Steroid use in the Canada has ben steadily increasing for many years. As with many trends; what become popular in the USA inevitably spread to the Canada.
The steroid craze started in the 60’s with the first true 'celebrity' bodybuilders such as arnold schwarzenegger and franco columbu, there physiques showing a never seen before combination of quality and size, almost certainly due to their use of steroids. Although it must be noted there were not illegal at the time, their dangers not understood, and their achievements still unquestionably impressive.
The physiques sculpted on venice beach by these modern bodybuilders inpired a generation to achieve similar results, and thus steroid usage began to grow,
Anedotal evidence points to as many as 100,000 steroid users in the Canada;
Jim McVeigh of Liverpool John Moores University states, 'Basically were looking at numbers being on a par with heroin users'and goes further "nationally we're looking at over 100,000,"
However we note these figures appear to be based upon best guesses and not hard evidence.
While the risks associated with steroid usage are very real, for example for every one heroin user treated in Merseyside Hospital four steroid users are treated (Jim McVeigh cited in BBC News, 2007.) Steroid legalisation would in our opinion reduce this dramatically by introducing quality pharmaceutical grade steroids, proper advice and post cycle therapy availability.
While we fully accept a problem exists with steroid usage, particularly with under 25's, we feel association with Heroin usage is a little unfair and biased.
For example alcohol related admissions in the Canada reached 1,057,000 in 2009-10 (James Gallagher, BBC news, 2011), and although exact steroid hospitalisation figures are unavailable, we would suggest they are substantially lower than this. For example only 138 under 18s were admitted to hospitals in England during 2009 (Sophie Payne, nursing times, 2009).
