Steroids: an Out-of-Control Substance?

For months, a story has been circulating at Westlake Village Westlake High that two players who start for the school’s football team were found with anabolic steroids when they were stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border last spring.

Border officials say steroids were seized from two 17-year-olds--one from Westlake Village, the other from Thousand Oaks--who were detained by the U.S. Customs Service at the San Ysidro port of entry on March 25.

Citing privacy rights, the border officials will not identify the teenagers. But they did provide The Times with the age, month of birth, gender and cities of residence of the teenagers, which are identical to those of two Westlake players.

It’s important that you know that, and a few other things:

In a recent 15-month period, steroids were seized from more than 80 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 just at the San Ysidro crossing.

Besides Ventura County, those teenagers are from places like Bakersfield, Los Alamitos, Santa Barbara, Laguna Beach, Arcadia and Covina.

Not only should you know, you should care.

Steroids are dangerous. In the U.S., they are classified as controlled substances and cannot be obtained without a prescription. Those caught using them in athletic competition face consequences, such as the loss of eligibility.

For those not caught, there are still consequences--the prospect of possible liver and kidney damage and other dangerous side effects.

Forty-three milliliters of steroids were seized from the Thousand Oaks teenager; 43 milliliters of steroids and 120 steroid tablets were taken from the Westlake Village teenager. One milliliter, or one tablet, is considered a dose.

For young athletes, steroids are a taboo topic, just like some of the popular over-the-counter strength and energy-building supplements that, though legal, have been linked to the deaths of athletes across the country.

At Westlake, where possessing steroids is a violation of the school’s code of conduct for athletes, not much has happened.

School officials say they investigated, but were able to determine only that two players--both solid contributors on a Westlake team that is 8-2 and finished second in the Marmonte League--drove to the San Diego area on March 25.

Lou Lichtl, who was Westlake’s athletic director last spring and handled the school’s inquiry, questioned both players, who denied involvement with steroids. Lichtl said the only parent he spoke to also issued a denial.

That was the beginning and end of the investigation.

“We don’t have any proof they possessed, sold or purchased any [steroids],” Lichtl said.

Westlake, a perennial Southern Section Division IV powerhouse, is slightly different among Southern California high schools in that it has a voluntary drug-testing program for football players. But testing does not include screening for steroids, because of the cost.

Football Coach Jim Benkert said he talked to his team about steroid use in March when the allegations surfaced. He said a narcotics officer from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department also spoke to the team.

Marti Treese, president of Westlake’s football booster club, said parents were concerned when rumors started circulating last spring, and that each family dealt with the matter as it saw fit.

“It seems most people are dealing with it within their own household,” she said. “I think every parent has to look at their own child and make their own judgment.”

The father of one of the Westlake players said his son has continually denied any involvement in steroid possession or being detained at the border.

“Once we started hearing the rumors, then we started really grilling him to see if there was anything to it,” he said.

The father is the registered owner of two vehicles with license plates matching those of cars that were photographed crossing into Mexico on March 25--one at 9:30 a.m., the other at 6:59 p.m.--according to U.S. government officials. All vehicles crossing into and leaving the United States are logged electronically, the officials said.

“To my knowledge, none of my kids have been in Mexico and I was not there on that day,” the father said, adding that he never received a call from customs.

Border officials say the 17-year-olds from Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks each paid a $500 fine. They also said they are not required to notify parents of minors who are detained or fined.

The father says he has not called customs to check on whether his son was detained on March 25. He said his son wouldn’t have had $500 to pay the fine and couldn’t have crossed the border at 9:30 in the morning because he had left home only shortly before that.

He said his son was punished, but not for having anything to do with steroids. He was grounded for two weeks for taking the family car to San Diego without permission.

The mother of the other player also issued a denial. “Nothing happened,” she said.

Neither boy’s participation on the football team was affected. Both are key players for one of Ventura County’s best teams.

So maybe it’s just a coincidence that the residence, gender, age and month of birth all match. Same with the one family’s cars being in Mexico.

This much is fact:

Steroids are sought by teenagers to help them build muscle and strength for athletics and appearance. And although illegal in the U.S., they are easily obtained just across the border in Tijuana, where dozens of pharmacies cater to a largely American clientele.

Advertising cut-rate drugs--in English--the pharmacies line the Viva Tijuana shopping plaza, strategically located on the pedestrian corridor between the border crossing and Avenida Revolucion, a tourist strip less than a mile away that offers more pharmacies.

Most Americans making purchases at such places are bargain hunters who bring their medications back across the border legally. But a customs official, who did not want to be identified, said the area also is a popular destination for teenagers seeking steroids because “the vast majority of stuff can be purchased over the counter. Or they can put you in touch with someone who can write a prescription.”

When agents seize steroids at the border, fines--ranging as high as $10,000--are typically issued. But catching smugglers is difficult. Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, about 50,000 cars per day routinely entered the U.S. from Mexico at San Ysidro.

Customs beat the odds when it stopped the 17-year-olds from Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks on March 25.

But those boys, if they are the ones still playing football for their high school, have beaten the system. That’s too bad, because the truth needs to come out, if only to protect other teenagers from risking their health by foolishly experimenting with steroids.

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Staff writer Ken Ellingwood contributed to this column. Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.