Black Market Update
We’re going to take another close look at some of the recent happenings on the steroid black market. This can be an extremely volatile and uncertain place to purchase drug products. Fakes and “basement-made products” are everywhere, and purchasing from “real” drug companies doesn’t always guarantee a safe purchase. Now, more than ever, it’s important to educate yourself before shopping. Black Market Update is a semi-regular piece focused on exactly that; educating the consumer. This month we’re looking at a couple of shocking lab test results I know you’ll want to know about, as well as the new testosterone patches hitting the streets from Canada, a recent high-profile arrest and even some of the changes that may be happening in regard to how law enforcement agencies handle “the steroid problem.”
Black Marks for Red Star
I’ve been telling people for a long time to try to avoid products from underground laboratories when looking for steroids on the black market. Although I know many such operations do put together quality products, the lack of regulation and clandestine nature of underground drug manufacturing leave too many unanswered questions for me to feel comfortable recommending them. We have enough quality control issues with real drug companies; we shouldn’t be compounding them with the uncertainty of underground drugs. Well, now I have some pretty bad news for all you Red Star supporters out there who have been insisting this underground lab was the way to go. Lab tests were recently conducted on their Primobolan Enanthate injectable, Lot # ME1A, and they didn’t come out good. The analysis was conducted at San Rafael Chemical Services, one of the nation’s most reputable steroid testing labs. Analysis of the product showed absolutely no Primobolan to be present in the Red Star product. Not sure what is in there, but it is definitely not the expensive methenolone enanthate you guys and gals are paying big dollars for. Word of advice this month, avoid Red Star and try to keep your shopping focused on products from real drug companies.
SYD - Say It Ain’t So
If you thought the news about Red Star was as bad as it was going to get this month, you’d better sit down. It gets much worse. Also recently tested at San Rafael was a bottle of SYD Group’s Mexican Primobolan product, Surprimo 100. The Lot number on the bottle was #06999. Once again, no methenolone enanthate was found in the preparation. When we see this type of thing with an underground lab like Red Star, it is never good news. But it is also sort of par for the course when it comes to buying illegitimate drugs, so we can’t get too upset about it. You did take a risk on a “fake” company to save yourself a little money, after all. But when a legitimate international drug manufacturing company like SYD Group produces a bogus product, it is remarkably shocking. This is especially the case given that SYD has earned a very good reputation among athletes in the short time it has been operating in Mexico. I will hold off on final judgment until I’ve had a chance to test some other vials of Suprimo 100, but thus far, it does not look encouraging for this product. At this time, the best advice would be to start shopping for those single dose Primobolan ampules again. Although they are heavily counterfeited, and extremely expensive next to what these “bulk” 10-milliliter vial products were going to offer you, you can at least trust you are getting 100 milligrams of steroid if you pick up the real thing from a good source. I have never seen a Schering product to be significantly underdosed. If anything, they consistently spec out right on the mark, the way all legitimate drug products should.
Liquid Research - Busted
In case you’re not familiar, Liquid Research was one of a new crop of “gray market” companies operating on the Internet. These companies sell non-scheduled drugs to athletes, such as generic forms of Arimidex, Nolvadex and Clomid, under the guise of being for “research purposes only.” Non-scheduled drug compounds like these can legally be sold without a prescription in the U.S., provided they are not meant for human consumption. Private research groups and universities are common customers of chemical/pharmaceutical makers, and there is no official paperwork required to make these purchases legally. Companies like Liquid Research were trying to take advantage of that little-known fact by selling ancillary drugs to bodybuilders, declaring on their websites that their products are for “research purposes only.” The problem is, Liquid Research and others advertise all over the bodybuilding websites, have catalogs that are suspiciously tailored to the drug needs of bodybuilders, and probably make little effort to be sure they’re not selling to bodybuilders. Well, this little business strategy finally caught up with the team at Liquid Research. On February 3, 2004, owners Edward and Natalie Barton, along with employee Christopher Durel, were arrested and charged with such crimes as possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, creation of a clandestine lab, possession of GBL, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of minor. Some of the charges obviously were not related to their online business activities, such as the possession charge for the marijuana that was found during the raid; however, others clearly were. Let this be a warning to other online businesses that operate like this. It may only be a matter of time before your “research company” gets a visit.
