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WESLACO – NEWSCHANNEL 5 investigates the use of steroids among Valley high school students, and how easy it is to obtain the illegal drugs.

WESLACO – A NEWSCHANNEL 5 investigation found steroid use in high schools in wide-spread. In the Valley, the drug is also easy to come by.

Pharmacists in Neuvo Progreso, Mex., admitted having American clients, often young, who visit monthly for steroid injections.

A pharmacist said Americans already know which drug they want. The anabolic steroid Deca Durabolin is illegal without a prescription, but its offered without one in Mexico for $31.

American pharmacists say the drug in dangerous, causing heart attacks and even cancer. They say it should only be used in rare medical cases.

Another pharmacist in Mexico said young athletes even come looking animal steroids, available no-questions-asked at a veterinary clinic. If used by humans, doctors say they can cause infections and blood poisoning.

A former steroid user said he took the performance-enhancing drugs for one reason:

“They do work…Actually they work too well. They’re fast, within an 8 week cycle I managed to put on 22…23 pounds of muscle,” said “Charlie,” who asked not to be identified.

Charlie said he started using steroids after high school, but knows plenty of kids still in school who are “juicing up.”

“I see it everyday,” Charlie said, “I see kids doing it…talking about it. Doing way more than they should ending one bottle and starting another.”

Charlie went on to describe how much the drug changed him.

“Short temper. I would lose my temper at anything…traffic was the worst. Acne…all over the shoulders and the back of the arm,” Charlie said.

A number of administrators did not think steroid use was a problem at their school.

“At this time we don’t consider it a major problem,” said Brownsville ISD’s athletic director Joe Rodriguez.

“We do not consider it to be a major problem. That voice is echoed throughout all of the A-D’s. They don’t consider it a major problem down here,” Rodriguez said.

But just three hours away, in Laredo, administrators are already testing athletes for steroid use.

“In a perfect world you would hope that kids would shy away from it,” said athletic director Frank Carter. “The ones that are dedicated to being involved in athletics and extra curricular activities. The reality is there are probably going to be kids that test positive.”

Less than 10 percent of school districts in Texas test students for steroids. Some lawmakers want to change that. A current movement in Austin hopes to pass legislation to require every athlete at every school.

But steroid testing is expensive. One test for one athlete costs about $200.

“The risks far out weigh any benefits of the use of steroids,” said sports medicine doctor Kip Owens.

“The side effects from steroids are troublesome for males,” Owens continued, “that can be atrophy of their testicles, baldness, or even growth of breasts.”

Steroid abuse can also cause depression, high blood pressure, stunted growth, and cancer of the liver, prostate and kidneys, Owens said.

How can you tell if you child is using steroids?

-Short Temper

-Aggressive behavior

-Acne

-Nose Bleeds

-Swelling of the feet or ankles

-Baldness

Reynosa Unrest
These Reynosa voters complained of unfair election practices this morning. The voters were at the back of the line at one of 64 voting booths set up along the border for mexican immigrants. Unfortunately, to prevent voter fraud, the special absentee voting booths only had 750 ballots per station and these would-be voters were near the end of the line. The crowds were very vocal when they learned they were not going to get a ballot.

SuperSplash
Today is day two of the four day event and there was plenty of fun for everyone. The big fajita cookoff took place today. The winners in the traditional recipe category was the team from Robert’s Chevrolet. In gourmet, Isaura Cisneros and Belinda Cantu took home the prize and in the cabrito category, Mingo Cantu from Vital Line Health Services took home the trophy. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Texas Special Olympics.

Reynosa Unrest
Election day got off to a rocky start this morning, as those voting booths ran out of ballots. To prevent voter fraud the special absentee voting booths only had 750 ballots per station. Most of the voters who were turned away in Reynosa shouted their support of Vicente Fox and yelled out chants of change. The crowds which did not understand the 750 vote limit were registered to vote somewhere further south, if they were registered at all.

Candidates Vote
The two main candidates voted in Mexico early this morning. Francisco Labastida the PRI candidate cast his ballot near his home in Mexico City. Labistida just might need that vote as he is neck-to-neck with PAN candidate Vicente Fox. As he was leaving the polling station, Labastida whose party is under close scrutiny for a 71 year history of vote-rigging and vote-buying, told reporters this time things would be different. It is the first time that an election has been organized by an independent body; the Federal Electoral Institute, created in 1996 by outgoing President Ernesto Zedillo.Thirty-six thousand national and eight-hundred and sixty-six observers are monitoring the electoral process.

JD’s Teach the Children
A local billiards business has joined in our efforts to help needy Valley children. JD’s Billiard located at 105 E. Expressway 83 in Pharr is now helping Channel Five Teach the Children. JD’s Billiard will be donating 100 dollars for every pool table sold to the Teach the Children Foundation. This will help needy Valley children with clothes and school supplies as they head to the classroom next month. JD’s will continue helping the children throughout the months of July and August.

Cinemark and Teach the Children
The new 16 Screen Cinemark Cinema in Brownsville and Channel Five are giving away free movie passes in exchange for five dollars worth of unused school supplies. It’s all part of our Teach the Children project where we give school supplies to needy Valley kids. There will be a booth in front of the ticket counters where you can drop off your supplies from six to eight. Your free movie pass does not have to be used today.

Food Bank
The FordSquare “Open Hands” Food Pantry in Donna signed up their one thousandth family for food assistance. Members of the growing food bank gathered at the boys and girls club in Donna to provide food for the needy families. The “Open Hands” community food bank has been helping Donna families for more than a year now.

Vote Buying
Members of Partido Accionario Nacional (PAN) say they were called to La colonia Los Pinos where a suspicious white Ford Contour was giving envelopes to the poor residents of the neighbors. The PRI members were video taped trying to buy votes from residents in la colonia. A women who was given an envelope with 350 pesos says the money was to promote her voting for Labistida. PAN officials say they were furious to see such fraud the day before elections.