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.”

Ducasse’s attorney cited testimony by Agent Brian Surber of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to support his argument the steroid use was the accepted norm in competitive bodybuilding particularly in the absence of steroid testing.

It is extremely difficult if not impossible for a bodybuilder to compete at a national level without the benefit of anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs. Every bodybuilder I have interviewed has told me that EVERY national level bodybuilder is using anabolic steroids as well as other performance enhancing drugs.

… there is no drug testing in the IFBB (The professional bodybuilding association to which Ducasse belongs) events …. [emphasis in original].

Public defender Stephen Greubel argued that the primary reason anabolic steroids were criminalized by the Anabolic Steroid Control Act was to prevent the “corruption of sports and athletes”. However, bodybuilding differs from other sports since steroids are more or less accepted in competitive bodybuilding; steroid testing  has not been utilized as a deterrent. Therefore, the use and distribution of anabolic steroids in competitive bodybuilding does not represent a “corruption” of the sport as it currently exists.

The gravamen of the instant offense is not so much Defendant Ducasse’s personal use of steroids, but rather his willing distribution of those steroids to others. Defendant Ducasse does not deny that in the course of acquiring and using steroids for his own benefit, he provided steroids to others. Who those “others” were, however, should be a relevant factor in assessing the appropriate punishment for Defendant Ducasse.

This is not a case where the defendant was distributing steroids to Olympic athletes, world class cyclists, or professional ballplayers. This is not a case where the defendant was providing steroids to teenage or collegiate athletes. This is not a case where the defendant maintained a sophisticated lab or training facility which could test his clients’ blood levels or provide them with masking agents to aid them in avoiding detection of their steroid use by regulatory agencies or federations. In other words, Defendant Ducasse was not involved in the corruption of sports or athletes – one of the principal concerns of Congress in amending 21 U.S.C. § 812(c) to include steroids in Schedule III.

The seven people that testified that Guy Ducasse distributed steroids to them were primarily competitive bodybuilders, allegedly including one IFBB pro bodybuilder, and individuals seeking a bodybuilder-type physique.

Defendant Ducasse’s distribution of steroids was centered almost exclusively upon the training of those who desired to vastly increase their muscle mass – generally for the purpose of bodybuilding. Most of the individuals who provided Agent Surber with evidence against Defendant Ducasse admitted that they were training to increase muscle mass for the bodybuilder’s physique – either for their own personal satisfaction or for the purpose of bodybuilding competitions. Some of the witnesses requested Defendant Ducasse to assist them with their steroid regimen. Others asked if Defendant Ducasse could obtain steroids for them. Some of the witnesses provided steroids to Defendant Ducasse for his personal use. At least one potential witness was himself a professional bodybuilder. No one who used steroids in this case did so unwillingly or unwittingly.

U.S. District Judge Eagan apparently agreed in part with the defense argument and did not see lengthy incarceration of a bodybuilder as a good use of taxpayer funds. It costs taxpayers approximately $25,894.50 per year to incarcerate a defendant.

Photo credit: Guy Ducasse via Muscletime.com

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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 (”Steroid Phobia,” October 11).

I am writing this text from inside an Orange County jail cell. I am sharing a room no larger than 400 square feet and one in-room toilet with seven other men. I have been here for 9 long days and have no clear idea when I will be able to leave and begin court proceedings in another county.

I want to believe that “truth will prevail” and that science will reveal steroids as a valuable and safe treatment option for patients. That potential has been more difficult for me to visualize each day I reside in this setting. Although this dream’s clarity has previously waxed and waned over the course of one and a half years, it has reached a low point for me.

I have painstakingly documented the thousands of beneficial patient results utilizing steroids in my book, “Demystifying Steroids“. I have proven to myself beyond doubt that steroids can be a powerful and wonderful tool in medicine. I tried to communicate it to others as well, but did I fail?

If by some miracle I was vindicated and allowed to practice medicine again, I ask myself, “Would I prescribe steroids again in the same manner?” When I answer this question, the longing desire to see my family burns inside me and is a powerful incentive to answer, “No!” Despite knowing the facts of steroids benefits and safety with pervasive confidence, I cannot at this point condone its future use by practitioners in current context.