Canadian Patchwork
Androgen replacement therapy is becoming big business in the medical world. Testosterone, the same “deadly” hormone we are warned about time and time again in the media, is now being prescribed in countries all around the world to men who are noticing a decline in their natural production. Simply referred to as “the patch,” this newly developed delivery system has been making waves on the prescription drug market, offering a pleasantly comfortable, and often much more palatable, alternative to repeat injections of the hormone. The patch has been popular in the U.S. for some time now, and has since been exported by its developers to drug markets all across the globe. Tight controls in this country have precluded its entry into black market commerce, at least in any sort of volume. But lately, the new popularity of the patch in Canada has been allowing small quantities to squeak back into the U.S. black market. Be warned though, this is a poor product for the bodybuilder. The patch shown here delivers only about 2.5 milligrams of hormone over a 24-hour period, miniscule compared to the bolus dose of testosterone you can get with injectable solutions. Still, this is a real steroid product that’s never likely to be counterfeited. Although I would not go out of my way looking for it, should it come across your lap, it may, at the very least, be able to offer a small androgen supplement to your next cycle heavy in (less androgenic) “anabolics.” Well, unless you come across about 20 boxes of the stuff, in which case covering your entire back would allow you to build some serious muscle, if you were oddly inclined to try it.
DEA Crackdown
Steroid dealers and users may have been operating with a false sense of security for a long time now. While narcotic drugs have always remained a top priority for law enforcement agencies, bodybuilders know anabolic steroids have always sat at the other end of the spectrum; a very low priority. People aren’t killing each other in the streets over steroids, so an immediate urgency in dealing with these drugs is rarely ever seen. Well, things might be changing quickly. Word has it that DEA agents are starting to take a serious interest in the world of bodybuilding drugs. We are hearing talk of well-known competitors being contacted by DEA officials in an obvious attempt to start getting their hooks into the distribution networks for these drugs. Let this just be a small note of warning to all you guys selling gear on bodybuilding websites, and openly driving around in nice cars while living at the local gym and never getting a “real” job. Although the good old days probably ended with the initial outlawing of steroids in the early ‘90s, what lies ahead for you may make the current drug market look like a free-for-all in comparison. Time will tell how serious this issue actually gets, but with the President making clear in his recent State of the Union address that steroids are a new national priority, I would expect the worst.
We’re going to take another close look at some of the recent happenings on the steroid black market. This can be an extremely volatile and uncertain place to purchase drug products. Fakes and “basement-made products” are everywhere, and purchasing from “real” drug companies doesn’t always guarantee a safe purchase. Now, more than ever, it’s important to educate yourself before shopping. Black Market Update is a semi-regular piece focused on exactly that; educating the consumer. This month we’re looking at a couple of shocking lab test results I know you’ll want to know about, as well as the new testosterone patches hitting the streets from Canada, a recent high-profile arrest and even some of the changes that may be happening in regard to how law enforcement agencies handle “the steroid problem.”
Black Marks for Red Star
I’ve been telling people for a long time to try to avoid products from underground laboratories when looking for steroids on the black market. Although I know many such operations do put together quality products, the lack of regulation and clandestine nature of underground drug manufacturing leave too many unanswered questions for me to feel comfortable recommending them. We have enough quality control issues with real drug companies; we shouldn’t be compounding them with the uncertainty of underground drugs. Well, now I have some pretty bad news for all you Red Star supporters out there who have been insisting this underground lab was the way to go. Lab tests were recently conducted on their Primobolan Enanthate injectable, Lot # ME1A, and they didn’t come out good. The analysis was conducted at San Rafael Chemical Services, one of the nation’s most reputable steroid testing labs. Analysis of the product showed absolutely no Primobolan to be present in the Red Star product. Not sure what is in there, but it is definitely not the expensive methenolone enanthate you guys and gals are paying big dollars for. Word of advice this month, avoid Red Star and try to keep your shopping focused on products from real drug companies.
