

Baghurst used the 27-question Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory to survey participants. The participants consisted of competitive natural and non-natural bodybuilders, non-competitive weight trainers who concentrate on improving physique and collegiate football players. The collegiate football players scored lowest on all subscales of muscle dysmorphia except for physique protection, where they scored highest. He found that collegiate football players do not appear to exhibit traits associated with muscle dysmorphia to the same degree as other weight-training groups.

Baghurst also found those males who were weight training to improve their physique, but were not bodybuilders also had some characteristics associated with muscle dysmorphia including dissatisfaction with their size and symmetry.

“This is an important finding, because it shows that someone doesn’t have to be big and buff to have concerns about how muscular they are or how much body fat they have,” Baghurst said.

The results of Baghurst’s research were published in the international journal Body Image in June 2009 and his review of previous studies of muscle dysmorphia was released in Volume 8 of the International Journal of Men’s Health of 2009.

Kissinger was the second author of the article in the International Journal of Men’s Health.

“Although this study was not aimed at mental health professionals specifically, the link between muscle dysmorphia and higher usage levels of laxatives, diuretics and steroids among non-natural bodybuilders has clear implications for mental health professionals,” he said.

The article was a “theoretical challenge for people to go further in the direction of muscle dysmorphia study,” Baghurst said.

Baghurst and Kissinger are both professors in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. Baghurst is a visiting assistant professor in health science, kinesiology, recreation and dance. Kissinger is an assistant professor of counselor education in the department of rehabilitation, human resources and communication disorders.

Source - www.physorg.com

NPC Oklahoma bodybuilder and promoter Tom Burke pleaded guilty to a criminal felony steroid conspiracy charge on June 4, 2009 and was granted a deferred sentence of two years probation. Burke’s plea will be expunged without a conviction upon successful completion of the deferred sentence. Burke was one of 6 Oklahoma NPC and IFBB bodybuilders arrested in April 2009 arising out on a two-year steroid investigation targeting Oklahoma bodybuilders.

Tulsa Police interrogated Burke a week prior to his arrest at Symmetry Gym in Tulsa, where he worked as a personal trainer, and allegedly discovered human growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone in his car. Burke was accused of giving anabolic steroids and HGH to bodybuilders at Symmetry Gym to help them prepare for competition according to his arrest warrant. Burke previously competed at the 2007 Branch Warren Classic and helped co-promote the Oklahoma State and Central Classic in previous years.

Agent Brian Surber, of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control (OBNDDC), has suggested there will be further arrests in the ongoing Oklahoma investigation targeting bodybuilders.

Source -www.mesomorphosis.com

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Fort Bend County, Texas–(ENEWSPF)– Milton Wright, Fort Bend County Sheriff, Zoran B. Yankovich, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Houston Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, John Healey, Fort Bend County District Attorney, Tim Johnson, United States Attorney, Southern District of Texas, Rodney E. Clarke, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division of the Houston Field Office and Tommy Hennesy, Resident Agent-in-Charge, F.D.A. Austin announce the arrest of 73 defendants targeted in an investigation dubbed Operation “Farmacia de Juicy Phruit”.

In August 2006, The Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force, which is a Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Enforcement Team and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Houston Field Division, initiated Operation“Farmacia de Juicy Phruit”. Those individuals identified during this investigation were part of an international drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of hundreds of thousands of dosage units of anabolic steroids, human growth hormones, MDMA (ecstasy) and controlled pharmaceutical substances to include; Anabolic steroids, Human Growth Hormones, Hydrocodone, Xanax and Viagra.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Milton Wright commented, “In my thirteen years as Sheriff of Fort Bend County this is by far one of the largest and most significant action our Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force has initiated and enforced. This investigation is in fact by far the largest drug enforcement operation successfully executed in Fort Bend History. For that and many other reasons I commend our Narcotics Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration, Houston Field Division along with the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, all of the local law enforcement agencies, the United States Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In connection with Operation “Farmacia de Juicy Phruit” 51 defendants have been indicted by the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office and 22 defendants have been indicted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas. Today, agents and officers of the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office, the Fort Bend County HIDTA Enforcement Team, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Rosenberg Police Department, Houston Police Department (HPD), HPD SWAT, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) arrested a total of 59 defendants in connection with Operation “Farmacia de Juicy Phruit”. Arrests have also been made in Georgia, Louisiana, California and Indiana.

