# What did Raffie take? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194 "2005-08-01T20:18:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/21 "2005-08-02T05:28:45Z")
…Nor his claim that half of all major leaguers (or whichever percentage he settled on) use steroids. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/22 "2005-08-02T08:04:30Z")
True, and they probably never will be validated, but he’s yet to be proven wrong, unlike McGwire and Palmeiro. Does anyone know who else he accused in his book? ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/23 "2005-08-02T08:56:56Z")
I found an interesting [article](http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4287) on Baseball Prospectus which attempts to answer the OP’s questions, plus a few more. This is normally a pay site, but they are offering free access through 08/03. > [@](#): > > Thus far, no testing results have publicly leaked. Data released from 2003 and 2004 indicates that the most abused substances were deca-durabolin and winstrol. Winstrol does not have a classical half-life, while “deca,” the drug that Jason Giambi admitted using, has an active half-life of up to fifteen days. The “detectable period” for Winstrol is about 3 weeks for the oral and two months for the injectable. Deca can be detected in the body as much as twelve to eighteen months after use. ---
**Author:** ![MAGunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@MAGunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAGunter)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/24 "2005-08-02T09:12:18Z")
First off; 1. Palmeiro faces zero chance of perjury or similar charges because, as far as proof goes, at the time of his statements he hadn’t. Because the ‘evidence’ occured after the fact doesn’t make the initial statements false. 2. Palmeiro isn’t **for sure** a steroid user, as he tested positive simply for performance enhancing drugs. As I recall, both marijuana and meth qualify under that as well as a very far reaching group of drugs, both legal and illegal. He **could** have failed for as little as a bottle of Pepto (or similar generally inoccuous substance) for all we know. That said; > [@](#): > > That may be, but Mr. Canseco is about the only person in this steroid scandal who has not been proven a liar. Is the dead on truth. There’s not the _legal_ evidence, but it stands that one of the players he named has failed a drug tests, while mysteriously one suffered a serious early season slump and the two most prolific? Well one is sitting out the entire season (btw, there are some fascinating rumors about Jordan’s season in baseball) and the other has had a huge drop-off in productivity? Coincidence? Quite possibly. I’m personally shocked, being a Rangers fan and a man that’s met Palmeiro, I thought he was above this. I believe the tests and am irate. I really believed his achievements were natural, which was precisely why they were under the ESPN radar. And I feel like a jackass for it today. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/25 "2005-08-02T14:42:37Z")
> [@MAGunter](#): > > …performance enhancing drugs. As I recall, both marijuana and meth qualify under that… Pot is a performance _enhancing_ drug? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/26 "2005-08-02T14:54:29Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Pot is a performance _enhancing_ drug? > 😕 Not for baseball, but it has been suggested it helps snowboarders. The suggestion was made by some snowboarders. (Don’t I can’t cite this one, it was just some top level snowboarders half joking) I haven’t seen any other sport where MaryJane could be considered performance enhancing. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/27 "2005-08-02T15:00:30Z")
According to some experimental data I recently made up, marijuana does not enhance performance, but it does enhance enjoyment of performance. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/28 "2005-08-02T16:13:51Z")
So indirectly then, a ballplayer can realize better performance by enhanced “love of the game.” Interesting… ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/29 "2005-08-03T12:00:39Z")
It’s now been [reported](http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2123113)that Mr. Palmeiro tested positive for stanozolol. > [@](#): > > NEW YORK – Rafael Palmeiro’s positive steroid test was for stanozolol, a powerful anabolic steroid that is not available in dietary supplements, according to a newspaper report. Also, it appears that congress has taken interest in this. > [@](#): > > The Sun also said that Congress is looking more closely into the chronology of Palmeiro’s case and is poised to call on baseball to reveal more details: when his drug test was conducted, analyzed and disclosed to the player and the team. Some members also want officials to reveal what Palmeiro tested positive for. Since this is General Questions, I’ll leave it at that. There’s a [pit thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=328360) where you can offer an opinion on this story. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/30 "2005-08-03T14:40:05Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > So indirectly then, a ballplayer can realize better performance by enhanced “love of the game.” Interesting… Yep, and it can also enhance an observer’s enjoyment of the game. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![CMiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CMiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CMiller)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/31 "2005-08-03T19:26:30Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Pot is a performance enhancing drug? It might for [this](http://www.ifoce.com/) sport ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/32 "2005-08-03T19:53:49Z")
Interestingly enough, I heard a contestant in this “sport” discussing suggestions that appetite enhancing materials, e.g. cannabis, might come in handy in food eating contests. He claims that in the long run, it makes no difference. According to a guy I know, named Ernie, pot enhances just about all sensations, including, presumably, the one that you’re really full and can’t eat another bite. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/33 "2005-08-03T20:19:19Z")
[The NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/sports/baseball/03steroids.html) says the drug in question is Stanazolol, AKA Winstrol or [17[symbol]b[/symbol]-Hydroxy-17-methyl-5[symbol]a[/symbol]-androstano[3,2-c]pyrazole](http://epochem.com/products/pharm/10418-03-8.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194/34 "2005-08-03T20:20:11Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Not for baseball, but it has been suggested it helps snowboarders. The suggestion was made by some snowboarders. (Don’t I can’t cite this one, it was just some top level snowboarders half joking) > > I haven’t seen any other sport where MaryJane could be considered performance enhancing. The snowboarder thing is a refernce to the Canadian snowboarder who won a gold medal at the Nagano games and later lost his medal for testing positive. He then got it back. [Here is more on the story.](http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamNaganoSnowboarding/home.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-raffie-take/315194.md?page=1)