November 16, 2009
IFBB professional bodybuilder Guy Ducasse was sentenced to one month imprisonment and 400 hours community service after pleading guilty to steroid distribution. United States District Judge Claire Eagan emphatically rejected the prosecution’s argument that Ducasse was “no different than any other drug dealer and should be treated accordingly.” Federal prosecutors had asked Judge Eagan to put Ducasse in jail for 15-21 months.
Guy Ducasse’s attorney, public defender Stephen Greubel, skillfully used testimony by the prosecution’s star witness to lay the groundwork for requesting a reduced sentence of zero months for his client. Greubel argued that the use of anabolic steroids was expected and required to compete as a professional bodybuilder in non-steroid tested competitions. Therefore, Ducasse’s personal use of steroids and his distribution of steroids to other bodybuilders did NOT result in “the corruption of sports or athletes.”
October 24, 2009
Dr. Jesse Haggard is quickly becoming a martyr to the cause of medical steroids. There is no better example of the excesses of the modern day steroid witch-hunt than the federal government’s prosecution of the Arizona naturopathic physician.
Dr. Haggard is being prosecuted by the federal government for allegedly prescribing anabolic steroids “outside the usual course of professional practice” and “not for legitimate medical purposes”. Yet Dr. Haggard not only met the standard of care but often established the medical standard of care with off-label prescribing of anabolic steroids supported by scientific and clinical evidence.
In a recent communication, Dr. Haggard warned healthcare practitioners that evidence-based prescribing of anabolic steroids can not be advised in the present-day climate of steroid hysteria. Haggard advocates steroid law reform as the solution that will allow medical practitioners to prescribe anabolic steroids more freely, and without restraint, in appropriate medical conditions Read more
October 7, 2009
United States Magistrate Judge David Baker refused to release Dr. Jesse Haggard at a detention hearing at the U.S. Courthouse in Orlando. Dr. Haggard has been detained without bail as a flight risk pending his transfer to Mobile, Alabama sometime in the next 10-14 days. Federal prosecutors argued that Haggard knew he was under federal investigation at the time he moved to Costa Rica and that Haggard knew he should have surrendered based on postings on his personal blog and legal documents he signed before he left. Magistrate Judge Baker was not influenced by defense arguments that Haggard voluntarily surrendered and therefore was not a flight risk.
The blockbuster revelation during court proceedings on Wednesday was that the federal government “hired” local news media to actively assist them with their investigation of Dr. Jesse Haggard and Revolution Medical Center. A source with knowledge of the court proceedings indicated that the government worked with television crews in Phoenix to conduct an undercover investigation to gather evidence against Haggard.
The television news station was not identified. Suggestions that the federal government has paid news organizations to conduct their steroid witch-hunt are highly disturbing.
October 7, 2009
Dr. Jesse Haggard will appear today before United States Magistrate Judge David Baker in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in his first court appearance since voluntarily surrendering to federal authorities on Friday. Haggard will be represented by federal public defender Clarence W. Counts, Jr.
Dr. Haggard had been living in Costa Rica for over a year preparing a scientific defense to support the therapeutic use of anabolic steroids during the course of his medical practice. The naturopathic physician moved to Costa Rica with his family to escape the hysteria perpetuated by the local media. Haggard was harrassed and practically stalked by ABC15 “investigative journalist” Josh Bernstein in a sensationalistic tabloid-style witch-hunt. Haggard wrote and published the book “Demystifying Steroids“, a patient and practictioner guide to anabolic steroid therapy, while in Costa Rica.
Although Haggard has been called a fugitive by federal prosecutors, this may not be entirely accurate. Haggard had travelled and resided in Costa Rica for approximately eight months prior to being indicted on federal steroid charges. Furthermore, Dr. Haggard or Timothy Holt (Haggard’s legal representation at the time) were never served or shown a warrant for his arrest. Apparently, the government only shared the warrant with ABC15’s Josh Bernstein.
September 30, 2009
The FDA served iForce Nutrition and owner Dave Nelson with a search warrant during the course of the 2009 IFBB Olympia Expo. The search warrant was executed in the days following the FDA raid of Bodybuilding.com. Four iForce Nutrition products were listed as “undercover purchases” made at Bodybuilding.com. Both the iForce Nutrition search warrant and the Bodybuilding.com search warrant alleged that these products contain anabolic steroids, unapproved new drugs, and/or misbranded drugs: 1,4 AD Bold 200 (androstenedione), 17a PheraFLEX (Madol), Dymethazine (Superdrol) and Methadrol (Superdrol).
The FDA media strategy forced several dietary supplement companies and their owners into the spotlight and made them readily accessible to both federal agents and media representatives at the 2009 Olympia Expo.
