Now that THG has been declared illegal, are we to see asterisks by the
record numbers attained by Bonds and McGwire? Seems only right to me. Maybe
they should just expunge the records of these people.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/more/10/28/thg.fda.ap/index.html

FDA formally declares new steroid illegal
Posted: Tuesday October 28, 2003 4:11PM; Updated: Wednesday October 29, 2003
3:21AM




THE STEROID SCANDAL

SI Writers

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• Johnson: Skip Olympics, restore confidence

• Fish: Scandal won't scare athletes from drugs
• Taylor: Waiting for athletes to fall apart
• Layden: Do mainsteam fans care about doping?
• SI Scorecard: Who is Victor Conte?
Latest News
• IOC wants to retest samples from 2002 Games
• Two Raiders subpoenaed in BALCO probe
• FDA formally declares new steroid THG illegal
• Calvin Harrison tests positive for THG



WASHINGTON (AP) -- The newly detected steroid that is casting a shadow on
Olympic and professional sports is an illegal drug that may pose
considerable health risks, the government warned Tuesday.
THG has been sold in the guise of a dietary supplement when it is in fact a
drug that lacks federal permission for sale in this country, the Food and
Drug Administration said. It is a drug derived from another steroid long
banned in athletics, the agency said.
The FDA's official designation of THG as illegal, which had been anticipated
since the scandal over the previously undetectable steroid emerged, puts
manufacturers on notice that the government will crack down on anyone caught
selling it.
It also is the strongest warning yet that using THG is risky. Anabolic
steroids can have dangerous side effects, including liver damage, heart
disease, anxiety and rage. While little is known about THG's specific
effects because it is new, its close chemical similarity to other well-known
steroids means it poses the same risks, FDA Associate Commissioner John
Taylor said.
"The greatest importance is preventing exposure and trying to nip this in
the bud," he said.
U.S. drug authorities first learned about THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone, this
summer after an unidentified coach gave them a syringe containing it. THG
apparently was designed specifically to be undetectable by the standard test
given to athletes.
Now armed with a test, sports organizations are scrambling to re-examine
athletes and to decide what penalties to impose for THG use. Four U.S. track
and field athletes have tested positive for THG, and Europe's top sprinter
has admitted taking it in nutritional supplements that he says he thought
were allowed.
Exactly who developed THG is unclear. Dozens of top Olympic and professional
athletes have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury probing
a California lab that sells nutritional supplements. Its owner has denied
supplying THG, and federal officials, including FDA's Taylor, refuse to
comment on the scope of their investigation.
Troubling to lawmakers is that THG apparently was sneaked onto the market in
the guise of a dietary supplement. It's not a supplement but an unapproved
drug, making any sale or usage illegal, FDA's Taylor said.
Currently, however, "There's nothing to stop another group of folks in
another lab from concocting another designer steroid that will circumvent
this FDA ruling," said Joe Shoemaker, spokesman for Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Durbin is pushing legislation that would give FDA broader oversight over
dietary supplements to prevent steroids from being sneaked onto the market.
He said he was unimpressed by the agency's move against THG and said it
falls short of dealing with similar substances.
"It's sad that it takes a national controversy, a lawsuit and a lot of
publicity to bring the FDA around to their core responsibilities," he said
in an interview.
Sens. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced similar
legislation last week that also would outlaw steroid precursors like
androstenedione, popularized by baseball's Mark McGwire.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone.
Some are approved by FDA for prescription-only sale to treat certain
diseases; athletes use them illegally to bulk up muscle and enhance
performance.
FDA's testing of THG shows it was derived by simple chemical modification of
gestrinone, a drug used in Europe to treat a gynecologic condition. It is
explicitly banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which monitors drug use by
athletes in Olympic sports. THG also is very closely related to trenbolone,
a controlled substance used to bulk up cattle.
THG "is a designer steroid in the truest sense," Taylor told a Senate
committee.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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