I have not seen these two mentioned previously, but I suspect this all stems from the Signature Compounding Pharmacy (FL) investigation started by Albany NY Prosecuting Attorney Soares.
Frankly, this is a violation of many people's medical privacy and that is being ignored in the McCarthyistic lynching of any people/organizations associated with performance enhancement. Why this is such a major issue (yes, it is an ethical issue, but the degree to which state governmental agencies and federal offices are pursuing it is completely out of proportion with the real issues of concern) is beyond me.
Consider this, many of the people who will be busted in the next month (no surprise they waited until the season started to gain more publicity) is that they are listed as receiving human growth hormone (hGH), testosterone (T) and possibly other drugs (e.g. anastrozole - an aromatase inhibitor) from the company who compounded and mailed the products. They were busted, BALCO style with more cameras than cops, because they had licensed physicians who were prescribing life-enhancing compounds/drugs to people they had not personally examined or screened with blood test to determine the presence/absence of approved clinical conditions. In other words, doctors were prescribing drugs to people who claimed via phone or internet, that they had symptoms of hGH or T deficiency.
The people, including many pro wrestlers and athletes, but many, many, more every day people, received the drugs from a (then) licensed pharmacy. In the eyes of the PATIENTS (though Soares claims they are customers as they were not examined in the context of a recognized physician-patient relationship), these drugs were being legally obtained because they were being prescribed by a doctor and sent from a pharmacy, not obtained from a part-time gym manager or personal trainer who kept a stash under the spare tire in the trunk.
These people (only the famous ones) are now being ostracized for following the rules of conduct and legally obtaining hGH, T, etc. For those employed in organizations that ban the compounds, a medical waiver could have been obtained if the condition was legitimate. The prescribing doctor would have been responsible for that. Obviously, the anti-doping violation is separate from the LEGAL status of the acts.
This is outrageous for two reasons.
1) This violates medical privacy and these people should collectively sue. They are not doctors and are not expected to know if the transaction was consistent with usual professional conduct. The doctors and pharmacy were licensed at the time.
2) the press is selectively reporting who was involved in LEGAL transactions. Professional conduct does not reflect on the patient, only the doctor/pharmacist. Why not list everyone (there were tens if not hundreds of thousands of prescriptions filled)?
This is no different from reporting the HIV status of people or who was receiving Viagra, anti-depressants, etc.
The media and the prosecuting attorneys are given carte blanche because this involves "steroids" and it is a buzz word.
A Washington DC madam was prevented from releasing her client list, as was Heidi Fleis (sp?) because it would be embarassing to the right people. Some Idaho Senator just resigned because he allegedly solicited gay sex in a public bathroom. Who else was arrested in that sting? Why is gay sex solicitation headline news but political prostitution is off-limits.
It is biased and openly just the press and politician (including prosecutors) vying for publicity during short-sighted crusades. Spend the time getting rid of the crack, crank and child abuse problems that plague the US. Most of us really don't care if adults are trying to be healthier in this culture of obesity and if athletes who entertain us and make their living need assistance in recovering from the wear and tear of professional sports, let them do so under medical supervision following guidelines developed using evidence based medicine, not a witch hunt.
We are learning that we have few role models in this era of drunk cosmonauts, homicidal diaper-wearing astronauts, drunk politicians, etc, etc, etc. It is time to really examine the rules and enforce the ones that matter and make sense.
