Drug: Anabolic Steroids

Street Names: Arnolds, Asteroids, Ball Shrinkers, Gear, Gym Candy, Iron Brew, Juice, Liquid Gold, Pump-up pills, Roids, Sted, Rocket fuel, Sloop, Product, Stacking

Glossary of terms:

• Bending - mixing different drugs 
• Bulking up - increasing muscle mass through steroids
• Cycling - taking multiple doses of steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a time and starting again
• Doping - using drugs and other non-food substances to improve athletic prowess
• Ergogenic drugs - performance-enhancing substances 
• Megadosing - taking massive amounts of steroids by injection or pill
• Plateauing - when a drug becomes ineffective at certain levels
• Roid rages - uncontrolled outbursts of anger, frustration or combativeness
• Shotgunning - taking steroids on a hit-or-miss basis
• Stacking - using a combination of anabolic steroid, often taken in combination with other drugs
• Tapering - slowly decreasing steroids intake

Description of the drug and its forms:
Three types of steroids exist: anabolic (male hormone/most frequently abused), cortical, and estrogenic (female hormone).

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. The full name is androgenic anabolic steroids and they promote growth of the skeletal structure and increase lean body mass.

Anabolic steroids are taken orally or injected. They are taken in continuous patterns called "cycling," which occur by starting, stopping and starting again over a period of weeks or months and changing the dosages of the steroids.

Additionally, users will combine anabolic steroids often times with other drugs (stimulants, depressants, painkillers, anti-inflammatories) to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects. This process is called "stacking."

Demographics: Steroid users tend to be young and male — when they're not young and female. According to a June, 2000 study, 5.2 percent of boys and 2.2 percent of girls in grades 9-12 admitted using steroids. A 2001 national survey shows use creeping down even further: 2.8 percent of U.S. eight-graders say they've used the drugs, up 22 percent in three years

 Risks/Side Effects: Acne, excessive hair growth or loss, and decreased emotional control (sometimes called 'roid rage) are common. Male users can exhibit testicular atrophy and breast enlargement, while masculinization and menstrual irregularities are more common among females. More serious dangers — including liver damage and cancer — are linked to long-term, high-dose use, which can be 100 times higher than standard therapeutic doses.