As expected, hundreds of answers were given, each varying from person to person, but all answers were given corresponding “reality checks” so as to correct the misguided minds of most teenagers.

One of the most common responses among the participants was that drugs made them feel good. Drug users and addicts usually take these substances for pleasure and the sensations of euphoria which differs depending on the type of drugs. Cocaine, for example, can bring about a certain “high” boosting self-confidence and energy, while opiates like heroin causes feelings of satisfaction and relaxation.

The drug effects may give temporary escape from whatever worries and problems people may have, but after the effects subside, the same problems stay and solutions are still at loss. Situations can become worse when a person becomes addicted and he fails to have his regular dose and unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal occur like headache, nausea, and even mental problems.

Kids also said that drugs help them perform better, in academics and in athletics. It is true that drugs enhance one’s abilities which could lead one to continue with the habit. Yet these drugs called “performance-enhancing drugs” outweigh their positive effects with their negatives. Steroids, as an example, promotes breast growth among men and gives females deeper voices and more unwanted body hairs. More serious consequences of such drugs include heart failure and seizures.

Teens also said, “Everybody’s doing it.” In their quest to fit in and be accepted in groups, teens easily succumb to peer pressure and get into risky behaviors. This is why it is very important for kids to have strong values foundation to help them think before they do something dangerous and help them realize the damages that drugs can bring into their lives.

The NFL was instrumental in creating the program. Together with the ATLAS (Adolescents Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids) and ATHENA (Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise and Nutrition Alternatives), the program promotes healthy living and winning in competitions without the use of drugs, particularly steroids, which has been used to enhance performance in sports events.

Track and Field coach Stephanie Toole from Lakewood High says the program is very effective in empowering students and athletes to make the right decisions to become better leaders of their teams. Coaches from John Hay also echo the same benefits from the program, saying that school athletes become more resilient when faced with the temptation to use steroids, and that they are better at saying ‘no’ to these addictive substances.

Students from the local schools are glad that such a program exists to help them go through the challenges a lot easier. John Hay student Ogechi Onyeukwu says “the problems, the conflicts, and the struggles of peer pressure, smoking, and drinking and taking steroids…I’m just honored to be able to be around people that go through the same problems as me and are facing the struggles… and are able to discuss how to overcome them.”

The same sentiment is felt among Lakewood students. Student Jay Andreani states that the program helps those who think that taking drugs is alright. He says the idea that drugs is not necessary to be successful has been lost especially on those who are on the competitive side. The program is the answer to bring back this awareness into the school population.

Drug Control Centre Professor David Cowan at King’s College in London has confirmed that the 2012 Olympics in their country will be the most tested games ever in the history of the Olympics. Cowan says their thrust for 2012 is in line with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) aim to test more athletes and make the event as drug-free as possible.

Cowan says that their laboratory has been accredited by WADA and they are expecting more than 5,000 tests during the games. This number will make one in every two athletes to be tested randomly for doping. “If you want to take drugs, then don’t come to London,” said Cowan during the two-day gathering of scientists on doping practices and testing measures.

In a report from Yahoo! Sports, Britain’s Sports and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson has identified doping as the most serious problem when it comes to the Olympic Games. The IOC’s motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’, which means ‘faster, higher, and stronger’, will be applied on testing procedures of athletes as there will be faster analysis, higher sensitivity, and stronger proof for the drug tests.

“Since WADA came on the scene, the scientific research is better, the testing is better and we are now discussing how they might cheat,” Cowan said. “We have been keeping up with latest practices and very often we are ahead.”

The athletes’ biological passport will be of great importance in the event. Cowan says the passport creates a biological profile on an athlete’s blood and will signal any abrupt changes in his system which is a powerful tool that Cowan’s group will take advantage of. The process has been practiced previously in other Games and the London event will not be an exception.

An Associated Press report shares that UCI released a statement categorically denying any cover-up with regards to Armstrong’s positive drug tests during the 2001 Tour de Suisse. Officials claimed that not even once did Armstrong test positive on his drug tests and that their group never hid or altered any of his tests.

“The UCI is deeply shocked by the seriousness of the allegations made on the `60 Minutes’ program aired by U.S. television network CBS,” the group said in a statement. “The allegations of Mr. Tyler Hamilton are completely unfounded.”

In his interview, Hamilton confirmed that he used a blood-boosting hormone known as EPO as part of his preparations for the 2001 event. It was during the Swiss warm-up event that Armstrong allegedly informed him about the cover-ups that UCI made to protect his career.

The UCI has cleared the 2001 Swiss event of any doping activities and that Armstrong did not pay for any cover-up. It can be remembered that in 2002, Armstrong donated $25,000 to the organization’s anti-doping program, and in 2005, another $100,000 for the purchase of a Sysmex machine to be used for analyzing blood.

Former UCI President Hein Verbruggen also denied any alterations of results of blood tests done on Armstrong, and told the Associated Press his group did not hide any doping controls. In the wave of allegations thrown at the organization which he previously headed, Verbruggen says there’s no need for them to further prove their innocence; let their detractors prove that they are guilty.

The UCI has taken legal actions against Hamilton’s damaging claims.

Bonds’ records in baseball has put him as the league’s all-time home-run leader; hitting 762 home runs in the course of his 22-year career in the game with a whopping 73 in 2001. While some may be in awe of what he accomplished, it somehow put others in doubt resulting to a validation of what he has achieved ultimately leading him into court.

