Here's how athletes, and others obtain steroids quickly and (usually) without detection

The Coffee Shop
1

This article appeared in SI in the edition that featured Dontrell Willis standing in a (simulated) flooded Mami Stadium with numerous articles talking about GW and sports.

Also in the edition was this VERY interesting and revealing article describing how easily athletes (and anyone else) can obtain steroids due to corruption in the pharmaceutical/medical field.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/03/06/rx.trouble0312/index.html

Essentially, it works like this …

  1. A “rejuevenation” or “anti-aging” center sets up shop and a website. (These essentially function as “call centers”)

  2. The customer puts in an order, either over the phone or on the net.

  3. The rejuvenation center pays a doctor $20-$50 to sign a prescription for it (without ever meeting with the customer/patient).

  4. The prescription shows up at the customer’s door.

At a raid of Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center, the following athletes came up on customer invoices …

• Outfielder was sent Genotropin in 2004. The prescription was written by a doctor at a now-defunct antiaging clinic in Florida.

• Kurt Angle, a 1996 Olympic gold-medal-winning freestyle wrestler and now a star professional wrestler, received two prescriptions for trenbolone and one for nandrolone between October 2004 and February '05.

• Rangers outfielder Jerry Hariston Jr received Genotropin, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and Clomiphene Citrate in 2004. One of Hairston’s prescriptions was written by “A. Almarashi.” Investigators believe Almarashi is an alias for a Queens, N.Y., doctor stripped of her medical license in 1999. She is awaiting trial on multiple charges after allegedly writing bogus prescriptions for thousands of online customers she never examined.

• In June 2004 a patient named Evan Fields picked up three vials of testosterone and related injection supplies from a Columbus, Ga., doctor, traced through Applied. Later that month Fields also obtained five vials of Saizen and three months later returned for treatment of hypogonadism, a condition whereby sex glands produce little or no hormones. Investigators noted that Fields shares both the birth date and home address of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. What’s more, when SI called a phone number on a Post-It note attached to the Fields patient file, Holyfield answered.

Interesting, I am currently watching the 1986 Holyfield-Qawi light-heavyweight title fight (on lunch break), and Holyfield’s transformation is unbelievable. The announcers are talking about his 29-inch waist and how frail he is depite being leanly muscular.

• David Bell, a veteran of a dozen major league seasons, received six packages of HCG at a Philadelphia address last April, when he played for the Phillies. The cost was $128.80, and the drug was prescribed in conjunction with an Arizona antiaging facility. Bell acknowledges receiving the shipment but tells SI the drug was prescribed to him “for a medical condition,” which he declined to disclose, citing his right to privacy.

• Jose Canseco, the retired major leaguer and an admitted steroid user, received somatropin, testosterone, stanozolol and HCG, as well as 340 syringes, in 2004. The shipment to his California residence was arranged through the same defunct antiaging clinic that Matthews allegedly patronized. (Canseco did not return calls seeking comment.)

• No birth date was indicated on the prescriptions, but according to the Applied database, former Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker received two prescriptions for somatropin between April and July 2003. (Through his spokeswoman, Rocker denied any knowledge of the prescription and denied ever receiving a banned substance.)

More names forth-coming.

It’s that easy … for pro athletes, for AG triathletes, for teenage athletes, etc …

ALSO INTERESTING: The three baseball players on thsi list have fathers (and Bell is a 3rd generation player) that played baseball.

2

Its not really THAT easy, as a lot of the websites that do this are just selling fakes. Its hard to know which, if any, are real.

Another way is to hang out on bodybuilder forums until you are a known quantity, then ask privately one of the other regulars who some sources are.

Same problem exists in that you might get fakes though.

Theres also the challenge of getting needles, proper post cycle recovery drugs, and using everything right and not hurting yourself.

3

Its not really THAT easy, as a lot of the websites that do this are just selling fakes. Its hard to know which, if any, are real.

Fakes are always a possibility, especially when making an initial purchase or if you come across as naive. I can’t even begint o imagine what % of steroids sold to teens are fake. I’d bet it’s REALLY high.

Another way is to hang out on bodybuilder forums until you are a known quantity, then ask privately one of the other regulars who some sources are.

