I had no idea how old this story is. Here's Men'sHealth magazine's expose on the topic from over seven years ago.
And just a few months ago a Canadian cop pleaded to a charge of importing a half million in steroids and growth hormones from the US.
But that too was a back-burner story for me.
What's brought it front and center is some pictures Junior showed me when he was home for the holiday this past week. Pictures on his Facebook page of some of his high school buddies.
These are guys a couple of years out of high school, guys who went on to community college for the Police Foundations course. That's something aspiring cops need to take if they lack the connections that would permit good old-fashioned nepotism to get them into uniform.
These were kids I'd known when they were teens coming up. Average skinny scrawny teens. A couple of years later they look like body doubles for the next installment of the Hulk franchise.
These scrawny kids have gotten unnaturally and suspiciously buff. It's a buff you couldn't possibly achieve with honest exercise. These are guys desperate to out-buff one another.
In this day and age the cop gig is a pretty good one. Most of the major police forces in Canada boast salaries in the range of $90,000 a year within three years of signing up. So the competition for these jobs is fierce indeed.
Part of that competitive spirit seems to have translated into buffing up by whatever means necessary to get an advantage on the next guy, and that's created an environment in the Police Foundations courses that has allowed steroid culture to flourish.
Which doesn't translate into good things happening for these guys down the road, health-wise.
Or for you, if you happen to be pulled over by some twitchy cop suffering a roid-induced mood swing.
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