The obstruction of justice was the strongest case against him, among the other charges filed such as the three counts of perjury. According to a feature on Yahoo Sports, the jury decided he intentionally misled people when he said his trainer never injected him with any performance-enhancing drugs (saying that the only person to inject him with anything is his doctor) and tried to convince them that he is a victim of some scientific experiments. He added that the ambitious people who held his career at that time were the ones to be blamed for what he has been through.

The verdict on Bonds brings us to the question of what this development can do for both the league and the government agencies involved. Eight years ago, Bonds testified he never used any drug to help him beat out competition, at least not on his knowledge. Today, he is convicted, yet we get the same stories over and over again.

He specifically raised questions about FDA criminal investigator Jeff Novitzky who has headed investigations on performance-enhancing drugs on athletes’ Barry Bonds, Roger Clemence, and recently, Lance Armstrong.

As the chief funds controller for the Food and Drug Administration, Rep. Kingston is asking about the activities that Novitzky has undergone. It was noted that for the probes that were made on the above mentioned stars, he was funded for trips to France which was part of the investigating process. The official also asked about the number of employees involved and to whom are they directly reporting to. He also added that due to Lance Armstrong’s stature, he has been made a target of controversies and people in the agency should not make this a criterion on their filing of cases.

For the lawmaker, it is very important that the limited resources of an agency be put on matters with utmost priority. While he is not belittling the case on Armstrong and company, he says there are more issues that need to be resolved such as the growing abuse of prescription medicines. The outcome of the investigation on the athletes is significant, but after the results, what will happen?

There is a need for a transparency on investigations made specifically on the authorizing officials and the costs that are entailed in such acts. The department has limited funding, and so matters with the utmost importance should be on top of the agency’s list.

In 2009, the same drug was found on Rashard Lewis’ system and he too was given the same ten-day suspension. Both players, Lewis and Mayo, had the same excuse of taking over-the-counter supplements without knowing that the supplements contained DHEA.

This now puts the burden on the Memphis team as they will surely be having a hard time finding Mayo a new home. They have been trying to get rid of Mayo and had encountered problems finding another team to trade him to even without his testing positive for the DHEA drug. Now, the toll on the team is as big as ever. Looking into Mayo’s performance for this season, he was benched, got into a fight with Tony Allen, and now adds drug abuse on his already tarnished record. This could be the point where Mayo hits rock bottom.

This present obstacle could mean something good for the teams interested in acquiring Mayo, and a not so perfect scenario for the Grizzlies. In the situation that Mayo is currently in, most teams would not be desperate enough to meet the apparently high asking price of the Grizzlies for the disgruntled guard. One thing’s for sure though, they can’t keep Mayo around for too long. With the playoff spot still very much in contention, they could not afford to let Mayo drag them into a sinking vortex that would spell doomsday for the whole team.

As of now, the Memphis team has limited choices. They could depend on Chris Wallace, but then again Wallace has had his own woes when it comes to the games.

One of the things that parents should watch out for is abuse of anabolic steroids, which has gained popularity in recent years among high school students who would like to improve their abilities in sports, the way some professional athletes do.

Here are some signs and symptoms that parents should watch out for when it comes to anabolic steroid abuse.

A teenager who is taking anabolic steroids will undergo rapid weight gain – as much as 5 to 10 kg within the first 12 weeks of taking the drug. They will also show rapid muscle development, which is one of the main reasons why student athletes – even ones who are still in high school – take steroids to begin with.

Teenagers are known to be at that stage in their lives when they are most prone to acne, and this is made even worse with steroid intake. Anabolic steroids can cause severe acne on the face, arms, shoulders and upper back.

Beyond physical changes and symptoms, parents may also notice extreme personality changes in teenagers who are taking anabolic steroids. A teen on steroids may be happy or pleasant one moment, then suddenly erupts in anger and rage.

Other signs of anabolic steroid intake include the appearance of red and purple spots on the body (especially in the upper body), baldness, changes in the color of the skin, swelling of the face, excessively oily skin, and development of breast tissue in males.

Like a lot of substances that help in the body’s growth and development, anabolic steroids are frequently abused by people who want to improve athletic performance, increase muscle size and reduce body fat. It has been significantly noted that most athletes tend to use anabolic steroids to enhance their performance which makes for worldwide abuse of the substance. This is why screening and testing measures are strictly implemented especially at Olympic games to level off the field during competitions.

There are a lot of consequences related to anabolic steroids abuse. For one, using it disrupts the normal production of hormones by the body which can result to long-term irreversible changes especially on men. Another effect is the increase in cardiovascular diseases, the most common being heart attacks and strokes that happen to athletes as young as under the age of 30. This is because steroids can cause blood clots in blood vessels which prevent blood from reaching the heart muscles which can result to fatal conditions.

So what can be done to prevent the abuse of anabolic steroids? Research has shown that it isn’t enough to educate students about the adverse effects of anabolic steroids. Implementing strict guidelines on the use of steroids also doesn’t do much good especially for the adolescents in sports. Presenting both sides — the risks and advantages — of steroids use has been noted to be more efficient in controlling the youth from using the synthetic substance as they find it more convincing presenting a balance of information regarding the matter.

Clemens had given the following statement as part of his testimony in February 2008: “Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH.”

His former trainer, former New York Yankees strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee, gave statements that ran contrary to Clemens’ claims, and shared that he personally injected Clemens with HGH.

Clemens still stands by his initial testimony, however, and tweeted: “I never took HGH or Steroids. And I did not lie to Congress… I look forward to challenging the Governments accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial. I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court.”