But – I’m not using steroids to help build muscle mass, improve physical performance at sports, or even to maintain my youthful sexual prowess into my dotage! My use is bad enough, that kind of use is downright dangerous.

How dangerous, you might ask? Well, see my article on dangers of a simple little thing like artificial sweeteners, and mounting evidence of not only carcinogenic damage but, worse, DNA damage to genes. You know, stuff you pass along to your children so they will grow up to be normal human beings rather than distorted freaks or sickly weaklings, or cripples, or..... But enough digression, back to Steroids, High School abuse and possible long-term consequences.

Way back in late 1970's I knew a woman who was so vain that she wanted to stay young, active and sexually attractive even though she was nearly 60. She was using steroids and she looked like she was sixtyish and using drugs, but she felt good, thought she looked great and her husband accepted it. She just wanted to "maximize human experience" as long as possible and they both accepted long-term consequences of her actions. We talked about it quite a lot at time, and she had no illusions about rapid deterioration after use and possible cancer or tumors because of using steroids.

First a brief look at Major League Sports - football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and track and field. The world has been using steroids and/or other performance enhancing drugs for about 40 years, to point where Olympic Testing constantly turns up "champions" who have been using one or another of performance enhancing drugs. Football stars, retired, have died in their 30's and early 40's of complications from performance enhancing drug use. A couple of young up and comers in pro baseball have recently died and several have tested positive for steroid use. So far there's no real evidence in that either Hockey players or Basketball players have been using steroids, but I'll wager that they have been and speculation on Television Sports Shows indicates that they have been.

Is there a steroid problem in High Schools? The answer is an emphatic yes! Is there a steroid problem in Junior Highs and Grade Schools? The answer is still an emphatic yes! Though not quite as bad as in our High Schools. Are we, as a nation, doing something about it? The answer is "Slowly, but a growing movement" is gaining steam against High School Steroid Use. Here's a look at what's happening nationwide (no data available on Canada).

According to a survey by Center for Disease Control and Prevention, steroid use among high school students more than doubled between 1991 and 2003. More than 6% of 15,000 students surveyed admitted trying steroid pills or injections. At same time less than 4% of nation's high schools were testing for steroids, according to National Federation of State High School Associations' survey of athletic directors. Further, John Stewart, Commissioner of Florida High School Athletic Association, asserts "there has to be a trickle-down effect" at college and high school level, when citing use of steroids at professional level.