Physicianwhoruns wrote:
HS drug-testing is almost non-existent.
I currently unofficially coach several HS athletes. We talk regularly. I follow meet results and runner progression. In Texas, even HS XC athletes that are low 17 or high 16 5k runners go to pharmacies where they obtain EPO without scripts. They read about thyroid hormone replacement, short-acting testosterone and HGH as well but don't use the latter until college. Sprinters who are sub 10.8 without drugs and who aren't black are very rare. Most of the kids in the circuits I coach who are sub 10.8, aren't black, have rumors of heavy muscle acquisition and sudden improvement in times (11.4 to 10.7 in 1 year) and are considered roiders by the other kids.
Drugs are EVERYWHERE in American society. I can't tell you how many average American males turn up in my clinic on testosterone injections or gels. We are the most drugged up society oon the planet. PEDS are in every field. Ritalin and adderall for school and work, phosphodiesterase inhibitors for sex, testosterone for social dominance, caffeine for workplace - but we're not leading the world in PEDs in the high school and college and pro level? I can assure you we are. You won't find any Chinese or Russian athletes using EPO in HS, because it is hard to get and expensive and not worth the trouble. In the US, good times in HS can mean a partial scholarship or at least admission to Princeton without scholarship that couldn't be obtained on grades alone.
Wake the f--k up. Get rid of the delusional cool-aid.
Partially agree with this, but I think you are leaning too far in one direction due to your experience (assuming you are a doc, not a troll).
Are you saying kids are going to Mexico to obtain EPO without scripts?
100% agree with the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is rooted too deep for it not to be in sports as well. It is everywhere. Eventually we will fully embrace it, but probably not until it is at the genetically modified level.
As for EPO being expensive and therefore Chinese and Russians won't use it, you need to wake the f up too. China is the major manufacturer of EPO that is cheap. And Russians are some of the wealthiest people in the world; Moscow ain't a cheap place to live.