Italy: Steroids Headed for Troops in Iraq Seized

The popularity of steroid abuse has long been discussed as American troops and contractors in Iraq work out in gyms set up in bases and even in the mirrored halls of one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces.

Italian police seized 215,000 doses of prohibited substances as they smashed a ring that supplied steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to customers around the world, including American soldiers in Iraq, a police official said Monday.

The U.S. military in Iraq had no immediate comment, but the popularity of steroid abuse has long been discussed as American troops and contractors in Iraq work out in gyms set up in bases and even in the mirrored halls of one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces.

The police investigation in Italy began after a post office in Trieste, in northeastern Italy, reported that U.S. postal authorities in Iraq returned hundreds of packets of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs because they were improperly addressed, according to Mario Bo, head of the Trieste police department's criminal division.

He said authorities arrested two Slovenians last month when they raided an apartment in Trieste. Sasco Tacs, 30, and a 20-year-old woman, Vesna Milosevic, were charged with trafficking in prohibited substances.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said authorities believe the Slovenians received orders for the drugs on three Internet sites run by servers in Slovenia, Poland and Lithuania.

Synthetic derivatives of testosterone, anabolic steroids are thought to enhance aggressiveness.

Steroids have serious side effects, encompassing both psychological disturbance and physical symptoms, such as the development of breasts in men, baldness and cancer, as well as major depression, mania and other mood problems.

Every war seems to have its drug of choice. German soldiers were said to have been given steroids during World War II to make them meaner. The stress of combat led to use of marijuana by some American soldiers fighting in Vietnam.

Source:
Boston.com

Drugs are Drugs - Steroids included.

It appears that US Soldiers Drug of Choice in this War are Steroids and its effect of Enhancing Agressiveness.

But ofcoures - the SIDE Effects are the ones that should Concern these Soldiers, since War itself leaves a Huge Psychological Disturbance, and to add the Side Effects of Illegal Steroids, well we all know what happens then.

People Die when Interrogated "Without Gloves".

[edit on 3/8/05 by Souljah]

actually the germans were using meth amphetamines, if the soldiers think they need steroids let them have it, hell they let baseball players do it.wasnt two slovenians also caught up in this little drug ring?

Originally posted by XphilesPhan
actually the germans were using meth amphetamines, if the soldiers think they need steroids let them have it, hell they let baseball players do it.wasnt two slovenians also caught up in this little drug ring?

"Well let them have it" would be fine with me too - but considering the Strong Effects on the Soldiers on the Agressivness and the Number of Negative Side Effects I would not really recommend them in this Situation.

And Yes there were two Slovenians in this Drug Ring, that operated from Trieste, an Italian Town not far away from the Border of Slovenia.