TweetHeres an interview I copy and pasted off facebook with the attorney who defends people who get caught with PEDs and testosterone

Conversation # 34: Actor, writer, bodybuilder and lawyer, Attorney Rick Collins.

MD: How about the law practice?

RC: We work on cases all over the country, and I personally spend three months out of each year on the road. I am the only lawyer who currently does what I do. As far as criminal defense goes, I represent more people regarding performance enhancing drug matters than any other lawyer. We also do a good deal of supplement industry work. We represent companies regarding advertising issues; we help them avoid raising red flags that would alert the FDA; we deal with trade mark issues. We represent athletes with issues regarding contracts. We worked on the Shawn Rhoden contract and I must say that Shawn is a very nice and respectful guy. Mike, it is important that I genuinely like and identify with whom I represent. The true magic has been in melding my vocation with my avocation, and I have been able to monetize it.

MD: I will not even pretend to hold any substantial knowledge when it comes to the forum of your mastery, PED’s. What can you say here?

RC: There are a growing number of voices who are anti- testosterone. This comes up more and more everyday, from numerous sources. A published study spoke negatively of testosterone replacement and a resultant cardiac risk and stroke from it. This was picked up by mass tort lawyers looking to make a nice pay day, and many suits have been filed against companies producing these substances. Well, the FDA has been brought into all of this, and there has been a resultant backlash against doctors who prescribe testosterone replacement therapy for their patients. Millions of men are on it, and it is still growing as a therapeutic treatment. I have written on this Michael and I can say that there is a vcery large body of scientific evidence of testosterone therapy and it’s benefits.
For folks with Low T, there is a risk for cardiac problems. Even studies showing risks (Finkle) show that for men under the age of 65 with no history of heart disease, the risks for testosterone use are minimal. So what do we see for studies? We see the studies for gentlemen over the age of 65 only. I call this “political science.” Big pharma can’t make money from people who don’t need these drugs. Remember, these pharmaceutical companies are publicly traded. This is very big business.
There is an assault on the anti aging industry going on right now. Doctors are being targeted by state licensing boards and prosecutors for going beyond guidelines. Now, the endocrinology guidelines are VERY narrow. The powers that be feel one should be at death’s door before you should be allowed testosterone.

MD: How about HGH?

RC: That is the only drug that can’t be prescribed off-label. If a drug is approved for certain use, and doctors discover that the same drug is ALSO helpful for another use, such as the liver, you must go back to the FDA to get this use approved-so doctors can prescribe such a drug “off-label.” This applies to all drugs except for HGH. “On label” for HGH is a pretty narrow spectrum. You can’t prescribe it for a muscle tear or to speed recovery time. It makes me think of the media and their coverage of such topics. I think they love to present the negative. Look at Ben Johnson in 1988. It was all about the terrible steroids and how the “bad” Canadian beat the Americans. Look at Lyle Alzado, saying, “These steroids killed me.” The idea was sewn long ago that steroids are bad, both ethically and medically. With Lyle, of course, there was no proof that steroids caused his demise. Also, the anti-doping movement. They totally demonize this.

MD: I remember those crazed congressmen going after the baseball players 10 years ago or so.

RC: Yes. The congress, treating steroids like heroine, cocaine, all that. The talk was about cheating in sports. And even though laws were built to fight the Ben Johnsons’ of the world, the Lance Armstrongs’, the Barry Bonds’ , these guys were not prosecuted for drug felonies, but they were for lying.

MD: Rick, who are your clients?

RC: My practice is comprised of a lot of different kinds of folks. Police officers, the military, bodybuilders, guys who just want to look better on the beach. There are many who are manufacturing in underground labs. Many of those arrested have nothing to do with football, baseball, the Olympics. They are into image. 80% of people who use steroids do so for cosmetic reasons. You know, it is all about the law of supply and demand, and our war on drugs misunderstands this. Is there a demand? Well, there will be a supply! You can enforce as much as you will, but the market will always change to fit the times. In the 80’s, most steroids produced were taken out of the back doors of pharmacies. You know, you’d have your friendly, neighborhood pharmacist, and he’d perhaps supply you. In 1991, it became a criminal act to engage in such exchanges. The market shrank and then came the growth of big Mexican steroid trade. There was a major influx of Mexican steroids to meet the growing demands of bodybuilders and other athletes. The DEA commenced with operation “Gear Grinder,” where they worked to close down the Mexican steroid labs allegedly making steroids for American bodybuilders. Still, there was demand. So, newer sources have materialized, with products arriving here from all over the world. Customs has made it harder to get finished products into the USA, but the internet does allow, in some cases, easy access to foreign sources. Now, Chinese powders make their way into the USA, and they find their way into people’s kitchens, bathrooms and basements. These guys then make their own brands. The steroid problem has hardly beenb solved. The products I just described are inferior in quality, and they are not FDA legitimate.
My client base is largely representative of the general population. Most are not teens. Most are working Joe’s or white collar, and most use for cosmetic reasons. Most of them cycle, althoiugh some do bridge. There seems to be less reliance on oral steroids, and most take injections. In very few instances do I see the sharing of needles. Mike, just like the war on drugs has failed, so is the war on steroids. The goal was to get the drugs out of sports way back in 1990, and out of baseball and cycling way after that. A whole lot of people have been arrested just for wanting to look good.