So if I, as a leading proponent of medical steroid therapies, am unwilling to accept the risk of prescribing steroids in the future absent steroid law reform, how can I honestly expect my healthcare provider colleagues to consider prescribing steroids more often and possibly more appropriately in a largely hypogonadal patient population?

My conclusion is medical research is clearly not enough to eliminate the fear of healthcare providers when it comes to prescribing steroids. I believe a legislative change in medicine is appropriate based on recent research and necessary in order to expect healthcare practitioners to alter their prescribing habits and reduce the risk of legal consequences associated with steroids. In the light of recent and dramatic changes in the medical paradigm (compared to the last 70 years) regarding steroids, it is not unreasonable to me to expect complimentary and simultaneous legislative changes. Steroid legislation and legal status have had no change in 20 years despite landmark steroid findings released during the last decade in the medical literature. How can we work together to bring about this needed change?

-written by Dr. Jesse Haggard, October 11, 2009

Dr. Haggard’s prosecution reflects the devastating impact that hysteria related to steroids in sports has had on the prescribing of anabolic steroids for legitimate medical purposes. Congressional attacks on anabolic steroids and misguided DEA steroid law enforcement policy have created an environment where medical healthcare providers are afraid to prescribe steroids and explore the amazing therapeutic potentials this class of drugs may hold for the overall health and well-being of their patients. This fear is only reinforced with the prosecutions of doctors like Dr. Haggard.

The DEA has inexplicably inserted itself into the medical steroid debate by making determinations as to what constitutes appropriate medicine. Law enforcement has asserted their superior “qualifications” to practice medicine over trained medical practitioners who want to provide anabolic therapies for their patients when appropriate. The moral crusade demonizing steroids in sports has regrettably trumped the medical evidence supporting the off-label use of anabolic steroids.

Will the Dr. Haggard case represent the turning point in the government’s steroid witch-hunt? Will the public oppose existing steroid legislation that limits their freedoms in healthcare and access to innovative anabolic steroid therapies?

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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.

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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.

The legal designation as a fugitive may be significant in determining whether Haggard is released on bond pending trial. Haggard clearly did not flee prosecution having lived in Costa Rica for several months prior to being indicted. Haggard may be considered an American living abroad at the time of his indictment who has voluntarily surrendered to federal authorities. He was not compelled to do so given the quite favorable Costa Rican extradition laws. As such, he may less likely to be considered a flight risk. In addition, his father has informed the court that he would assume full responsibility should the court decide to release Haggard into his custody in Phoenix pending a court date.

MESO-Rx has reported extensively on the steroid hysteria in the Phoenix area and specifically on Dr. Haggard’s case over the past year. Dr. Jesse Haggard contacted MESO-Rx last month prior to surrendering to ensure that coverage of his surrender would be fairly reported; he hoped that our coverage could pre-empt the hysterical, tabloid-style journalism that he had experienced in Phoenix.

MESO-Rx announced Dr. Haggard’s surrender on September 28, 2009 on our blog. MESO-Rx solicited the assistance of Aaron Singerman and Carl Lanore to help report the truth about Haggard’s case. We arranged an interview on the popular internet-based radio show OFF TOPIC for Jesse Haggard on September 30th. Carl Lanore has subsequently discussed Haggard’s case on Superhuman Radio on October 5th. The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuting defendants in the Applied Pharmacy Services  steroid investigation purportedly listened live and heard Dr. Haggard passionately defend the therapeutic use of anabolic steroids on OFF TOPIC and/or Superhuman Radio. 

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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.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had classified Dr. Haggard as a fugitive after it was suspected that he had left the country. Haggard had, in fact, travelled to Costa Rica, where he has since resided, in an effort to buy time for the preparation of a thorough and meticulous defense of his medical practice (”Turning Point,” September 17).

I left the US in order to have time, resources (like a computer and internet access) and limited distractions (such as media, law officials or medical board officials) to build a very organized case that justified my previous actions, of prescribing steroids to patients, beyond doubt to everyone. This was intended to be temporary.”