Those defendants in state custody face charges to include conspiracy to manufacture or deliver controlled substances and conspiracy to commit delivery of dangerous drugs. If convicted on felony charges each defendant faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.

Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey commented, “Our citizens should be proud that their law enforcement agencies are sending the message that the scourge of illegal steroids needs to be driven from our communities. People need only look at the tragic example of former professional athletes to realize that illegal steroid use can destroy their life.”

Special Agent-in-Charge of the Houston Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Zoran B. Yankovich commented “DEA and its law enforcement counterparts have uncovered an elaborate drug trafficking network involving the importation and distribution of anabolic steroids, human growth hormones, and addictive pharmaceutical drugs. We have seen too many times the dangers of steroids, HGH and prescription drug abuse. These drugs are harmful and they ruin lives, families and communities. DEA will continue to work everyday to rid our communities of these harmful poisons and the criminals who sell them.

Those defendants in Federal custody face charges to include money laundering, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to manufacture and possess a controlled substance. If convicted defendants can face up to 5 years in prison and be required to pay up to $250,000.00 in fines. The money laundering charge holds a penalty of up to 25 years in prison and up to $500,000.00 in fines.

Special Agent-in-Charge of the Houston Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, commented, “This case brings together the Federal, State and Local Agencies to identify, investigate and vigorously prosecute those involved in International Drug Trafficking and Money
Laundering Activities. IRS – CI remains committed to working with its Law Enforcement Partners to identify those involved in these illegal activites. These arrests were the result of a two year investigation by the Fort Bend County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Enforcement Team, the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This is an ongoing investigation which initially started as a local investigation targeting individual distributors of anabolic steroids. As the investigation evolved it uncovered regional, national and international targets involved in the illegal importation of controlled substances from China, Europe and Canada. Over time the investigation crossed the lines from illegal distribution of anabolic steroids to illegal distribution of prescription drugs and distribution of designer drugs such as MDMA/ecstasy.

Criminal complaints and indictments by a grand jury are accusatory in nature and should not be considered a determination of guilt. All defendants are considered innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.

Source -www.enewspf.com

According to medical records, Tustin records prescribed steroids to patients without examining them in person, placing some of them at risk.

A Tustin doctor, who has been investigated for making thousands of prescriptions over the Internet, pleaded guilty to illegally distributing anabolic steroids, smuggling human growth hormones into the country and money laundering.

Ramon Scruggs, a 61-year-old doctor who had been practicing medicine for almost 27 years, admitted in a plea agreement in San Jose that he distributed the drugs to patients between 2000 and 2003 while he practiced medicine in New Hope Health Center in Costa Mesa. According to a statement issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the doctor admitted to prescribing HGH and steroids without a medical justification and that he knew at times the substances would be used by the patients for performance enhancement.

According to records, Scruggs’ medical license was revoked in 2007 by the Medical Board of California after he allegedly set up a website in 1999 where patients were allowed to receive prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy and anabolic steroids, which are used to increase muscle mass, strength and endurance. According to disciplinary records of the medical board, 6,073 prescriptions were issued.

In his plea agreement, Scruggs admitted to distributing 250 to 1,000 vials of anabolic steroids and that in May 17, 2003, he prescribed anabolic steroid testosterone to a patient in Santa Clara County. He also admitted to asking other for help in distributing the drugs, including asking someone to transfer $3,605 from his account to China, funds that were to be used to pay for HGH.

Scruggs license was revoked in 2007 and according to records, he was required by the medical board to enroll in classes regarding practices in prescribing drugs, keeping medical records, ethics, and a $4,800 fine.

According to the records, Scruggs “committed acts and/or omissions constituting gross negligence in his evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, medication, monitoring, record keeping, advice, care and handling,” of several patients.

Examples of treatment that Scruggs provided over the telephone and without a physical examination are outlined in disciplinary records.

One patient, identified as Erich M. from Florida, developed two benign tumors.

According to records that were reviewed, Erich M. contacted Scruggs through the phone and told him he wanted to increase his weight to 220 pounds from the 175 he weighed at the time. Scruggs prescribed several drugs, which the patient stopped taking after he had “unsatisfactory results.”

Another patient, identified as Bruce R. of New York City, had a history of hypertension and contacted the doctor because he wanted to gain weight. Without an examination, Scruggs prescribed anabolic steroids and testosterone.