September 28, 2009
Dr. Jesse Haggard, the former clinical director of Revolution Medical Centers, will voluntarily surrender to federal agents in Florida on Friday, October 2, 2009. Haggard will be taken into custody at the Orlando International Airport and transported to Alabama where he faces steroid distribution charges.
Dr. Haggard was indicted as part of the Applied Pharmacy Services criminal investigation announced in January 2009. The government has accused Haggard of prescribing anabolic steroids “outside the usual course of professional practice” and “not for legitimate medical purposes”. However, unlike other doctors similarly prosecuted, Haggard had an indisputable doctor-patient relationship with all of his patients that included comprehensive laboratory testing; Haggard never prescribed anabolic steroids over the internet or to any patients not evaluated during an in-person medical examination.
September 25, 2009
The federal government continued their steroid witch-hunt targeting the dietary supplement industry with a raid of Bodybuilding.com on Thursday, September 24, 2009. The criminal investigation accuses Bodybuilding.com and its corporate officers of illegal marketing and distributing several anabolic steroids, unapproved new and misbranded drugs labeled fraudulently as dietary supplements, specifically “Madol”, “Tren”, “Superdrol”, “Androstenedione”, and “Turinabol”.
Only androstenedione and Turinabol are legally classified as anabolic steroids; these ingredients were not disclosed on the product labels. The FDA has asserted that Madol, Tren and Superdrol are also anabolic steroids. However, only the DEA has the authority to administratively add these substances to the Controlled Substances list. The DEA has NOT yet made this determination. These ingredients have been widely and openly sold as listed ingredients in dietary supplements for years.
The FDA media strategy most likely intentionally staged the raid to coincide with the first day of the 2009 Olympia Weekend. The Olympia Expo, the centerpiece of the Olympia Weekend, includes a large number of sports nutrition companies as exhibitors. The Bodybuilding.com has had a prominent presence at the Expo for several years and is the main sponsor of the 2009 IFBB Mr. Olympia, the top competition in professional bodybuilding. Read more
August 12, 2009
IFBB pro bodybuilder Guy Ducasse pleaded guilty to one count of distributing the anabolic steroid Proviron (mesterolone). Ducasse testified that he gave the steroid to his friend without charge. The bodybuilder did NOT admit to selling steroids in the plea agreement (”Local bodybuilder pleads guilty to distributing steroids,” August 12).
A local bodybuilder tied to an ongoing steroid drug ring pleaded guilty to one count of distributing drugs in Tulsa federal court Wednesday morning.
During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Claire Eagan Wednesday, Guy Ducasse, 46, pleaded guilty to distributing steroids in 2006, He testified in court that he gave an anabolic steroid to his dentist, who he said was also his friend. However, he denied selling the drugs to the dentist.
The government is not required to prove that Ducasse sold steroids in order to convict him on a federal steroid distribution charge. Steroid distribution, with or without financial compensation, is a criminal violation of the Anabolic Steroid Control Act. Yet, Assistant United States Attorney Janet Reincke insisted that Ducasse sold steroids. Read more
August 11, 2009
Kelly Blair, the owner of now-defunct 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness near Houston, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the authors and publisher of “American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime” on the eve of his grand jury testimony in the Roger Clemens perjury investigation. The book was written by the New York Daily News investigative journalism team consisting of Michael O’Keefe, Christian Red, Teri Thompson and Nathaniel Vinton. The suit also names the publisher (Knopf Doubleday) and one previously anonymous source (Robin Dobbins) cited in the book (”Authors and Publisher of Baseball Steroids Book Sued for Defamation, According to The Gibson Law Firm,” August 10).
Blair’s attorney, Jason A. Gibson, of The Gibson Law Firm, stated, “As the lawsuit alleges, Kelly Blair was maliciously and recklessly defamed by the authors and publishers of this book and at least one dubious source whose false allegations they published. Kelly looks forward to his day in court on this matter. In the meantime, he looks forward to testifying tomorrow before the grand jury in Washington.”
Kelly Blair’s lawsuit alleges that Robin Dobbins is responsible for the information in the book that links Blair directly to the sale of anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to Major League Baseball (MLB) players Read more
August 7, 2009
Swedish police have exonerated IFBB pro bodybuilder Irene Andersen of steroid distribution charges. A May 6, 2009 news story published by the Swedish newspaper Expressen.se had implicated Andersen in the possession of anabolic steroids with the intent to resale and distribute. The Swedish newspaper has since admitted to Andersen’s attorney that the sole basis of this allegation was based on a single confidential female source. The source has since been discredited and appears to have been motivated by a personal vendetta against Andersen.
