Adi Ekmescic

Professor Steven A. Hall

English 1010
14 April 2015
Issue Exploration Essay

Steroid Use By Teens.

I've personally wanted to try steroids when I was in water polo, which is why I wanted to
research this topic. Steroids are a drug that can be used to pack on muscle a lot faster than by using
traditional methods, such as exercise and nutrition. When someone starts building muscle, their muscle
fibers start to have microscopic tears in them, this is why people feel sore after lifting weights. The
body heals these rips in about 2-3 days while steroids do it in less than 36 hours. Steroids were meant
to be used medically for the men that have low testosterone levels and need the added boost. Most
people that are using these are not medical patients but instead are gym rats. Sellers are supplying the
steroids are making website's so you can order what you need and have it delivered to your door within
the week. If more people knew about the side effects and what it does to the body, they might
reconsider if the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. The FDA and multiple doctors wouldn't recommend
recreational use of any kind because of the health issues. I have personally thought about taking
steroids because of the benefits it would give to me while I was competing in water polo. I didn't really
think about the health risks. Im glad I chose to research this issue because I have learned a lot about
the pros and cons of steroids. Although there are pros of steroids there is still much debate about the
health effects it has and whether the benefits outweigh the consequences.
Teens are at a higher risk of using steroids because of the muscle gaining benefits. Ali
Mohamadi, a FDA researcher, wrote the article, Teens and Steroids: A Dangerous Combo. Ali
explains that anabolic steroids work by helping the body's muscle cells produce more protein which in

turn leads the athlete to work out more often, leads to increased muscle size and strength and, at the
same time, also allows the body to produce more ATP, the "fuel" muscles need to move. The positive
use of steroids are muscle gains, and repairs tissue faster than normal. The Consequences, however, are
multiple health risks which could handicap you for life. Ali says, Teens are getting steroids so easy
that even a caveman could do it. To get steroids all you have to do is get on the internet and order some
right to your doorstep (Mohamadi 1). While I agree that the illegal sale of anabolic steroids should be
discouraged because of the high level of uncertainty of what you might be getting. I think it should be
legalized and regulated. Somebody else might argue that the same side effects can be found on any
number of prescription pills that are made in a lab the same way steroids are. The FDA could overlook
the sale and distribution of anabolic steroids, which would prevent any impurities in the final product
deeming it safe to the public. Deciding to make these available to the public it is important to
understand how they are used or abused, as well as the effect they have on the body.

Understanding how users are taking steroids can aid in knowing if these provide enough health
benefits or if they are unsafe to use. Elliot Goldberg is a doctor that has done research and has
submitted her findings to the drug abuse website which is government owned and operated. Goldberg
wrote an article titled, "What Are the Health Consequences of Steroid Abuse? Elliot Goldberg
describes the different types of methods used by steroids users and what benefits and drawbacks the
different methods bring. She describes there are 3 main ways of abusing steroids. Cycling, which
involve taking multiple doses of steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and
starting again. Users also stack steroids, this is when you combine several different types of steroids.
She also describes the health risks associated with steroid use, your liver might develop Peliosis
Hepaitis, which is when blood-filled cysts form in the liver, if these rupture it will cause internal
bleeding and eventually death. She also touched upon Roid Rage. In Goldbergs article she explains
an experiment that researchers conducted a test with a group of volunteers, which they gave steroids

and the other a placebo. The results show that steroid users acted much more violently committing
more crimes than they would usually do when drug free. A documentary from Netflix called Bigger,
Faster, Stronger proved this to be false as he stated that Roid rage is only about 5% of users. He also
acknowledges the that steroids can have harmful affects like testes shrinking, acne and higher
cholesterol. The show also explained that all of the side effects can be reversed, when off of the drug.
Both of these sources are reliable for information for any kind of drug, its effects and intended
purposes. Given all of this information I personally disagree with a lot of what Elliot Goldberg is
saying because she is so biased that steroids are bad, and in her article she only quoted one research
study and never gave a specific numbers on how many people experience Roid rage. I have had
contact with people I knew that took steroids and I have never seen him act out of the ordinary in his
anger. Knowing that raging is a very uncommon thing and all side effects are reversible, I think there
should access to steroids for people wanting to use them in a healthy manner to help build muscle.
Many doctors will agree with what Ellie Goldberg has to say about steroids, when in fact there
are doctors that see benefits to using them. Mack Phillips, a doctor, is in support for the use of steroids,
as well as showing the real world applications like the use of corticosteroids and the benefits it has for
arthritis patients. Corticosteroids used to treat arthritis, asthma and autoimmune diseases such as lupus
and multiple sclerosis. Even this steroid which is used by thousands still carries a list of side effects
like weight gain, acne, and high blood sugar levels. For some the relief that they get from the steroids
outweighs the side effects that they may or may not get. An article from the U.S. National Library of
Medicine, which is very informational but is also very biased on showing how steroids could be
beneficial. The article lists very few side effects like high blood pressure, headache and muscle
weakness. Mack Phillips also talked about how they are given to the patient, it is mostly commonly
given by IV (intravenous). There are other ways of the taking corticosteroids like orally which has a
whole other set of side effects along with it. I agree with Dr. Phillips because of the benefits and the
side effects arent as serious as other prescription drugs. In the long run corticosteroids will have more

benefits as medicine moves along and will continue helping people.

I think steroids should be legal because it's not any different from any other prescription drug on
the market. Even its side effects arent as severe as Prozac which has a book of side effects, some are
headache, trouble concentrating, memory problems, weakness, confusion, hallucinations, fainting,
seizure, shallow breathing or breathing that stops. While I agree with the FDA, to take down the third
party steroid sellers and websites because thats what is ultimately going to kill people, because they
are selling unregulated, unknown products. If some of the huge pharmaceutical companies were to
produce steroids it could be under the full control of the government. Our Olympic team took it to
defeat the Russians during the cold war. The reason it was banned was because a Canadian runner beat
a Carl Lewis for 100 meter sprint world record and later was tested positive for steroids. I dont think
this is fair because you don't just gain the benefits you have to still train and eat right, workout daily to
achieve that dream.

Mohamadi, Ali. "U.S. Food and Drug Administration."Teens and Steroids: A Dangerous Combo.
FDA, 3 Nov. 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
Goldberg, Elliot. "Anabolic Steroid Abuse."What Are the Health Consequences of Steroid Abuse?
Drugabuse.gov, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
Phillips, Mack. "Steroids: MedlinePlus."U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of
Medicine, 9 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.