I would expect that most journalists would have a basic understanding of anabolic steroids given that the topic has been a major news story for several years now. But journalists still fail to perform their “steroid fact checking” when writing stories on the topic. The Toledo Blade Newspaper out of Ohio published a story about a steroid bust. The only problem with the story was that the man was not busted for anabolic steroids.

Authorities searched the bar in January and found steroids and syringes in a filing cabinet.

The items found were listed as a blister pack containing nine tablets of Clenbuterol, a bottle with liquid Clenbuterol, several vials of the human growth hormone Jintropin, and a bag of syringes and more human growth hormone. Clenbuterol is a steroid used in meat production that’s banned in the United States.

Clenbuterol is not a steroid and neither is human growth hormone. A substance does not automatically become an anabolic steroid simply because it is used in sports or bodybuilding for performance enhancing purposes.  I’m not sure why so many people are committed to remaining blissfully ignorant about steroids. Why the resistance to steroid education?