MESO-Rx has obtained police documents confirming that Irene Andersen was NOT involved in steroid distribution. Irene Andersen was interrogated by police in Sweden during a series of steroid raids during the week of April 20th, 2009. Police interrogated twelve top Swedish bodybuilders, including at least two IFBB pro bodybuilders, during an exploratory investigation into steroid distribution in the region.
The raids were not based on any evidence of steroid distribution but primarily on “muscle profiling“. Swedish police targeted bodybuilders for suspicion of distribution based on physical appearance. The raids did not result in any distribution charges among those interrogated; Swedish police only discovered personal use quantities of steroids for bodybuilding purposes.
August 6, 2009
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg identified “enforcement of the law” as the overriding objective of the FDA under her leadership at a presentation for the Food and Drug Law Institute in Washington, D.C. on August 6, 2009.
Hamburg cited the FDA raid of American Cellular Labs and the FDA public health advisory regarding steroids in supplements as examples of the increased enforcement activity by the agency; Hamburg promised additional efforts targeting the “illegal sale of anabolic steroids” sold “under the guise of dietary supplements”.
Hamburg did not specifically identify the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act (DSHEA) by name in her speech. Nonetheless, her comments may provide some guidance to sports nutrition companies recently affected by increased FDA enforcement and provide clues to the future of DSHEA.
August 3, 2009
An anabolic steroid expert’s plan to analyze the ingredients of various anabolic steroid preparations has made a few steroid manufacturers very nervous. The project involves laboratory analysis of various steroid products found on the underground black market.
William Llewellyn, the leader of the quality control project, has faced threats, intimidation and organized attacks on his credibility, reputation, and character after revealing his intention to publish the results in the forthcoming book entitled “William Llewellyn’s UNDERGROUND ANABOLICS”.
Balkan Pharmaceuticals
Balkan Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company registered in Moldova, has systematically pressured Llewellyn to remove Balkan steroid products from the project since the book project was first announced at the beginning of the year.
“Alin” of Balkan Pharmaceuticals has resorted to intimidation, threats, and attempted bribery in an effort to influence and/or suppress information in Llewellyn’s underground anabolics book.
Alin has organized a “smear campaign” to damage Llewellyn’s reputation as much as possible in order to discredit the underground anabolics book.
Llewellyn has steadfastly refused to acquiesce to Alin’s demands (”Open Letter to Alin (Balkan)“, July 18).
July 31, 2009
Michael Schmidt of the New York Times reported this week that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were two of the baseball players who tested positive for for anabolic steroids as part of Major League Baseball’s “non-disciplinary and anonymous” steroid testing in 2003.
Jon Pessah, a senior writer at ESPN Magazine, responded that the “real questions about steroids” raised by the New York Times story involve the illegal activity that resulted not only in the government seizure of the list but also the subsequent leaking of the names.
The seizure of the list is the subject of a lawsuit by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) against the federal government. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals imposed a gag order on all parties involved in the case preventing the leaking of names under the penalty of contempt of court.
Jon Pessah, writing for True/Slant, questioned whether reporters are themselves breaking the law in their aggressive purusit of steroid users in Major League Baseball (”The Real Questions About Steroids,” July 30). Read more
July 29, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Public Health Advisory (PHA) warning consumers to avoid using bodybuilding supplements claiming to contain “steroids”, “steroid-like substances”, “steroid alternatives” and “hormone products”. The FDA warning failed to give guidance on the specific product ingredients that were problematic. The extremely broad language cast suspicion upon all “body building supplements” marketed for performance enhancement because they might contain synthetic steroids (”FDA recommends that consumers should not use body building products marketed as containing steroids or steroid-like substances,” July 28).
- “marketed as containing steroids or steroid-like substances”
- “marketed for body building and increasing muscle mass”
- “marketed as alternatives to anabolic steroids for increasing muscle mass and strength”
- “promoted to athletes to improve sports performance and to aid in recovery from training and sporting events”
The target was ostensibly illegal synthetic steroids that are not compliant with the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). However, the FDA news releases and statements appears to demonize ALL steroid products including those that are legally sold and marketed as dietary supplements under DSHEA. Read more
July 26, 2009
Russ Walker, a security police officer at a high-security government nuclear weapons facility, was fired after testing positive for anabolic steroids. Walker attributes the positive steroid test to his use of the over-the-counter supplement identified as “DecaVol” manufactured by Advanced Muscle Science (AMS).
Russ Walker was a model employee at Wackenhut Services Inc. Oak Ridge (WSI-OR). WSI Oak Ridge is the private security contractor for the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee where nuclear warheads are manufactured for the U.S. military. Walker was asked to undergo steroid testing based on unspecified probable cause that he was in violation of company and Department of Energy policy.
Walker’s employment was terminated after he tested positive for anabolic steroids. Walker is one of several WSI-OR security police officers who have blamed positive steroid test results on the use of over-the-counter supplements Read more