“The use of testosterone and anabolic steroids in a patient with hypertension is dangerous since they may exacerbate hypertension and cause fluid retention, as occurred in this case,” according to records.

In another case, Scruggs prescribed steroids after a phone consultation even though the patient suffered from high fat levels in the blood, a practice that placed the patient at a substantial risk of cardiovascular disease, according to records.

Scruggs is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 14 in San Jose. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a $250,000 fine for smuggling human growth hormone and 20 years for money laundering.

Scruggs could not be immediately reached for comment.

Source - www.ocregister.com

TAMPA - A federal magistrate today ordered the release of a Lakeland man who told authorities he sold steroids to professional athletes.

Richard Thomas, 35, will be allowed to live with his mother in Lakeland after they sign paperwork agreeing to forfeit $25,000 if he flees prosecution or fails to appear for a court hearing.

U.S. Magistrate Thomas Wilson agreed to the recommendation by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen that Thomas be released under the supervision of the court’s pretrial services department. Thomas must submit to random drug testing, surrender his passport and not possess any firearms.

State charges against Thomas were dismissed after the federal charges were filed last week.

His attorney, Mark Taylor, wouldn’t comment on reports that his client told authorities he sold steroids to professional athletes. Asked about Thomas’ cooperation with authorities, Taylor said, “He is fully cooperating with me.” Beyond that, he declined to comment.

Authorities say Thomas had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of anabolic steroids in his Stoney Creek Drive home last week when deputies and federal agents set up delivery of a package containing the contraband sent from overseas.

Investigative records show the drugs came in packages from outside the United States, and that Thomas said he bought them from China, Russia, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.

Federal agents said they intercepted a suspicious package in Philadelphia on May 21. It was sent from Slovakia and addressed to “Mahlon” Thomas in Lakeland.

Agents and undercover Polk County sheriff’s deputies wired the package to alert them if it was opened. The package was delivered to Thomas’ address and an alert was sent within five minutes, an affidavit states. Thomas was the only person at the home.

During the search, and after Thomas was read his rights, he told agents he would “beat any charges like he had in the past,” and that “the only thing he knows is selling steroids,” the affidavit states.

Thomas’ wife, Sandra, 49, also was charged in Polk County. She was released last week after posting $215,000 bail and is not facing federal charges.

After his arrest, Thomas told investigators he was the biggest steroid provider in Central Florida and that he sold mostly to professional athletes, including those on the Washington Capitals hockey team and Washington Nationals baseball team, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said.

National Hockey League deputy commissioner Bill Daly has said the league is interviewing the Capitals’ front-office employees and medical and training staff. Daly said today there was no update.

The Daily News in New York has reported that Major League Baseball also is investigating Thomas’ claims.

Source - www2.tbo.com

WASHINGTON— FDA has received a consent decree from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, to destroy prohormone products worth $1.3 million. The decree included more than 23,300 bottles of three products distributed by LG Sciences LLC, of Brighton, Mich., marketed for use by body builders and distributed on the Web and at retail under the names “Methyl 1-D,” “Methyl 1-D XL,” and “Formadrol Extreme XL.” On behalf of FDA, U.S.Marshalls seized the products back in early April 2008, but the company was fighting the action, saying the products were DSHEA-compliant.

FDA said lab tests showed the products, which were marketed as dietary supplements, contain one or more unapproved food additives and/or new dietary ingredients (NDIs) and lacked scientific support for safe use. They found Methyl 1-D and Methyl 1-D XL contained 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione, also known as “ATD” or 1,4,6-etioallocholan-dione; Formadrol Extreme XL contained ATD and 3,6,17-androstenetrione, also known as “6-OXO”—the substance at the center of the legal battle between suspended Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero and several supplement makers and retailers.

FDA stated both of these substances are steroids that inhibit the activity of the enzyme aromatase; they can be found in dietary supplements marketed as testosterone boosters. Also, 6-OXO was created by Patrick Arnold, the chemist behind many of the BALCO products involved in the Major League Baseball steroid scandal, which involved Barry Bonds and other key players.

The agency emphasized it has no scientific information concerning the safety of the condemned supplements or their ingredients and, therefore, cannot determine whether they represent a hazard to consumers. They advised consumers who use or have used the products to discuss their use with their health care professionals. They added anyone who has experienced an adverse event related to any of these products should also consult a healthcare professional, in addition to reporting the event to MedWatch adverse event reporting (AER) system.

