.gif "IP Gear")
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2004
- Messages
- 1,473
This is probably some of the sh*t that is putting pressure on IP. $323 for 40 green tabs!!! tells you they are full of sh*t in regards to that fourth pack they talk about.
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 07:11:49 -0500 (EST)
From: "David P. Dillard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: SPORTS: DRUG AND SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE : SPORTS: PERFORMANCE
ENHANCEMENT DRUGS: Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a
Prescription and Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials
FROM The General Accountability Office of the United States Congress
SPORTS: DRUG AND SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE : SPORTS: PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT
DRUGS: Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a Prescription and
Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials FROM The
General Accountability Office of the United States Congress
November 3, 2005
The Honorable Tom Davis
Chairman
The Honorable Henry Waxman
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Government Reform
House of Representatives
Subject: Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a Prescription and
Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials
<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06243r.pdf>
This report responds to your request that we investigate whether anabolic
steroids can be purchased without a prescription and test whether such
purchases are easily made. You also asked us to identify common sources of
illegal anabolic steroids, and significant challenges law enforcement
officials encounter in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring criminal
anabolic steroid traffickers.
To complete this work, we made purchases through the Internet of anabolic
steroids commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders, and had tests
performed on the products purchased by the National Medical Services, a
commercial laboratory, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To
identify significant challenges law enforcement officials encounter in the
investigation and prosecution of illegal anabolic steroid traffickers, we
interviewed officials of federal agencies that have responsibility for
enforcement of laws relating to anabolic steroids--FDA, the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency (CBP)--- and we visited CBP
international mail facilities at two airports that receive significant
quantities of mail containing anabolic steroids, New Yorks Kennedy Airport
and at the Miami International Airport. Additionally, to obtain the
perspective of state and local officials on enforcement issues, we
interviewed officials of New Yorks Office of the Special Narcotics
Prosecutor, the only prosecutorial agency in the country that is
exclusively dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of felony drug
offenses. We also spoke with officials of the United States Sentencing
Commission and researched current and proposed legislation relating to
illegal anabolic steroid activity.
Summary
Our investigators easily obtained anabolic steroids without a prescription
through the Internet. After conducting Internet searches, they found
hundreds of Web sites offering anabolic steroids commonly used by athletes
and bodybuilders for sale. The investigators then used an e-mail account
in a fictitious name to place 22 orders. From these orders, we received 10
shipments of anabolic steroids; all were shipped from foreign countries.
We also received 4 shipments from within the United States but the
substances they contained, though marketed as anabolic steroids or other
muscle building products, were not anabolic steroids according to the
FDA.1 We are referring the evidence concerning our purchases to DEA and to
FDA for appropriate action.
The officials we spoke with told us that most anabolic steroids sold
illegally in the United States come from abroad, and that the Internet is
the most widely used means of buying and selling anabolic steroids
illegally. They also reported that, because of the foreign origin of the
steroids and the widespread use of the Internet in steroid trafficking,
extensive time and resources are usually required to investigate and
prosecute steroid cases. Further, the sheer volume of all types of imports
from abroad presents significant challenges in efforts to prevent anabolic
steroids from illegally entering the United States. Additionally, some
officials noted the relatively low sentences that result from application
of the federal sentencing guidelines to persons convicted of illegal
steroid trafficking.
Background
Anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of the male sex hormone testosterone
that can be taken orally, injected, or rubbed on the skin. Under U.S. law
they cannot be sold without a prescription, and are dispensed to treat
conditions associated with low testosterone levels, such as delayed
puberty or body wasting associated with AIDS. When used in combination
with exercise, training, and a high protein diet, anabolic steroids can
improve endurance and promote increased muscle size and strength. Because
of these effects, they are illicitly used as performance-enhancing drugs
by some athletes, bodybuilders, and others to improve competitiveness or
appearance.
However, steroid abuse can cause devastating side effects, including
liver, kidney, and heart disease; cancer, stroke, and behavioral changes
such as increased aggression and severe depression. The availability and
use of anabolic steroids in sports, particularly among adolescents, is a
growing concern. According to a National Institute of Health study, use of
steroids by American young people underwent a period of sharp rise in the
late 1990s, and continues to be at an all time high among 12th graders.