Also, since the DEA took more than 3 years to produce these charges based on prescriptions from 2005, Haggard did not think the situation had great urgency.

In a recent email, Dr. Haggard explained the additional burden of proving his case in a climate of hysteria.

“I knew I needed to prove beyond doubt, in a context of steroid hysteria, that I had legitimate medical purpose and that the therapies were safe. I feel the evidence and logic promoting steroids is a landslide when viewing all of the evidence, especially when coupled with clinical observation.”

Dr. Haggard had previously condemned the government’s witch-hunt against him in his book “Demystifying Steroids“. The well-documented book provided an impassioned defense of the therapeutic use of anabolic steroids in his medical practice. While in Costa Rica, Haggard explained his motivations for writing the book in his blog:

I had written and published what I considered to be ironclad support for the appropriate medical use of steroids, eight months ago. I predicted the book would change the minds, hearts and practice of the general public, patients, health care practitioners, policy makers and law enforcement officials. I wrote the book to serve as a manual for the public to learn about the possible benefits of steroids and to aid patients that identified similarities with their own health and the cases I presented in the book to intelligently approach their practitioners about steroids. Furthermore, I wrote the second half of the book for practitioners to see the research and help them feel comfortable about prescribing steroids when appropriate.

Haggard has been an outspoken critic of the sensationalistic media, specifically the “investigative reporting” team at the local ABC affiliate. Dr. Haggard’s ability to practice medicine and subsequently defend himself against legal accusations was considerably hampered by the irresponsible reporting of ABC15’s Josh Bernstein. Bernstein blatantly promoted propaganda and hysteria (”Please Avoid the Media,” September 17).

[T]he media has done a great job at misrepresenting the truth and reality of specific events, especially Josh Bernstein from ABC 15 news in Phoenix, Arizona. He wanted to interview me in the past, but he would not agree to a live interview. He self proclaims to have a reputation for getting results, but in my experience is he has a reputation for glamorizing inaccurately negative and meaningless results. Every story he reports on seems to focus and result in destroying other people. [...]

Josh Bernstein has missed the more meaningful story of this entire situation. The story that has the potential to positively impact millions of people’s lives is that anabolic steroids do not have near the adverse effect risks that they were originally thought that to have and that anabolic steroids have amazing healing potential.

Dr. Jesse Haggard has made considerable progress in the preparation of his legal defense medical rationale. Now that this has been largely accomplished, Haggard has decided to abandon his temporary status as a fugitive and surrender himself to U.S. authorities. His desire on the eve of his surrender is to spread the following simple message to general public, health care providers, law enforcement officers and policymakers:

“Medical research clearly shows steroids are not as dangerous as they were originally thought to be and steroids have impressive potential for improving health and preventing disease. Thus, medical practitioners should consider prescribing them more freely and without as much restraint.”

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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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Janet Reincke said there are several witnesses willing to testify that Ducasse sold them drugs.

As part of the plea agreement, the government dismissed the following charges in Guy Ducasse’s indictment: one count of “possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids”; two counts of “distribution of anabolic steroids”; and one count of “attempting to corrupt persuade another person with intent to hinder, delay, and prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission of a federal offense”. Officers reportedly found human growth hormone (hGH), testosterone, Deca Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate), and Winstrol (stanozolol) during a search of his home on March 25, 2008.

Guy Ducasse faces a maximum of five years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and two years supervised probation after pleading guilty to giving a box of Proviron to his Oklahoma friend. He will be sentenced on November 13, 2009.

The Guy Ducasse case is part of an ongoing two-year Oklahoma steroid investigation involving IFBB and NPC bodybuilders and the network of individuals associated with these bodybuilders and the sport of competitive bodybuilding.

The Oklahoma investigation has been spearheaded by Special Agent R. Brian Surber of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control (OBNDD). It has expanded beyond Oklahoma to include individuals in Texas, Arkansas, New Jersey, North Carolina and Maryland.

Brian Surber has reportedly used photographs of bodybuilders as part of probable cause during the Oklahoma investigation. The use of “physique profiling” or “muscle profiling” has caused concern among the bodybuilding community.

