New-NJ Drug Testing for Law Enforcement now includes Steriods-Help Needed

[John0529]

Thanks to the great state of NJ legislators we now have steriods included in the random drug testing policy. This is targeted at eliminating steriod use in law enforcement which we give them is illegal. Our concern is this could possibly stretch to preformance enhancing drugs such as prohomones. Our concern further is that these over the counter preformance enhancing drugs may make some officers come up positive for steriods when only using supplements that are available to the general public. the current policy specifically outlines that a urine test will be conducted to check testosterone levels. Here is the specific wording they use for test results to determine steriod use: "As an example, there is general agreement that an epitestosterone to testosterone level of 10:1 or even as low as 8:1 is a clear indicator of steroid abuse; however, ratios in the 5:1 or 4:1 range are more equivocal." can anyone explain if legal preformance enhancing drug, such as DMZ Xtreme or Double Dragon, could possilbe give these results. Secondly can anyone direct me to a site that explains this better or where I can obtain information to circulate to officers. Thank you for your time and help with this matter.

[chiselmeat]

There should be a specialty steroid users forum for law enforcement officials who choose to use. The sight should provide info as other sights but offer talk and information that pertains to the law officer and the special circumstances and needs they run into.

[sideshow1701]

take lots and lots of estrogen pills put a bra on and some mascara (not mine)

and say its legal in New York.

Its possible to get a date also.

[prime]

also, I was reading that asians have the tendency to keep their ratios in check even while taking aas so using ratio's alone cannot cover 100% of the demographics.

[^mR.]

Might just have to start banging the gold old HGH that wont come up in a urine test.. they would have to blood test u

[th3Adamal]

found this article online thought it may be relevant to your situation;

Understanding Why Chael Sonnen Failed His UFC 117 Drug Test; a Procedural Look

Testosterone? Ratio? Metabolic Half-Life? All of these terms and more float about once MMA fans hear about a failed test. The problem is that no one ever sits down and explains the science behind a failed test into terms we all can understand. In light of the recent failed PED test by UFC fighter Chael Sonnen, a number of fans have been left confused as to what everything means. What I intend to do is explain everything I can in the simplest terms possible.

The basics of your average drug test are that only one urine sample is taken and split into two separate parts. Then the lab tests the "A" sample, determining its T/E ratio (I'll explain the meaning of this later) while the "B" sample is saved and reserved in case of an aberration in the "A". If the ratio comes back above the regulated amount, the "B" sample is tested. If that test also comes back positive then a test is done called the Carbon Isotope Ratio to determine the source of the elevated levels of testosterone and whether or not that source is natural.


Let's discuss the "T/E ratio". That is simply the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in the body. As most of us well know, testosterone is the male sex hormone produced by the testes that facilitates the development of male sexual characteristics of which, relevant to MMA, increases the muscles' protein production resulting in muscle fibers becoming larger and healing faster than the average person's. On the other side of things, epitestosterone is also a natural steroid, but one that does not affect performance. It is similar in chemistry to testosterone, but structurally different. Your average male will thus have a ratio of 1:1 meaning for every molecule of testosterone, there is an equal one of epitestosterone. That ratio can be higher in some men (especially athletes) and thus many regulatory bodies have allowed a ratio as high as 6:1 before a test can be considered "positive".

Now that we know about the ratio and what epitestosterone and testosterone are we can move on to the Carbon Isotope Ratio test which is the 2nd test that is done once an abnormally high T/E ratio is found. The CIR test inspects the make-up of the atoms in the testosterone in the urine and is able to determine whether or not that testosterone is synthetic or natural. Now you're probably wondering how this works. When testosterone is made synthetically, it usually comes from a source (say a soy plant) and then processed using some chemical magic. The difference is that the soy plant testosterone will have a different CIR than natural testosterone.

The ratio compared in the CIR test is Carbon 12 atoms to Carbon 13 atoms. If you remember from the Periodic table, Carbon has an atomic weight of 12. Also from those days of high school chemistry, you remember that Carbon is the skeleton for most compounds.In the body, sometimes carbon atoms have an extra neutron (atomic weight of 1) pushing the total atomic weight of the carbon atom to 13. The ratio of carbon 13 atoms is going to be less in synthetic testosterone because humans get extra carbon 13 atoms based on the different plants and food we eat as opposed to the synthetic testosterone which is based on one sole type of source plant.

In order to perform the test, the lab has to isolate the free testosterone and all the metabolites (by-products left from the breaking down of testosterone) in the urine sample. This new substance is placed in an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS) which is used to determine the amount of carbon 12 and carbon 13 isotopes. If the ratio is outside the normal human range, then it is believed that the high T/E ratio is due to synthetic testosterone. Herein is the difference between simple urinalysis and blood testing. In blood testing, you can compare the CIR in your cholesterol to the CIR in the testosterone of the urine you submitted. If that ratio differs by a certain amount, then it further solidifies that drugs were indeed used. In simple urinalysis, this is not possible.

Remember how I mentioned metabolites? The substances left from the breaking down of the testosterone? Those can be used to determine exactly what drug was used to achieve the abnormally high testosterone level. The isolated testosterone/metabolite substance is then put into various mass spectrometers (not unlike the IRMS mentioned earlier) and the metabolites are compared to different steroids whose metabolites are already known. Now it is not 100% certain that these tests can determine exactly what drug was used because everything ends up breaking down the same and most fighters (should I say the smart ones) have timed their cycles so that the illegal drug has broken down enough to where it's out of their system.

In the case where the drug cannot be identified, it is still not a determination of non-PED use. Depending on the ratio, it could be a case where the drug has metabolized enough to be unrecognized by the spectrometers. There are some items than can cause a false positive on an overall drug test, but in terms of the T/E, there aren't many.

Understanding Why Chael Sonnen Failed His UFC 117 Drug Test; a Procedural Look - Watch Kalib Run