According to ex-enforcer Georges Laraque, steroid and illegal drug use was a problem in the NHL not too long ago.

Laraque talks about steroid use in the NHL in his new book, “The Story of the NHL’s Unluckiest Tough Guy.”

From Larrybrownsports.com:

“I have to say here that tough guys weren’t the only players using steroids in the NHL,” the former Canadien wrote. “It was true that quite a lot of them did use this drug, but other, more talented players did too. Most of us knew who they were, but not a single player, not even me, would ever think of raising his hand to break the silence and accuse a fellow player.”

Laraque explained that if you look at a player’s decrease in efficiency and weight loss, you’ll notice there is a significant drop every four years when the Winter Olympics are held.  Obviously, the Olympics have a strict drug testing policy which would result in players being declared ineligible if they were caught.

“Before a game, as I would warm up on the ice, I would always look at the tough guy on the other side,” he said. “If his arms were trembling, if his eyes were bulging, I knew for sure he wasn’t going to feel any of the punches I would give him.”

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A steroids dealer was sentenced to five years and one month in prison on federal drug and gun charges after he said he had a plan to kill police officers.

The 38-year-old, Damon Bruce Beshears, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, according to a plea deal Beshears had reached with prosecutors in August.

From Statesman.com:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Marshall said that he agreed to the deal presented by Beshears’ lawyer in part because Beshears has a history of mental illness — he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital about two months before his arrest in June.

“I talked to the officers who were involved and their impression was he was more of a danger to himself than to them,” Marshall said.

Beshears’ lawyer, Joe Lopez, said his client’s mental health has drastically improved since his arrest.

“The steroids, in combination with the other medication that he takes, I think, just drove him nuts,” Lopez said. “He was a prisoner in his own body.

“I can totally tell now that the steroids are not a part of his life; he’s completely a changed person,” Lopez said.

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A man from New Zealandwas caught trying to smuggle about 7000 illegal steroid tablets into Australia in his underwear.

Customs officers at  Melbourne Airport stopped the 23-year-old man at Melbourne Airport and arrived on a flight from Bangkok, when they suspected he was concealing something inside his clothing.

From Nzherald.co.nz:

Customs officers at Melbourne Airport stopped the 23-year-old man, who arrived on a flight from Bangkok, when they suspected he was concealing something inside his clothing on Friday.

A search revealed about 7000 tablets, believed to be Dianabol, concealed in four snap-lock plastic bags inside his underwear.

Officers also found a 100ml bottle labelled “Finexol” and 100 “Trenabolone Acetate” tablets.

The man has been charged with smuggling prohibited imports and is due to face the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on September 17.

The maximum penalty for the offence is five years jail and/or a fine of A$110,000 ($136,815).

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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has accepted that five Mexican footballers who failed doping tests this year had ingested contaminated meat and should not be punished.

The anti-doping agency said it dropped an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the Mexico Football Federation (FMF) decision not to sanction the players.

From Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

“WADA has received compelling evidence from a FIFA study at the under-17 World Cup in Mexico that indicates a serious health problem in Mexico with regards to meat contaminated with clenbuterol,” the anti-doping organisation said in a statement.

“This is a public health issue that is now being addressed urgently by the Mexican government.

“The government of Mexico, which has legislation forbidding the use of steroids with livestock, accepts it has an issue with contaminated meat and is actively looking to resolve the problem state by state,” added WADA.

“Already several arrests have been made pursuant to these laws and large amounts of clenbuterol seized. Investigations are to continue.

“WADA applauds FIFA for the further research it has initiated while WADA, the Mexican Football Federation and the Mexican government have agreed to assist with the study which will continue as a joint project.”

“FIFA would like to express its satisfaction with the decision taken by WADA,” said soccer’s ruling body.

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A Monroe County doctor awaiting sentencing on a steroids charge threatened his estranged wife, according to allegations by federal prosecutors.

The prosecutors requested the judge to lock him up.

From Blog.al.com:

Dr. Mark Peter Koch pleaded guilty last month to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute steroids. A judge allowed him to remain free at a friend’s house in Andalusia until his sentencing in January. One of the conditions of his release is that he have no contact with Jenny Koch.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina Vann wrote in a motion that Dr. Koch called his estranged wife on Thursday and threatened to physically harm her.

“The United States submits that the conditions the Court previously imposed were not sufficient to protect Jenny Koch and the community from the defendant’s criminal activity, and that the defendant is in direct violation of said conditions of release and said conditions are due to be revoked,” Vann wrote.

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The treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis with glucosteroids provides relief of symptoms, but the therapy leads to significant increase in the composition of body fat, as per researchers at the Jan van Breemen Research Institute/Reade in Amsterdam.

“In this early arthritis cohort, there were unfavorable changes in body fat composition after one year in glucosteroid users that were not observed in glucosteroid nonusers,” Michael Nurmohamed, MD, senior reader in rheumatology at Jan van Breemen Research Institute/Reade, in Amsterdam said at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

From Medpagetoday.com:

In the study, the researchers followed 100 consecutive patients from their early arthritis cohort. Early arthritis was defined as diagnosis of the disease for less than two years. Women made up 68% of the cohort.

The group included 85 patients who had rheumatoid arthritis according to American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria; the remaining patients had undifferentiated arthritis.

Doctors prescribed a glucosteroid to 74% of the patients in the first year of treatment, at a mean oral dose of 7.6 mg. The patients underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at baseline and after 12 months of treatment.

The patients on steroids reduced their DAS28 (Disability Activity Score) from a baseline of 5.2 points to 2.7 points at the end of the year. Patients who were not on steroids reduced their DAS28 scores from 4.1 points to 2.8 points. Both reductions were statistically significant within the groups (P<0.05), but it was also significantly different in favor of the steroid users (P<0.001), the researchers explained.

“This effect occurred despite a greater decrease of disease activity in the glucosteroid users which would be expected to favorably influence body fat distribution by encouraging more physical activity,” Nurmohamed told at a poster presentation.

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