Moreover, in a recent study performed by the University of Michigan, more
than 42 percent of 12th graders reported that anabolic steroids are easy
or fairly easy to obtain without a prescription.
In 1990, Congress passed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 19902 adding
anabolic steroids to the federal schedule of controlled substances.3 The
act placed anabolic steroids on Schedule III of the Controlled Substance
Act and specifically identified 27 anabolic steroids. The maximum term of
imprisonment for a Schedule III controlled substance offense is 5 years,
or 10 years if the person has a prior felony drug offense conviction.4 The
Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 added additional anabolic steroids to
Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act.
Purchases of Anabolic Steroids without a Prescription
Our investigators tested whether it would be easy for anyone who has
access to a computer to locate and make purchases from dealers who sell
anabolic steroids illegally.
To do this, they replicated what any athlete or bodybuilder of any age can
do on a home computer. First, they conducted Internet searches using the
words anabolic steroids, or the names of specific anabolic steroids that
DEA identified for us as commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders. As a
result, they found hundreds of Web sites offering anabolic steroids for
sale.
The investigators placed a total of 22 orders for anabolic steroids
through 22 of these Web sites that were selected randomly. Using an e-mail
account that they established in a fictitious name, the investigators
completed these orders and paid for them. As a result, we received 14
shipments. Of that number, 10 were anabolic steroids; the 4 additional
shipments contained substances that were not anabolic steroids.5
Steroids Received
The 10 orders of anabolic steroids we received were obtained through Web
sites that openly and boldly offer anabolic steroids for sale. Some of the
Web sites offer a variety of pharmaceutical drugs, while others sell
anabolic steroids exclusively. They typically offer private and
confidential sales of discretely shipped anabolic steroids that will shape
your body the way . . . you want it to look. Many sites offer dozens of
anabolic steroids for sale. They promote anabolic steroid use through
claims that they have good affects on the body, touting, for example, that
one product is a growth-promoting agent.
Other Web sites, including some of those from which we made purchases,
offer packages of different steroids for those who cycle or stack their
use of anabolic steroids. A cycle is a period of from 6 and 14 weeks of
steroid use, followed by a period of abstinence or gradual reduction in
use; stacking is using multiple anabolic steroids concurrently. The
packages offered by the Web sites are designed for a variety of different
users, from beginning muscle builders to advanced mass builders, to
customers interested in the ladies lean stack.
The Web sites do not indicate the country from which the steroids are
shipped, but we later learned from return addresses and postmarks on the
shipments that the anabolic steroids all came from outside the United
States. Although we placed these 10 orders at 10 different Web sites, the
shipments came from just three different countries: five were from
Trieste, Italy; four from Shanghai, China; and one from Athens, Greece.
The shipment from Athens, Greece came in a plain 5- by 6- inch envelope
bearing a return address label with an individuals name and address. It
contained one bottle of the anabolic steroid Testosterone Propionate in
liquid form. We paid $114.00 for the order using a credit card.
The five orders shipped from Trieste, Italy, came in plain 5 by 7 inch
envelopes bearing one of three different return address labels with an
individuals name and address. From one address we received two orders,
each containing 100 tablets of the anabolic steroid Methandrostenolone.
Using a credit card, we paid $109.20 for one of these orders and $107.90
for the other.
>From a different return address in Trieste we received two other packages,
each containing one bottle of the anabolic steroid Testosterone Cypionate
in liquid form. Using a credit card, we paid $120.90 for one of these
orders. For the other, we followed instructions sent through e-mail
communications from the dealer to wire $144.00 through Western Union to an
individual in Vienna, Austria. From the third address in Trieste we
received a package containing 100 tablets of Methandrostenolone. We paid
$117.00 for the order and wired the money through Western Union to an
individual in Salzburg, Austria, as instructed.
Each of the four shipments from Shanghai came in a plain 6 by 9 inch
envelope. Each envelope had a return address label bearing a different
individuals name and address.
We paid for each of them by credit card. One package contained 150 yellow
tablets of the anabolic steroid Stanozolol for which we paid $200.00. A
second package containing 20 tablets of Stanozolol was also received, and
we paid $97.00 for them. Additionally, we received a package containing
crushed green tablets of the anabolic steroid Oxymetholone and paid
$124.00 for them. The fourth package from Shanghai contained 40 green
tablets of Oxymetholone and cost $323.00.