At the time of seizure, LG Sciences called the FDA action “merely a preliminary step in determining compliance with food regulations.” The company disputed what it called a “temporary restraint of its products” but agreed FDA was only trying to protect consumers. Further, LG said an ambiguous DSHEA allowed for such a seizure, but the company was adamant the offending ingredients were not NDIs, as they have numerous studies backing their safe use and have been in competitor’s products for several years. At the time, LG said it looked forward “to assisting the FDA in clarifying this matter and the prompt return of its inventory.”

However, FDA won the consent decree. “The court order is the result of efforts by the federal government to protect consumers from products for which there is inadequate information to assure that they do not present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury,” said Michael Chappell, acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs at FDA. “It shows that the agency is prepared to use the necessary legal means to keep such products out of the marketplace.”

Source - www.naturalproductsinsider.com

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BRUSSELS — The Belgian bodybuilding championships were cancelled over the weekend after all competitors fled when doping officials showed up.

After a spate of positive doping tests over the past years in Belgium, the championships had been moved just across the Dutch border to Vlissingen.

“They must have felt safe out there,” doping official Hans Cooman told the Associated Press on Monday. Still, Cooman and two colleagues got the necessary papers to check the tournament in the Netherlands.

And when they identified themselves just before the event as the 20 bodybuilders were weighing in and preparing themselves the testers got the surprise of their lives. They all just got up and left, preferring to quit the event rather than submit to doping tests, some grabbing their gear and heading straight out the door.

“They must have been flabbergasted,” he said. Bodybuilders usually take months to prepare for such championships, yet the sight of controllers was too much for them.

“I have never seen anything like it and hope never to see anything like it again,” Cooman said.

He says the sport has a history of doping “and this incident didn’t do its reputation any good.”

Last year, 22 of 29 tests were positive, either for steroids or for refusing testing, for a staggering 75 per cent ratio.

“This was the first time though we turned up in the Netherlands,” Cooman said.

Minutes before the start, it left organizers with no option but to tell a few hundred fans that had come to the Arsenaal theatre that there was not point in staying, having not seen a single gleaming pose.

Now Cooman and his colleagues will report the case to the disciplinary committee, which will have to decide whether the athletes can be sanctioned because they refused to be tested.

When contacted, a man at the NABBA Belgium bodybuilding federation refused to discuss the facts and could not explain why the athletes had suddenly rushed off. He refused to give his name.

Source - www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress

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The California State Athletic Commission has suspended UFC hall-of-famer and MMA trailblazer Ken Shamrock one year and fined him $2,500 after the 45-year-old failed a drug test due to numerous anabolic agents.In an email sent to MMAjunkie.com, CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas stated that Shamrock tested positive for 19-Norandrosterone, 19-Noretiocholanolone and Stanozolol following a Feb. 13 Wargods event.Shamrock had been slated to fight Bobby Lashley later this month at a “March Badness” hybrid MMA/boxing event.Shamrock’s bout with Lashley was recently promoted to the MMA portion’s main event following the cancellation of a scheduled Seth Petruzelli vs. Doug Marshall fight. The event, promoted by the event’s boxing headliner Roy Jones Jr. and his Square Ring Promotions company, takes place at the Pensacola Civic Center in Florida on March 21 and airs on pay per view.

In a Wednesday interview with TAGG Radio, MMAjunkie.com’s official radio partner, Shamrock complained about the difficulty of putting on weight.“I’m shooting for 225 (pounds),” Shamrock said in reference to the March 21 event. “Right now I’m 220, 221 (pounds). It’s hard as heck to put on weight when you’re training. You’re doing two-a-days. You’re throwing 500 punches a day. You’re doing 30 or 35 minutes of continuous grappling with fresh guys.“To put on weight in that kind of an atmosphere is harder than hell, and that’s kind of what I’m doing right now, just shoving food in me every two hours and getting the right supplements and the right diet. It’s a tough thing to do.”

Kevin Nash says steroids aren’t as prevalent in this current era of wrestling compared to ten, fifteen, and twenty years ago. Nash says more body types are acceptable to stand out on TV without needing steroids to enhance a cosmetic look.“Now, I don’t think it’s a big deal because it’s a different era,” Nash told the Bristol (Conn.) Press. “Look at Samoa Joe; nobody thinks he takes steroids. There’s always going to be a genetic freak, and people are going to question him, but steroid use is very small.”

