Thirty-two people from Ohio and Tennessee have been indicted in a drug trafficking investigation involving steroids from China, a steroids lab in Tennessee, gyms and YMCAs in Ohio and "concerns that some of the drugs were being dealt to high school athletes," according to Cincinnati.com.
From Cincinnati.com:
Local professional athletes – who haven’t been charged -- are being probed in a far-reaching Warren County drug investigation that busted a clandestine anabolic steroids lab in Tennessee and led to indictments of 32 people, authorities said Tuesday.
“There are at least two (professional athletes) we feel have an involvement in this operation,” said John Burke, commander of the Warren County Drug Task Force. “The investigation is ongoing and there may well be charges (against the athletes).”
Burke added that authorities had strong indication that high school students were also buying steroids but officials weren’t able to identify any of them. Officials didn’t name any schools.
Bob Cook, who writes a youth sports blog for Forbes, wrote of the bust,
It cost $25 to make each vial of steroids, but it was sold for $85 to $125 a vial — a tidy profit, no doubt. Although it brings to mind the question, where were high schoolers getting that kind of money?
They find a way. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the estimated rate of U.S. high schoolers admitting past or present use of steroids has grown from 1 in 45 in 1993 to 1 in 16 in 2005, and there are no indications the rate is not continuing to increase. As of 2005, 6.8% of male high schoolers admitted steroid use, as did 5.3% of females. By the way, steroid use among high schoolers is not a U.S. problem only.
You might ask yourself, hey, haven’t these kids gotten the message that injecting yourself with steroids is illegal, that the muscle mass you get today is outweighted by the small sexual organs and back acne you’ll have tomorrow, and that someday someone is going to expose you as a falsely built, performance-enhancing drug freak?
Fortunately, there are some high school athletes who have gotten the message. From Fox19.com:
"I've been in here lifting over the summer, and I heard some young guys were the ones picking them up. No one ever offered anything to me so I'm kind of shocked," said Joe Feldmann, a high school athlete.
Joe and his friend, Trent Fruhwirth, believe their coaches will use this major bust to teach a lesson.
"They will definitely talk to us about this about staying away from these kind of drugs. It will just ruin your career of ever playing sports," said Fruhwirth.