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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 (”Kelly Blair v. Michael O’Keeffe, et al., (Cause No. 2009-50671),” August 10)

Defendant Robin Dobbins (”Dobbins”) made false statements of fact regarding Blair and provided false information to the other Defendants. Dobbins made false statements of fact regarding Blair and his involvement in preparing “collections” of drugs to ship to Major League Baseball players, including Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. Dobbins also claims that Blair bragged about his involvement in supplying steroids to professional athletes.

Kelly Blair told Mike Fish of ESPN.com that Dobbins was disgruntled after Blair refused to hire him as a personal trainer at 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness.

Blair’s lawsuit also lists several additional statement published in the Roger Clemens steroid book that he claims are false (”Kelly Blair v. Michael O’Keeffe, et al., (Cause No. 2009-50671),” August 10).

“Defendants falsely stated Blair was “pushing” steroids to professional athletes and using 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness, Blair’s gym, as a front for selling drugs. ”

“Defendants falsely claim Blair was a steroid “pusher” involved in an underground steroid network.”

“Defendants falsely state Blair acquired steroids and Human Growth Hormone from AIDS patients, from individuals in Mexico and Canada and from doctors who were liberal with prescriptions.”

“Defendants falsely stated that 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness was a gym for “cops,” “strippers” and “guys that wanted to get injected.”"

“Defendants additionally state Blair was associated with former IFBB bodybuilder Craig Titus, a confessed murderer and convicted ecstacy dealer, who Defendants claim moved steroids through Blair’s gym.”

Kelly Blair is in Washington, D.C. today after he was subpenoaed to appear before a federal grand jury investigating whether baseball player Roger Clemens lied to Congress about his use of anabolic steroids (”Local trainer going before Clemens grand jury,” August 10).

“Why the prosecutors are insisting on getting his testimony, I don’t know, but he’ll answer their questions to the best of his ability,” said attorney Jason Gibson, who filed a defamation lawsuit on Blair’s behalf Monday in Harris County District Court. “He’s repeatedly stated that he has no information about Clemens and steroids.” [...]

“He understands this is a big important matter, but enough is enough,” Gibson said. “There’s just a lot of things that are incorrect that were enough to push him over the edge and out of business. His reputation has been trashed.”

Blair owned a gym named 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness. The gym closed a few months after the book came out in 2008 because no one wanted to be associated with him anymore, Gibson said. Since then Blair has worked at any job he can find to make ends meet, he added.

The Roger Clemens steroid witch-hunt targeted the fitness industry in the Houston area  last year after former IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitsky started making inquiries about several fitness professionals in an effort to substantiate the use of anabolic steroids and growth hormone by Roger Clemens.

Kelly Blair may be considered collateral damage in the war against steroids in sports. Yet, Blair’s misfortune may also be considered an acceptable loss if the government ultimately wins its case against Roger Clemens. 

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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.

Göteborg police confiscated small quantities of bodybuilding supplements including ephedrine and clenbuterol, consistent with personal use, from the home of Irene Andersen. All supplements were subsequently returned to Andersen except for a single vial of Winstrol (stanozolol).  Anderson was fined approximately USD $200 as the penalties for personal possession of anabolic steroids in Sweden is comparatively low.

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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.

The FDA Commissioner admitted that the FDA has failed to adequately enforce the law and fulfill its regulatory duties in the past (”FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg’s Speech on Effective Enforcement and Benefits to Public Health (as prepared) delivered at the Food and Drug Law Institute“, August 6).

In recent years, the Government Accountability Office and others have suggested that the FDA’s enforcement efforts may not have always lived up to these principles.

Reports have noted that there has been a steep decline in the FDA’s enforcement activity over the past several years. At the same time, many of the enforcement actions that the FDA has undertaken have been hampered by unreasonable delays.

In some cases, serious violations have gone unaddressed for far too long. These include violations involving product quality, adulteration, and misbranding; false, misleading, or otherwise unlawful labeling; and misleading advertising.

Hamburg promised to devote the increased funding to heightened enforcement actions under the Obama administration.

The FDA is fortunate to have received significant funding increases for the current and next fiscal year that will be devoted to additional inspection and compliance activities that will support the elements of an effective enforcement strategy that I have outlined.

