Net allows easy access to steroids, report says

WASHINGTON -- Any teenager with a computer and an e-mail address can get anabolic steroids, and distributors face little chance of being caught, congressional investigators said Thursday.

The Internet makes it easy for distributors, mainly from overseas, to avoid detection, and penalties are much lighter than for those caught with many other illegal drugs, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

The report was released as a group that brings together professional, college and high school athletic representatives, advocacy groups and parents of steroid victims held its second meeting to address the growing problem of steroid use by young people.

The Zero Tolerable Roundtable was formed by the House Government Reform Committee. The committee chairman, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., and top Democrat, California Rep. Henry Waxman, requested the GAO study.

"Dangerous and illegal steroids are just a mouse click away," Waxman said. "Parents, teachers and coaches are on the front lines in the fight against steroid abuse, and they need to know that young athletes and other youth have such easy access to these harmful substances."

Steroids build muscle but can lead to heart attacks, strokes, cancer, sterility and mood swings. The use of most steroids without a doctor's prescription has been illegal since 1991.

Accusations of steroid use among Major League Baseball players spurred congressional interest this year. Davis, Waxman and other lawmakers say stringent testing is needed in pro sports leagues to ensure a level playing field and to show teenagers that performance- enhancing drugs are not a way to a pro sports career.

"With a half-a-million kids reported using steroids, you eliminate that by setting the example at the top," Davis said.

Sens. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and John McCain, R-Ariz., are sponsoring legislation calling for a two-year suspension of an athlete who fails a steroid test for the first time and a lifetime ban for a second offense. Athletes would be tested at least five times a year.

Three House bills with similar testing minimums and punishments have been proposed, including the Clean Sports Act of 2005 by Davis.

Baseball union head Donald Fehr told Congress in September that he hoped an agreement with Major League Baseball on tougher drug penalties could be completed by the end of the World Series. But the series was over on Oct. 26, and no deal has been reached.

Davis said that if the union drags its feet, Congress will act.

"We're not out to play gotcha with players. We're not out to ruin careers. We are here to wipe it from the game," Davis said.

The GAO report found there are hundreds of Web sites offering anabolic steroids. The anonymity of the Internet makes dealers difficult to find.

"Internet sites can be installed, moved, or removed easily and quickly, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify, track, monitor, or shut them down," the report said.

Investigators looking into steroid sales placed and paid for 22 online orders using fictitious personal information. They received 10 shipments of steroids for which they paid prices ranging from $97 to $323; all came from outside the United States.

Law enforcement officials interviewed for the report said the foreign origin of the steroids makes them hard to track and noted that the Internet makes it easy to market the drugs to young people.

Federal sentencing guidelines provide lighter penalties for dealers of steroids in comparison with other drugs.

For example, someone convicted of selling 40,000 pills of an anabolic steroid face up to six months in jail. A person caught selling 40,000 pills of some other controlled substances could get up to 41 months.

On the Net: Government Accountability Office: www.gao.gov/

House Government Reform Committee: reform.house.gov/

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