This is primarily where I learned about them. I met guys who were in my area. Someone always knows someone. It’s not as quick and (IMO), likely not as reliable. A pro athlete isn’t likely to do this. Plus, you don’t have a prescription signed by a real doctor.

The local “supplement” shop is likely to know someone that can “hook you up”, even if it’s not them right there at the counter.

Theres also the challenge of getting needles, proper post cycle recovery drugs, and using everything right and not hurting yourself

– I wonder if getting needles isn’t harder than getting the steroids. I have read stories of guys who got busted because the needles left a paper trail. Make friends with a diabetic. I have alro read crazy stories of guys injected insulin trying to get their pancreas to stop prodicing as much, so they can get a prescription for insulin (a popular bb drug) … AND needles.

– I disagree that it isn’t THAT easy to place an order, but I totally agree that buying fakes are an ever-present risk. Throwing vegetable oil into vials and selling it as roids has gone on for a long time. When a person is buying something like anavar tabs, there’s a long list of pills that could replace those as look-a-likes.

As for using everything right … there’s been a lot of guys develop an abcess on their arse, and quite a few hit the sciatic nerve … having a mentor is valuable.

I’m not sure, in small amounts, that all “cycles” require estrogen-blockers and trial-off drugs and the like. I think you could just taper off and your body’s natural organs will increase the amount of natural hormone the y produce…

4

Patrick Arnold needs to get his “Cream” and “Clear” out on the black market. Not having to use needles would be awesome =)

5

You know there are oral steroids, right? Stanazol (Winstrol, “Winnie”) and Anavar are two of the more popular ones.

Put your needles away and pop a couple cough “aspirin”.

I am thinking of the guys that keep bringing up that Bonds has never flunked a drug test, and I’m wondering if they know why THG is called “The Clear”. Heeellllllllooooooo

6

Those are terrible for your liver though, and don’t work as well. The clear and cream were transdermal. Best of both worlds.

7

I also wanted to offer a quick comment in agreement with you regarding it being “that” easy. It’s not as easy as it appears, because you just can’t walk into ANY rejuvenation center and order a prescription for a steroid stack.

You have to know which “clinics” offer the shady services (i guess like knowing which massage parlors offer prostitutes), and that often takes some inside information coming from a teammate, coach, trainer, buddy, etc.

IMO, that’s another thing that plays bad for Bonds … it would seem that EVERYONE knew why you went to BALCO (It’s actually amazing the number of significant athletes not named Bonds that are serving suspensions for their BALCO activities) … and it wasn’t ZMA or the mineral analysis. People don’t often stumble onto a place like that and get waist deep into it.

As for the liver, etc … I concede on that point. I likely don’t know as much about PEDs as some might infer I do. I know that Winnie and Anavar were pills b/c I had some buddies do a cycle (or two). I’ve also seen vials of steroids and I’ll be honest, it could have been vegetable or cooking oil and I wouldn’t have known the difference.

8

Another way is to hang out on bodybuilder forums until you are a known quantity, then ask privately one of the other regulars who some sources are.

Not that I would know but isn’t this how you get any illegal substance? In HS everyone knew who the "Go to " guys were. In fact I was talking to my daughter the other day and she listed all the people’s names that “Specialized” in selling various drugs at her HS. Seems to me that if someone wants to get drugs they’ll get them…makes you wonder why they’re illegal…but that’s a different subject I guess.

~Matt

9

oral steroids, like most drug, have to be modified to get past your liver before they are broken down. This modification stresses your liver (similar to advil, alcohol, etc)

Also blood levels are short lived, so you dont get a constant high dose of the stuff, it goes up and down. injectibles are an oil that sits in your muscle and disperses into your blood over time, you get a nice constant flow. transdermals are the same way, but you don’t risk getting nasty infections. woohoo

10

These guys actually bought the stuff under their own names?

11

Not sure. Holyfield used the name “Evan Fields” … but the likely got the namews by back-tracking the addresses.

It’s legal and they have a prescription for it. They are not obligated to disclose what medical condition they have for the prescribed steroids.

Furthermore, the athletes are not prosecuted in these raids, they are only interested in the doctors/companies.

Talk about minimal risk.