Source - http://pwtorch.com

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BROOKSVILLE — A Brooksville man has been arrested on charges of sale and possession of anabolic steroids as part of an undercover operation.

Michael Maurer Jr., 41, was taken into custody Sunday. It was not clear Monday whether Maurer had been released from the Hernando County Jail.

According to the Brooksville Police Department, Maurer sold anabolic steroids to an informer on Saturday and Sunday as part of the department’s Operation D-Bol.

A subsequent search at Maurer’s home in the 23000 block of Skyview Circle resulted in the recovery of more steroids and hundreds of syringes.

Source - http://www.tampabay.com

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By DEREK WALKER

I don’t fancy myself a professional wrestling aficionado, but a few recent news tidbits have caught my attention and for all the wrong reasons.

On Friday, March 13, former World Wrestling Entertainment talent Andrew Martin – known to fans as Test – was found dead in his Florida home, just four days shy of his 34th birthday. Although the cause of his death is still unknown, and police do not suspect foul play, speculation of steroid abuse has lit Internet talk sites and message boards aflame.

Test’s shocking passing comes only 21 months after another wrestler, Chris Benoit, murdered his wife and son, and then himself. A month and a half into the police investigation of the double murder-suicide, reports showed Benoit having received steroids not in compliance with WWE’s Talent Wellness Program.

Performance enhancers, while not specifically linked to this incident, did play a role in the death of champion grappler Eddie Guerrero in November 2005. Autopsies showed Guerrero, who was stated to have a vigorous workout regimen, died of heart failure, brought on by years of steroid use.

In an interview with MTV, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, star of movies such as “The Scorpion King” and this month’s “Return to Witch Mountain,” admitted to using steroids during his college career. He was mum on whether he used them during his decade-long run in WWE.

There is no better word to describe this string of drug-fueled deaths other than “ludicrous.” More and more big name athletes are admitting to at least having tried banned substances in not just wrestling but all sports, including baseball’s Alex Rodriguez, who said he was “stupid” and “naïve” to do so. But it’s overwhelmingly clear the message the “big four” sports leagues and WWE are sending to its performers: be “stupid” now, don’t be sorry later.

As it stands, the first violation of WWE’s wellness policy is punished by a 30-day suspension without pay. Major League Baseball imposes a slightly harsher punishment for a first offense: 50 games without pay. The NFL, NBA and NHL all adhere to similar programs, and all tend to let their players off the hook far too easily.

With the rate at which steroid-detection technology is improving, the rate new substances and test bypasses are manufactured has to be increasing twice as quickly. Martin’s death should serve as a wake-up call to not only all the major sporting organizations but to the government as well.

By enforcing even tougher penalties, and perhaps putting the users into a particular rehabilitation program during their suspensions, people such as Martin won’t be the rule but the exception.

http://www.northernstar.info

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SPRINGFIELD - A former Amherst man who admitted distributing anabolic steroids was given three years probation Monday and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

U.S. Judge Michael J. Ponsor also ordered Ryan Shooltz, 25, now living in Quincy, to perform 300 hours of community service during a sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court.

“You’re going to have to eat some humble pie,” Ponsor told the defendant, adding the sentence could require eight hours of service every Saturday for the next three years. “That might mean mopping the floors in a state psychiatric hospital or updating files in a community clinic,” the judge added.

Ponsor rejected a request by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Regan to require Shooltz to serve six months in a federal halfway house to underscore the seriousness of crime of illegal steroid distribution.

Shooltz pleaded guilty in October to three counts of distributing anabolic steroids and human growth hormone after the drugs were discovered in his apartment by Amherst police on Sept. 10, 2004.

Police were called to 83 Summer St. when a friend of another resident overdosed on methadone and later died. The police search turned up what O’Regan called a “cornucopia” of illegal drugs - psychedelic mushrooms, thousands of anabolic steroid pills and 335 vials of growth hormone.

The steroids and growth hormone were purchased in China, Shooltz later told investigators.

Defense lawyer Thomas Lesser, of Northampton, told Ponsor that his client had avoided legal trouble, landed a good job and generally turned his life around over the past four years. In requesting a suspended sentence, Lesser said Shooltz would surely lose his sales job in greater Boston if forced to serve six months in a halfway house.