Other Products Received
We also received four shipments from dealers in the United States through
Web sites that claimed to sell anabolic steroids or products that have the
muscle-building effects of anabolic steroids. However, according to FDA,
none of these shipments contained anabolic steroids. We have referred the
results of our investigation concerning these products to the FDA.
Challenges Faced by Law Enforcement Officials When Investigating and
Prosecuting Illegal Steroid Trafficking Cases
Law enforcement officials identified significant challenges in their
efforts to investigate, prosecute, and deter criminal anabolic steroid
traffickers. These challenges arise from the foreign origin of many
illegally sold steroids, the widespread use of the Internet in steroid
trafficking, the volume of mail CBP must screen in its efforts to prevent
entry of anabolic steroids into the United States, and the relatively low
sentences that result from application of the federal Sentencing
Guidelines to illegal steroid offenders.
Most Illegally Sold Anabolic Steroids Come From Abroad
The law enforcement officials we spoke to reported that, in their
experience, most anabolic steroids distributed illegally in the United
States come from abroad. The results of our test purchases tend to confirm
this. Larger illegal anabolic steroid dealers in the United States
frequently have multiple overseas sources of steroids. Significant
quantities of anabolic steroids come from Mexico, as well as other
countries such as Russia, Romania, and Greece.
There is a readily available supply of steroids worldwide because, in most
countries, anabolic steroids can be sold legally without a prescription.
Thus, many foreign distributors do not violate the laws of their own
country when they sell these substances to people in the United States. As
a result, U.S. law enforcement agencies have difficulty in obtaining
assistance from their foreign counterparts in investigations of such
distributors.
Law enforcement officials also identified smuggling of anabolic steroids
across international borders into the United States as an important part
of the illegal distribution network and described how smugglers typically
operate. A smuggler in the United States takes orders from steroid
customers in person, over the phone, or via e-mail. After obtaining
advance payment from customers, the smuggler will travel to the source
country, usually Mexico, to purchase the steroids. Some smugglers pay
someone else to perform this function or have a foreign source that will
ship the steroids. Smugglers who travel either carry the steroids back or
ship them to the United States. In Mexico and European countries,
smugglers usually buy anabolic steroids from pharmacies.
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 07:11:49 -0500 (EST)
From: "David P. Dillard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: SPORTS: DRUG AND SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE : SPORTS: PERFORMANCE
ENHANCEMENT DRUGS: Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a
Prescription and Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials
FROM The General Accountability Office of the United States Congress
SPORTS: DRUG AND SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE : SPORTS: PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT
DRUGS: Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a Prescription and
Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials FROM The
General Accountability Office of the United States Congress
November 3, 2005
The Honorable Tom Davis
Chairman
The Honorable Henry Waxman
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Government Reform
House of Representatives
Subject: Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased Without a Prescription and
Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials
<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06243r.pdf>
This report responds to your request that we investigate whether anabolic
steroids can be purchased without a prescription and test whether such
purchases are easily made. You also asked us to identify common sources of
illegal anabolic steroids, and significant challenges law enforcement
officials encounter in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring criminal
anabolic steroid traffickers.
To complete this work, we made purchases through the Internet of anabolic
steroids commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders, and had tests
performed on the products purchased by the National Medical Services, a
commercial laboratory, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To
identify significant challenges law enforcement officials encounter in the
investigation and prosecution of illegal anabolic steroid traffickers, we
interviewed officials of federal agencies that have responsibility for
enforcement of laws relating to anabolic steroids--FDA, the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency (CBP)--- and we visited CBP
international mail facilities at two airports that receive significant
quantities of mail containing anabolic steroids, New Yorks Kennedy Airport
and at the Miami International Airport. Additionally, to obtain the
perspective of state and local officials on enforcement issues, we
interviewed officials of New Yorks Office of the Special Narcotics
Prosecutor, the only prosecutorial agency in the country that is
exclusively dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of felony drug
offenses. We also spoke with officials of the United States Sentencing
Commission and researched current and proposed legislation relating to
illegal anabolic steroid activity.