SYD - Say It Ain’t So
If you thought the news about Red Star was as bad as it was going to get this month, you’d better sit down. It gets much worse. Also recently tested at San Rafael was a bottle of SYD Group’s Mexican Primobolan product, Surprimo 100. The Lot number on the bottle was #06999. Once again, no methenolone enanthate was found in the preparation. When we see this type of thing with an underground lab like Red Star, it is never good news. But it is also sort of par for the course when it comes to buying illegitimate drugs, so we can’t get too upset about it. You did take a risk on a “fake” company to save yourself a little money, after all. But when a legitimate international drug manufacturing company like SYD Group produces a bogus product, it is remarkably shocking. This is especially the case given that SYD has earned a very good reputation among athletes in the short time it has been operating in Mexico. I will hold off on final judgment until I’ve had a chance to test some other vials of Suprimo 100, but thus far, it does not look encouraging for this product. At this time, the best advice would be to start shopping for those single dose Primobolan ampules again. Although they are heavily counterfeited, and extremely expensive next to what these “bulk” 10-milliliter vial products were going to offer you, you can at least trust you are getting 100 milligrams of steroid if you pick up the real thing from a good source. I have never seen a Schering product to be significantly underdosed. If anything, they consistently spec out right on the mark, the way all legitimate drug products should.
Liquid Research - Busted
In case you’re not familiar, Liquid Research was one of a new crop of “gray market” companies operating on the Internet. These companies sell non-scheduled drugs to athletes, such as generic forms of Arimidex, Nolvadex and Clomid, under the guise of being for “research purposes only.” Non-scheduled drug compounds like these can legally be sold without a prescription in the U.S., provided they are not meant for human consumption. Private research groups and universities are common customers of chemical/pharmaceutical makers, and there is no official paperwork required to make these purchases legally. Companies like Liquid Research were trying to take advantage of that little-known fact by selling ancillary drugs to bodybuilders, declaring on their websites that their products are for “research purposes only.” The problem is, Liquid Research and others advertise all over the bodybuilding websites, have catalogs that are suspiciously tailored to the drug needs of bodybuilders, and probably make little effort to be sure they’re not selling to bodybuilders. Well, this little business strategy finally caught up with the team at Liquid Research. On February 3, 2004, owners Edward and Natalie Barton, along with employee Christopher Durel, were arrested and charged with such crimes as possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, creation of a clandestine lab, possession of GBL, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of minor. Some of the charges obviously were not related to their online business activities, such as the possession charge for the marijuana that was found during the raid; however, others clearly were. Let this be a warning to other online businesses that operate like this. It may only be a matter of time before your “research company” gets a visit.
Canadian Patchwork
Androgen replacement therapy is becoming big business in the medical world. Testosterone, the same “deadly” hormone we are warned about time and time again in the media, is now being prescribed in countries all around the world to men who are noticing a decline in their natural production. Simply referred to as “the patch,” this newly developed delivery system has been making waves on the prescription drug market, offering a pleasantly comfortable, and often much more palatable, alternative to repeat injections of the hormone. The patch has been popular in the U.S. for some time now, and has since been exported by its developers to drug markets all across the globe. Tight controls in this country have precluded its entry into black market commerce, at least in any sort of volume. But lately, the new popularity of the patch in Canada has been allowing small quantities to squeak back into the U.S. black market. Be warned though, this is a poor product for the bodybuilder. The patch shown here delivers only about 2.5 milligrams of hormone over a 24-hour period, miniscule compared to the bolus dose of testosterone you can get with injectable solutions. Still, this is a real steroid product that’s never likely to be counterfeited. Although I would not go out of my way looking for it, should it come across your lap, it may, at the very least, be able to offer a small androgen supplement to your next cycle heavy in (less androgenic) “anabolics.” Well, unless you come across about 20 boxes of the stuff, in which case covering your entire back would allow you to build some serious muscle, if you were oddly inclined to try it.
DEA Crackdown
Steroid dealers and users may have been operating with a false sense of security for a long time now. While narcotic drugs have always remained a top priority for law enforcement agencies, bodybuilders know anabolic steroids have always sat at the other end of the spectrum; a very low priority. People aren’t killing each other in the streets over steroids, so an immediate urgency in dealing with these drugs is rarely ever seen. Well, things might be changing quickly. Word has it that DEA agents are starting to take a serious interest in the world of bodybuilding drugs. We are hearing talk of well-known competitors being contacted by DEA officials in an obvious attempt to start getting their hooks into the distribution networks for these drugs. Let this just be a small note of warning to all you guys selling gear on bodybuilding websites, and openly driving around in nice cars while living at the local gym and never getting a “real” job. Although the good old days probably ended with the initial outlawing of steroids in the early ‘90s, what lies ahead for you may make the current drug market look like a free-for-all in comparison. Time will tell how serious this issue actually gets, but with the President making clear in his recent State of the Union address that steroids are a new national priority, I would expect the worst.