Lesser said his client probably earned between $10,000 and $15,000 from his distribution business. He also cited federal statistics that 17,000 people died from abusing anti-inflammatory drugs and another 17,000 had died from cocaine. During the same period, three died from misusing anabolic steroids, Lesser said.

O’Regan said the motive for the illegal steroid ring “was not feeding an addiction, but mainly greed - a lifestyle based on greed.”

“This was not someone dabbling in steroids to get bigger or bulk up,” O’Regan added. “This was a business.”

Source - http://www.masslive.com

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LYNN, Mass.–(Business Wire)–
Willow Laboratories announced today that it has started testing individuals for steroid use. Realizing the growing concern among parents and employers, Willow Laboratories provided this service on a limited basis in January of 2008. Now, Willow Laboratories has expanded its services to include testing for an extended panel of
androgenic-anabolic steroids. These tests are performed by GC/MS and/or LC/MS/MS, which is used to detect and identify steroids down to very low levels.   Headquartered in Lynn, Massachusetts, Willow Laboratories offers comprehensive laboratory based drug and alcohol testing services, including GC/MS and LC/MS/MS confirmations. We provide pick-up and collection services with new state of the art mobile collection units.

In addition to our urine drug screening, we provide alternative matrix testing of hair or saliva. Willow maintains a staff consisting of: pharmacologists, toxicologists, physicians, and certified medical technologists. Clients can access their results online or directly with their EMR.Further information can be found at http://www.willowlabs.com, or by calling 781.268.0607.

Source - www.reuters.com/article

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With new prohormone laws recently enacted banning the most powerful steroid-like compounds, bodybuilders are now faced with the option of using on “average acting” creatine esters or nitric oxide boosters. And yes, over time, these OTC supplements will yield some nice muscle gain. However, just “nice gains” (5-6 pounds of muscle per year) isn’t that appealing to a market of hard-core bodybuilders who are accustomed to gaining this much muscle in two weeks taking powerful Boldenone and Masteron precursors.

And clearly knowing of this void in the current market, a small Colorado company has released an extremely potent anabolic agent called MAXED that was specifically designed to replicate the potent European anabolic steroid, Masteron.

So, how is this company able to do this when no-one else can? Simple, because they have discovered stunning new technology that is able to chemically imitate natural steroidal alkaloids and ultimately create “synthetic-acting” anabolic agents. And the end result is a natural product now becomes very “unnatural” in terms of potency.

According to bodybuilders and some of the gyms that sell it, MAXED is very, very potent and many users have experienced 8 or more pound increases in lean muscle mass during the first 8 week cycle. And this is a huge amount of muscle considering MAXED is legal and does not require a prescription.

Another exciting feature of MAXED is that is does not aromatize and convert to estrogen like the majority of testosterone based synthetic steroids. And the end result is a very tight, lean, physique due to no water retention. MAXED also does not suppress natural testosterone production like synthetics. In fact, it actually increases it which gives the user an aggressive, take charge attitude in the gym. Users can also expect big strength gains as well with their bench, squat, curls and presses increasing dramatically in poundage. According to some online reviews, it appears that MAXED has many of the muscle-growth benefits of anabolic steroids with very few of the negative side effects… could it be the perfect anabolic agent?

For more information on MAXED, manufactured by Red X Labs, call Zupplements.com toll free at 1-888-987-7748. MAXED and can be purchased at a few select gyms across the USA or online at http://www.zupplements.com/store.

Source - http://www.transworldnews.com

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A Gastonia man was charged Thursday with having an illegal anabolic steroid used by some bodybuilders to grow muscles.

John Arthur Crawford, 26, of 113 Winget Circle, allegedly had 43 methandrostenolone pills when Gastonia police executed a search warrant on his home Dec. 9.

Police found the pink pills, but couldn’t identify the substance and did not immediately charge Crawford with a crime. Authorities sent the pills to the State Bureau of Investigation, which identified them as the bodybuilding steroid.

A warrant for Crawford’s arrest was issued in February.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned methandrostenolone in the early 1990s.

Crawford was charged with misdemeanor simple possession of a Schedule III controlled substance. He was jailed under a $1,000 secured bond.

Source - http://www.gastongazette.com

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