Science
columns
- Sex Dramedy
What can Choke and Californication teach us about sex addiction?
Daniel Engber
posted Sept. 29, 2008 - Atomic Prose
Why can't science journalists just tell it like it is when it comes to particle physics?
Chris Wilson
posted Sept. 24, 2008 - Republicans Are From Mars, Democrats Are From Venus
Why is every neuropundit such a raging liberal?
Daniel Engber
posted Sept. 22, 2008 - The Accidental Particle
They're turning on the Large Hadron Collider. Don't expect the Higgs boson to show up.
James Owen Weatherall
posted Sept. 9, 2008 - The Forgotten Ape
Why can't the gibbon get any respect?
Ben Crair
posted July 29, 2008 - Search for more Science articles
- Subscribe to the Science RSS feed
- View our complete Science archive
Lessons From the Celebrity Doping ScandalWhen will the press understand the difference between HGH and anabolic steroids?
By Daniel EngberPosted Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, at 5:04 PM ET
Coverage of the celebrity doping scandal in other newspapers treats HGH and steroids as if they were interchangeable. The New York Times describes how "the drugs" have some legitimate uses, but "misuse of the drugs can be harmful." The Associated Press declared without qualification that "athletes use steroids and human growth hormone to get bigger, faster and stronger," and that "the drugs lure other people with their supposed anti-aging qualities."
Slate is just as guilty. We conflated the two medications in a feature called "The Steroids Social Network," which listed the baseball players and trainers named by confessed drug dealer Kirk Radomski in the Mitchell report. In fact, more than one-third of the 53 players were accused of taking HGH only and have never been linked to steroids.
How did this confusion become so widespread? First, both drugs are being dispensed by the same crooked doctors and pharmacies. (And, in many cases, doctors do prescribe both drugs to the same patient.) When federal agents raid an "anti-aging" clinic in Florida, they aren't so concerned with the specific meds that went to each user; they're gathering evidence for a broader case against the dealers. Embedded reporters watch the feds seize thousands of pounds of documents from file cabinets and dumpsters, and then file ambiguous copy about the sales of performance-enhancing drugs, "including steroids and human growth hormone."
Second, the rhetoric of a war on drugs makes it impossible for a league commissioner or politician to draw any real distinctions between doping agents. Neither Bud Selig nor the lawmakers who questioned him today can risk appearing soft on performance enhancers, even when it comes to a soft drug like HGH. Now Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., are trying to codify this dunderheaded posturing: Each has introduced a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act so that human growth hormone would be equivalent to anabolic steroids under federal law.
That would be a disturbing development. At this point, the federal drug laws are the only rational voice left in the doping debate.
feedback | about us | help | advertise | newsletters | mobile
User Agreement and Privacy Policy | All rights reserved
- Today's Headlines
- Historical Archives: Opera Lyrics Blamed For Recent Spate Of Regicides
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400 - Historical Archives: M. Webster's New "Dictionary" Shall Burden Us With A Tyranny Of Words
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:16:40 -0400 - Historical Archives: Benedict Arnold Is A Modern Day's Anthony Babington
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:33:20 -0400 - » More from the Onion
Marcus | Forget Biden. I'd like to see McCain face off against Palin.
Toles: Another McCain SurpriseStumped: Where's Palin's Baby?
- Cohen: How an Economic Crisis Is Like a War
- Froomkin: How's Bush? Put a Fork in Him.
- Milbank: A House Divided Along Twisted Lines
- Robinson: Ugly Politics at Justice | Q&A
- Today's Headlines
- For Kids, No Escape From Porn Imagery
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:50:54 GMT - Are Minorities to Blame for the Subprime Mess?
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:58:57 GMT - The Candidates' Own Questionable Housing Deals
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:40:05 GMT - » More from Newsweek
- Today's Headlines
- Home Court Disadvantage
Tue, 7 October 2008 3:02:44 GMT - I Felt Something
Tue, 7 October 2008 2:43:10 GMT - The MILFy Way
Tue, 7 October 2008 1:43:56 GMT - » More from The Root

Science