Summary
Our investigators easily obtained anabolic steroids without a prescription
through the Internet. After conducting Internet searches, they found
hundreds of Web sites offering anabolic steroids commonly used by athletes
and bodybuilders for sale. The investigators then used an e-mail account
in a fictitious name to place 22 orders. From these orders, we received 10
shipments of anabolic steroids; all were shipped from foreign countries.
We also received 4 shipments from within the United States but the
substances they contained, though marketed as anabolic steroids or other
muscle building products, were not anabolic steroids according to the
FDA.1 We are referring the evidence concerning our purchases to DEA and to
FDA for appropriate action.
The officials we spoke with told us that most anabolic steroids sold
illegally in the United States come from abroad, and that the Internet is
the most widely used means of buying and selling anabolic steroids
illegally. They also reported that, because of the foreign origin of the
steroids and the widespread use of the Internet in steroid trafficking,
extensive time and resources are usually required to investigate and
prosecute steroid cases. Further, the sheer volume of all types of imports
from abroad presents significant challenges in efforts to prevent anabolic
steroids from illegally entering the United States. Additionally, some
officials noted the relatively low sentences that result from application
of the federal sentencing guidelines to persons convicted of illegal
steroid trafficking.
Background
Anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of the male sex hormone testosterone
that can be taken orally, injected, or rubbed on the skin. Under U.S. law
they cannot be sold without a prescription, and are dispensed to treat
conditions associated with low testosterone levels, such as delayed
puberty or body wasting associated with AIDS. When used in combination
with exercise, training, and a high protein diet, anabolic steroids can
improve endurance and promote increased muscle size and strength. Because
of these effects, they are illicitly used as performance-enhancing drugs
by some athletes, bodybuilders, and others to improve competitiveness or
appearance.
However, steroid abuse can cause devastating side effects, including
liver, kidney, and heart disease; cancer, stroke, and behavioral changes
such as increased aggression and severe depression. The availability and
use of anabolic steroids in sports, particularly among adolescents, is a
growing concern. According to a National Institute of Health study, use of
steroids by American young people underwent a period of sharp rise in the
late 1990s, and continues to be at an all time high among 12th graders.
Moreover, in a recent study performed by the University of Michigan, more
than 42 percent of 12th graders reported that anabolic steroids are easy
or fairly easy to obtain without a prescription.
In 1990, Congress passed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 19902 adding
anabolic steroids to the federal schedule of controlled substances.3 The
act placed anabolic steroids on Schedule III of the Controlled Substance
Act and specifically identified 27 anabolic steroids. The maximum term of
imprisonment for a Schedule III controlled substance offense is 5 years,
or 10 years if the person has a prior felony drug offense conviction.4 The
Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 added additional anabolic steroids to
Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act.
Purchases of Anabolic Steroids without a Prescription
Our investigators tested whether it would be easy for anyone who has
access to a computer to locate and make purchases from dealers who sell
anabolic steroids illegally.
To do this, they replicated what any athlete or bodybuilder of any age can
do on a home computer. First, they conducted Internet searches using the
words anabolic steroids, or the names of specific anabolic steroids that
DEA identified for us as commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders. As a
result, they found hundreds of Web sites offering anabolic steroids for
sale.
The investigators placed a total of 22 orders for anabolic steroids
through 22 of these Web sites that were selected randomly. Using an e-mail
account that they established in a fictitious name, the investigators
completed these orders and paid for them. As a result, we received 14
shipments. Of that number, 10 were anabolic steroids; the 4 additional
shipments contained substances that were not anabolic steroids.5
Steroids Received
The 10 orders of anabolic steroids we received were obtained through Web
sites that openly and boldly offer anabolic steroids for sale. Some of the
Web sites offer a variety of pharmaceutical drugs, while others sell
anabolic steroids exclusively. They typically offer private and
confidential sales of discretely shipped anabolic steroids that will shape
your body the way . . . you want it to look. Many sites offer dozens of
anabolic steroids for sale. They promote anabolic steroid use through
claims that they have good affects on the body, touting, for example, that
one product is a growth-promoting agent.
Other Web sites, including some of those from which we made purchases,
offer packages of different steroids for those who cycle or stack their
use of anabolic steroids. A cycle is a period of from 6 and 14 weeks of
steroid use, followed by a period of abstinence or gradual reduction in
use; stacking is using multiple anabolic steroids concurrently. The
packages offered by the Web sites are designed for a variety of different
users, from beginning muscle builders to advanced mass builders, to
customers interested in the ladies lean stack.
