Coincidence or Conspiracy?

After rereading the transcript of my interview with Patrick Arnold and speaking with some industry insiders, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a conspiracy involving the hype and federal government intervention regarding the legal status of andro. I asked a number of interested parties the following two questions:

Are you lobbying, positioning and/or influencing’directly or indirectly’politicians or the federal agencies to pressure the manufacturers of andro to cease production? And are you lobbying, positioning and/or influencing’directly or indirectly’anyone to have all andro dietary supplements removed from the over-the-counter market?

I got blanket responses from Greg Aiello of the National Football League (NFL); Mary Wilfert, program coordinator of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); Mike Moran from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and spokespersons from the American Medical Association (AMA) and the FDA. The FDA’s spokesperson, who refused to be identified, also refused to be recorded or let me quote anything directly, except to confirm that the agency had ‘not made a determination on the status of this substance [under the act] as to whether it is a dietary supplement. We are evaluating the status at this time.’

Neither Major League Baseball nor the National Basketball Association responded to my repeated requests for official comment. The United States Anti-Doping Agency conversation, in my opinion, did not go too well. (I won’t say any more about that, however. The conspiracy theory could be nothing more than paranoia.)

Here’s the response I got from former White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey.

‘This is Bob Weiner, spokesman for Barry McCaffrey, and I am also a national master’s ranked runner. We saw your letter some time ago, and we saw your note. It just seemed absurd to even respond to the kind of allegations that you’re throwing out there: McCaffrey lobbied by the companies? The people Director McCaffrey is responsive to are the athletes in order to create a clean playing field. And the fact that andro shows many of the traits of traditional steroids’and is being tested right now by the Drug Enforcement Agency to see if it has all the traits of steroids and needs to be classified as such’is a straightforward, straight-shot kind of action. It’s only being done on behalf of the athletes to assure the cleanest playing field possible. That’s the only motive by this four-star general, Director Barry McCaffrey, who has no special interest whatsoever other than the good of the nation and of the nation’s children.

‘There are some 56 million children he cares about. Last year, a half million kids’and it’s a dramatic increase upward’used steroids! And we are all too aware of the fact that over 10,000 East German swimmers have permanent damage from having done steroids. It’s all in the court records now, and there are suits in Germany because of it. Luckily, the world is becoming more aware of the potential damage of these substances, and if one is dangerous, why should it not be included in the list of substances which are dangerous?’

Recently the DEA confirmed that it is indeed conducting a study to determine whether andro products should be removed from the market and classified as anabolic steroids. According to spokesperson Mike Chapman, ‘The review is expected to take about nine months, looking to be [concluded] around September.’ IM