Hamburg’s emphasis on enforcement of the (existing) law is encouraging to supporters of DSHEA. DSHEA advocates claim that problems within the supplement industry are the result of a failure of FDA enforcement rather than symptomatic of problems inherent in DSHEA.

However, Hamburg’s comments at FDLI suggest that DSHEA is not entirely safe. Hamburg reiterated the FDA warning that warned consumers to stay away from bodybuilding supplements that contain “androgen-, estrogen-, and progestin-related active ingredients” regardless of whether they were currently DSHEA-compliant. This suggests DSHEA is very likely to be weakened in the near future.

In addition to sending warning letters, the FDA has posted a Public Health Advisory and other materials urging consumers to stop taking body-building supplements from any manufacturer that are labeled as containing androgen-, estrogen-, and progestin-related active ingredients. By pairing enforcement action with education, we hope to prevent others from being harmed by these products.

Furthermore, Hamburg repeated the assertion that the supplements involved in the raid were legally classified as “anabolic steroids”. The assertion was first articulated by FDA Special Agent Jeff Novitzky in the affidavit for a search warrant involving American Cellular Labs. Novitzky identified “Tren” (aka “4-estra”, 19-Norandrosta-4,9-diene-3,17-dione and Estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione) and “Madol” (aka desoxymethyltestosterone, “DMT” and 17a-Methyl-etioallocholan-2-ene-17b-ol) as “anabolic steroids”.

Last week, we took action against companies selling anabolic steroids under the guise of dietary supplements.

One manufacturer, American Cellular Labs, sells eight of these products on its website. The site promotes the products with claims like, “MASS Xtreme is perfect if you are focused on adding muscle mass, power and strength to your physique,” and “ESTRO Xtreme… You get two estrogen blocking effects in one fantastic product!”

It is important to note that “DMT” and “4-estra” were NOT legally defined as an “anabolic steroid” under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 and 2004. Supplement industry legal experts disagree with the assertion that “tren” or “Madol” can currently be legally classified as a controlled substance (anabolic steroid).

Supplement legal expert Michael DiMaggio of Collins McDonald and Gann says that the FDA does not have the authority or jurisdiction to make this administrative determination (”Supplements for Athletes Draw Alert From F.D.A.,” July 28).

“The F.D.A. kind of kicked the door in and said ‘we believe they are illegal now,’ ” Mr. DiMaggio said. “This is going to come as a shock to many companies and big distributors.”

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg’s FDLI presentation suggests that DSHEA will likely be weakened and clearly subject to tight enforcement.

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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).

Are reporters actively soliciting sources for the test results?

It makes a difference. If a source gives the media documents under seal, the reporter is on safe ground. If the reporters are pushing sources to break the law, they are complicit.

Michael Schmidt, the New York Times reporter responsible for the David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa steroid stories, openly detailed his plan “to speak with anyone who might have seen the 2003 list” in an interview with a senior editor from Editor & Publisher (”NY Times’ Reporter ‘Had a Plan’ to Get Steroid List Names,” July 30).

Schmidt says he increased his pursuit of the 2003 list after Sports Illustrated in February revealed that Alex Rodriguez was one of the names. [...]

That is when he set out a plan, to speak with anyone who might have seen the 2003 list. [...]

Schmidt said he sought to speak with anyone who might have had knowledge of the list. “Lawyers, clerks, assistants,” he said. “Anyone from baseball to the players union to the federal government. Anyone who would have seen it.”

The Major League Baseball Players Association released a statement critical of the New York Times’ pursuit of the David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez story (”MLBPA Response to New York Times Report,” July 30).

“Today The New York Times, once again, reports what it asserts to be information contained in documents under court seal… The active pursuit of information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal is a crime. That its informants, according to the Times, are lawyers is both shocking and sad. That the Times is pursuing and publishing what it openly declares to be information which may not be legally disclosed is equally sad.

“We intend to take the appropriate legal steps to see that the court orders are enforced.”

Where does a reporter draw line between simply reporting information that was criminally leaked and becoming complicit in a crime when obtaining that information?

Photo credit: WallyG / Flickr

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