MD: Rick, you get caught-what happens to you?

RC: Most first offenders do no jail time. Traffickers, the jail time varies. Time served is often tied to the amount of drugs that are involved. There is a wrinkle here. It is not uncommon for one who has steroids for personal use only on their possession to be accused by law enforcement with intent to sell. The amounts indicative of personal use versus selling are often difficult to determine. With a “possessor,” you have drugs with intent purely for personal use. With a “trafficker,” you are selling or you are in possession with the intent to sell. If you sell to your buddies in the gym, you are considered a trafficker. If you possess 500 vials of steroids, you can be charged with possession with the intent to sell.

MD: Your recommendations, counselor?

RC: The constitution allows you to remain silent if you are arrested. The police come to your door and state that they want to ask you some questions about a package. You don’t have to say a word. Ask for the officer’s business card and tell them you will give it to your lawyer. At this point, they are not permitted to continue to talk to you. Most people, Mike, they get nervous and fold. “If I don’t answer, they will think I am guilty.” Once you start talking, it can be hard to stop. The law protects you if you let it. At some point, you will speak with the authorities with your lawyer present and ground rules set and also with a prosecutor present.
If there is no warrant, you have no obligation to consent to a search, and they cannot come into your house. Their objective is to get you to consent to them coming in, and there is no upside to this. I see this every day, people deferring to the law. You know Mike, you see it-the cops take a beating by the media every single day Most law officers are good people and do the right thing. Many times they are protecting us from the bad guys. Still, the best thing to do is to call a lawyer. Our clients are well served by us, and we do our best to make the most appropriate decisions in their best interest.

MD: What say you of the new dawn of the 300 pound giant and Arnold’s recent words concerning the same?

RC: Well, as you know, Arnold recently had his Sunday morning pulpit on this matter. His message was that bodybuilding must be reigned back-the aesthetics have been lost. There is nothing but size for the sake of size’s sake. He words were pointed: time to bring back the “V” taper, the smaller waste, and the ability to do a vacuum pose. He was very emphatic about it, and many agree with him. I have written objectively about such topics for years, and I will say that the risks of these drugs are overstated to the general public. Does that mean there is no risk? There is a risk to every drug, including steroids, and particularly so without medical monitoring over time. The difference between medicine and poison is the dose! I like to present it like this: One glass of wine is fine. Two bottles of scotch at one sitting, that could kill you. It takes a boat load of drugs to carry a 40 inch waste, and a number of bodybuildewrs have passed on recently. Just last month, a 49 year old bodybuilder from my gym died. Look, if you are 270 pounds, I don’t care how you got there, ice cream or drugs. The heart doesn’t know the difference if you are 300 pounds of fat or muscle. The vascular tissue is over loaded, and the heart eventually gives up. A 300 pound fat man has less risk than a 300 pounder of active, muscular tissue, believe it or not, as fat is less active tissue.
You know Mike, we are fans of bodybuilding, you and I. I don’t want to be seen as negative, as I am part of the bodybuilding community. But, there are valid concerns when bodies get as big as they do. People have the right to do what they want with their bodies. Smoking is bad, but you certainly won’t be arrested for doing it.

MD: On top of the million things you are successfully involved in, you are also a family man.

RC: Behind every man is a good woman, yes. I just celebrated my 30th anniversary with my wife recently. I value my family very much, and my wife is a huge supporter of me. I met her when I was 18 and at Summer orientation at Hofstra, and we have two great daughters. I also have “Mr. Lucky,” our 14 year old Shi-Tsu. Funny, when the pup was younger, gigantic Dave Palumbo (Rick’s firm represents Species Nutrition) brought his Tea Cup Maltese dog named Bella into the office. It was funny because here was Dave who, at the time, was one of the biggest bodybuilders in the world, and here we were running after these two little dogs in the office!

MD: A funny, picturesque scene! And you definitely appear to have suffered no lapses in your training…

RC: I still train five days per week, and I continually try to do higher reps. I just recently did 38 reps with 100 pound dumbbells on flat presses. This was at Bev Francis’ gym and the guys were cheering me on. When you go to the gym Mike-you know this-the gray haired guys have to keep ahead of the young guys.

MD: Don’t I know it my friend. I have got to thank you for perhaps the most important interview I have had the pleasure and honor of doing yet. Rick, please give me some closing thoughts and also your contact information.

RC: Mike, it has been my pleasure. I am bent on keeping everyone apprised of new information, studies, cases, arrests, the law, medicine and research. Peopl call me the “Steroid Lawyer, “ but along with bodybuilders, as I mentioned, I also help athletes of all kinds as well as supplement companies. If you are in the health and fitness industry in any way, especially bodybuilding, I am here for you. The industry has been in my blood since I was 16 years old, and I truly hearten anyone to feel free to call me. Some think the cost is beyond their reach, but we always strive to make things work.

Contact Rick Collins, Esq:

Tweetread this a little bit back. love rc's work