Teenage Illicit Steroid Use

Submitted by: Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee

NDD.004.a08

WHEREAS, steroids are schedule III controlled substances, requiring a prescription to be used legally in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the use of steroids by teenagers presents significant health risks, which may include among other things: aggressiveness, acne, injury to the connective tissues, damaged liver, altered cholesterol levels, stunted growth, permanent breast size increase and premature baldness in males, and females may experience male pattern baldness, the growth of body hair, and a deepening voice; and

WHEREAS, steroidal supplements (also referred to as dietary supplements) may also produce the same harmful side effects as steroids when taken in quantities that substantially increase the body testosterone level; and

WHEREAS, teenage athletes often admire professional athletes and emulate their behavior; and

WHEREAS, several professional athletes, including track star Marion Jones, track and field star Ben Johnson, and football player Lyle Alzado, among others, have either admitted or have been shown to use steroids; and

WHEREAS, the education of teenagers about the health hazards of steroid and steroidal supplement use and the legal consequences of illegal steroid use is an extremely important and effective way to reduce steroid abuse; and

WHEREAS, there are various publicly available resources that may be utilized by secondary schools to educate teenage athletes and their parents regarding the health hazards of steroid and steroidal supplement use and the legal consequences of illegal steroid use, including but not limited to the following: a. Taylor Hooton Foundation, an internet website dedicated to the abolishment of performance enhancing drug use by Americas youth through evaluation education and elimination, at http://www.taylorhooton.org 12 b. NIDA for teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse, an internet website sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse which provides information concerning the use and abuse of various drugs, including steroids, at http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_ster1.asp c. NIDA. Research Report Series Anabolic Steroids Abuse, at http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports/Steroids/AnabolicSteroids.html d. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug Information, Steroids, provides general information regarding steroid health effects, regulatory/legal controls, and treatment resources, at www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/steroids.html f. DEA Demand Reduction, Street Smart Prevention, an internet website providing information about various drugs including steroids, at http://www.justthinktwice.com/drugfacts/steroids.cfm g. Steroid Abuse, an internet website designed by a group of steroid users, doctors and Ph.D.s in the field of sports, at www.steroid-abuse.org h. Drug Facts. Office of National Drug Control Policy. Steroids, at http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/steroids/index.html; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), identifies and publishes model programs that have been successfully used in schools, communities, and various service organizations, to reduce substance abuse and related high risk behaviors; and

WHEREAS, SAMHSA has prepared a model program regarding teenage steroid use, titled ATLAS (Athletes Training and Learning To Avoid Steroids), at http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/programfulldetails.asp?PROGRAM_ID=97; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police duly assembled at its 115th Annual Conference in San Diego, California, calls for the support (including sufficient funding) and promotion of an education and awareness program designed to combat steroid and steroidal supplement use among teenage athletes; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP calls upon secondary schools to require that, prior to any teenage athlete acceptance into a school sponsored athletic program and/or participation in a school sponsored athletic competition, the teenage athlete receive training on the health hazards of steroid and steroidal supplement use and the legal consequences of illegal steroid use; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP calls upon secondary schools to require that, prior to any teenage athlete receive training on the health hazards of steroid and steroidal supplement use and the legal consequences of illegal steroid use.