The Web sites do not indicate the country from which the steroids are
shipped, but we later learned from return addresses and postmarks on the
shipments that the anabolic steroids all came from outside the United
States. Although we placed these 10 orders at 10 different Web sites, the
shipments came from just three different countries: five were from
Trieste, Italy; four from Shanghai, China; and one from Athens, Greece.
The shipment from Athens, Greece came in a plain 5- by 6- inch envelope
bearing a return address label with an individuals name and address. It
contained one bottle of the anabolic steroid Testosterone Propionate in
liquid form. We paid $114.00 for the order using a credit card.
The five orders shipped from Trieste, Italy, came in plain 5 by 7 inch
envelopes bearing one of three different return address labels with an
individuals name and address. From one address we received two orders,
each containing 100 tablets of the anabolic steroid Methandrostenolone.
Using a credit card, we paid $109.20 for one of these orders and $107.90
for the other.
>From a different return address in Trieste we received two other packages,
each containing one bottle of the anabolic steroid Testosterone Cypionate
in liquid form. Using a credit card, we paid $120.90 for one of these
orders. For the other, we followed instructions sent through e-mail
communications from the dealer to wire $144.00 through Western Union to an
individual in Vienna, Austria. From the third address in Trieste we
received a package containing 100 tablets of Methandrostenolone. We paid
$117.00 for the order and wired the money through Western Union to an
individual in Salzburg, Austria, as instructed.
Each of the four shipments from Shanghai came in a plain 6 by 9 inch
envelope. Each envelope had a return address label bearing a different
individuals name and address.
We paid for each of them by credit card. One package contained 150 yellow
tablets of the anabolic steroid Stanozolol for which we paid $200.00. A
second package containing 20 tablets of Stanozolol was also received, and
we paid $97.00 for them. Additionally, we received a package containing
crushed green tablets of the anabolic steroid Oxymetholone and paid
$124.00 for them. The fourth package from Shanghai contained 40 green
tablets of Oxymetholone and cost $323.00.
Other Products Received
We also received four shipments from dealers in the United States through
Web sites that claimed to sell anabolic steroids or products that have the
muscle-building effects of anabolic steroids. However, according to FDA,
none of these shipments contained anabolic steroids. We have referred the
results of our investigation concerning these products to the FDA.
Challenges Faced by Law Enforcement Officials When Investigating and
Prosecuting Illegal Steroid Trafficking Cases
Law enforcement officials identified significant challenges in their
efforts to investigate, prosecute, and deter criminal anabolic steroid
traffickers. These challenges arise from the foreign origin of many
illegally sold steroids, the widespread use of the Internet in steroid
trafficking, the volume of mail CBP must screen in its efforts to prevent
entry of anabolic steroids into the United States, and the relatively low
sentences that result from application of the federal Sentencing
Guidelines to illegal steroid offenders.
Most Illegally Sold Anabolic Steroids Come From Abroad
The law enforcement officials we spoke to reported that, in their
experience, most anabolic steroids distributed illegally in the United
States come from abroad. The results of our test purchases tend to confirm
this. Larger illegal anabolic steroid dealers in the United States
frequently have multiple overseas sources of steroids. Significant
quantities of anabolic steroids come from Mexico, as well as other
countries such as Russia, Romania, and Greece.
There is a readily available supply of steroids worldwide because, in most
countries, anabolic steroids can be sold legally without a prescription.
Thus, many foreign distributors do not violate the laws of their own
country when they sell these substances to people in the United States. As
a result, U.S. law enforcement agencies have difficulty in obtaining
assistance from their foreign counterparts in investigations of such
distributors.
Law enforcement officials also identified smuggling of anabolic steroids
across international borders into the United States as an important part
of the illegal distribution network and described how smugglers typically
operate. A smuggler in the United States takes orders from steroid
customers in person, over the phone, or via e-mail. After obtaining
advance payment from customers, the smuggler will travel to the source
country, usually Mexico, to purchase the steroids. Some smugglers pay
someone else to perform this function or have a foreign source that will
ship the steroids. Smugglers who travel either carry the steroids back or
ship them to the United States. In Mexico and European countries,
smugglers usually buy anabolic steroids from pharmacies.
