How widespread is anabolic steroid abuse in U.S. prisons?

One thing that never seems to come up whenever the subject of illicit drug-use by prisoners is discussed-surprisingly IMO-is the extent to which these (male) prisoners abuse anabolic steroids. I say surprisingly because the muscle-bound physiques of male prisoners are legendary, as is the value of aggression and size and strength to a prisoner in prison.

As far as smuggling them into prison is concerned; they’d be easier than other recreational drugs like marijuana and that gets in all the time no problem. Given the value that such drugs would hold to willing prisoners, on top of some of the unbelievably freaky, un-human bodies in there (supposedly built only on the sludge they feed them in prison, hmm) and I think ‘juicing’ is fairly common in The Big House.

But that would only be my speculation. Like I said, I’ve never seen any real discussion on the subject and I’ve certainly never seen anything like hard numbers (such as positive drug tests, etc.). I know there are Dopers here that have, or do, work in the prison system in the U.S., so I appeal to their knowledge here.

Dude, everyone would look like that if you worked out hard for a couple hours a day

Exactly. I hate working out. Bores me to tears. I’d rather go on a grueling 8-mile hike and get cardio and resistance exercise at the same time. Kills two birds with one stone, and I enjoy the scenery. But if my life depended on it, I would have absolutely no problem pumping iron.

Maybe I shouldn’t mention this - but what the heck, I’m retired.

I worked in NY prisons. We didn’t routinely test for steroids.

We have a standardized drug test that we use for normal testing. We test for marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and a couple of other things. But we’re not testing for alcohol or LSD or meth or PCP - or steroids.

Steroids were out there because we sometimes would catch them in somebody’s possession or when they were being smuggled in. But honestly, any speculation about how widespread steroid use is in NY prisons would just be a wild-ass guess.

I have delivered medical care in a max security prison for over a decade, and supervise medical care in over twenty other prisons. And I can say that anabolic steroid use/abuse in our prison system is virtually a non-issue. If it is a significant drug of abuse, we are not aware of it. It is not found frequently on cell searches, unlike other drugs.

Frankly, we have very few excessively muscled inmates in our system, despite the stereotype.

I shall consult my peers in other states and find out their experiences.

No they wouldn’t dude. I’m talking about the huge, ripped guys. You can’t get huge AND ripped from crap food and regular workouts. Perhaps it’s just genetics for the select few though.

I think movies and television tend to focus on the muscle bound prisoners, even in documentaries.

Huh, well thank you for shattering that stereotype for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that every built guy in prison is a juicehead. I understand that even if AS are a somewhat widespread drug in prisons, the overall number of prisoners using them would be small.

Strength coaches and authors never fail to point out that nutrition is the most important factor in building muscles, even more so than the actual resistance training.

I always wondered how that worked in prison since correctional facilities usually don’t have a reputation for being gourmet temples.

Well, gourmet and nutritional are too different things. If they are eating ground beef, chicken, bread, potatoes, and a few green veggies, they are getting a pretty good diet. That is pretty much what my dads generation ate growing up on the farm.

Cordon Bleu doesn’t have to be on the menu to bulk up.

(This is kind of a WAG. I’ve spent a little bit of time in jail, never prison, and of course as a woman it’s totally different. But I have known quite a few dudes who were in jail/prison for extended periods)

When you are in prison, you have a whole lot of time on your hands. If you’re not in a work program, you have literally hours and hours of boredom every day, which some guys fill up with working out. My ex would do 100 sit-ups a day, just because he didn’t have a whole lot else to do. Also, you are generally not strictly limited to the prison meals. If you have some commissary money, you can buy lots of snacks to supplement your diet. Also, you can generally get away with trading food with other inmates. If you are trying to get a lot of protein, for example, plenty of inmates will be glad to trade their bologna for your dessert or apple sauce. I met one lady in jail who would braid girls’ hair in exchange for a portion of their lunches every day,

What I’m getting at is, people in prison have unlimited time and often a decent amount of food. Getting built up for them can be kind of a competition, too. Although I’m sure some guys have sneaked in and used steroids, they have no problem getting super buff without them.