Performance enhancing supplements

1SG (Join to see)

I certainly do not claim to be an expert in this area and will, therefore, leave medical opinions, etc. to the experts. However, unfortunately, I do have considerable experience in dealing with steroid/synthetic steroids and energy/performance enhancing drugs.

While assigned as the General Manager of the Wackenhut contract that provided over 1,000 para-military protective force personnel to provide security for the nuclear weapons program sites in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, I became very familiar with the issue of performance enhancing drugs and the fact that they many test positive for steroids.

A key fact to remember when looking at this issue -- Steroids are Schedule III drugs under the Drug Control Act and are illegal without a prescription. Many performance-enhancing drugs, while they may or may not contain minute amounts of steroids, make you test positive for steroids on a drug test.

When in Oak Ridge, I had probable cause to suspect that some of our Security Police Officers were taking steroids and were pressuring others to do so. While all our personnel were subject to annual and random drug testing, the Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) prescribed testing protocol did not test for steroids and, as such, we never identified anybody taking steroids through that testing. However, as I had probable cause to believe some identified individuals were taking steroids, and we had a “Drug Free Workplace Program” in place, I required the identified individuals to take a drug test specifically designed to detect illegal steroid use. All five tested positive for steroids (and none had a prescription) and all were terminated for illegal drug use.

During the due process that ensued between identification, testing and termination, one of the individuals came to me and swore that he had not been using steroids, but that he had been using a performance-enhancing drug that could have caused the positive drug test for steroids. He showed me the box and bottle of the product he was using and, in large letters on the box, there was a warning that said something like this: “WARNING: For members of the military and others who may be in a drug testing program, use of this product may result in a positive test for steroids”. Of course, the natural question I asked this Protective Force member was why he used the product if he was aware of that warning. He stated that many had used it and had never had a problem with it (again, I remind you that the normal drug test did not test for steroids).

I believed him and others (they were all “good troops”) and tried to find a way to not terminate them, but, unfortunately, they tested positive for steroids and the federal law required they be terminated. Basically, the test results ruled; what caused the positive was deemed to be irrelevant.

The problem that I had was that, potentially, I had hundreds of Security Police Officers using that product or others like it. I started a big information campaign to advise our folks about the possible consequences of taking those products (based on drug tests, not possible health issues). DOE/NNSA required me to conduct random tests for steroids and we ended up terminating several more before the dust settled.

I briefed the hierarchy at DOE/NNSA headquarters about the issue with the positive tests for non-steroid products and requested that they put the word out across the complex. I also briefed the situation to a wide variety of groups representing other DOE/NNSA sites, as well as within our own company, as we had security contracts all over the world that could be impacted by this issue.

One thing I learned during my research into this was that the biggest users or steroids and performance-enhancing drugs are: military personal; police officers; firemen; athletes; and body builders. Almost 100% of the people we hired as Security Police Officers were former military and police.

As the old saying goes – “Let the buyer beware” or, in this case, “Let the user beware”.

1SG (Join to see) I know that it is a legitimate body building stuff (Creatine) and some use this and other seriously dangerous stuff. I really don't get this. Steve Coursen who played with the Tampa Bay Bucs bench pressed over 720 lbs and he died of a heart that literally exploded. Steroids, not Creatine Monohydrate and there is even concern over that for various reasons.