Indonesian Actors & Actresses to be Drug Tested...

Actors and actresses are just like anyone else in the community, they have their demons to confront. Sometimes these demons are legal like alcohol sometimes they are illegal like recreational drugs and narcotics. Yet, until yesterday it seemed unlikely that Indonesian actors and actresses were going to be subjected to mandatory drug testing prior to being permitted to work in film or television.

It would be interesting to see a statistical analysis as to whether actors are any more susceptible to drug use than the rest of the Indonesian community. The reality is that a celebrity with a drug addiction or a celebrity caught in possession of drugs and looking at jail time is far more news worthy in terms of shifting papers and selling advertising than is a young kampung girl newly arrived in the big city. Maybe the reporting of celebrity-linked drug offenses serves to distort the seriousness of the problem.

According to the Chief Detective of the Jakarta Police, Anjan Pramuka Putra, the Indonesian Film Actors Guild (Parfi) has requested police assistance in conducting urine tests on actors. In some cases the results may indicate that the actor or actress tested has taken an illicit substance, but the reality is that acting is not a sport and it is unlikely that taking drugs is going to improve performance. In fact, a drug addiction is likely to impact negatively on the ability to work or maintain consistent performance.

For example, an actor or actress may take steroids in an attempt to "buff up" for a role, or to transform their appearance, and in so doing breach the prevailing laws and regulations. Yet, is the intent of the Parfi request to catch all those using any scheduled prescription, recreational or illegal drugs or is it just to catch those with addictions to drugs like shabu-shabu (crystal meth), marijuana, heroin, or ecstasy.

I wonder whether actors and actresses are going to be supportive of the Parfi request. Is it possible that there will be a mass exodus of Parfi members or some kind of actors strike in protest of this invasion of their privacy, particularly considering a urine sample can be tested for a whole lot more things than just to find those using drugs.

Should we be concerned that this is just the first step in mandatory random drug testing for everybody irrespective of who they are or what they do. For example, can prospective employers demand a candidate for a position at their company undertake a drug test as part of the interview process. Or, can the government demand a drug test to be taken before providing a government benefit or paying a tax return. The mind boggles at the possibilities.

Gay Lube Oil

One of my blogging colleagues, GJ, has decided that a good way of increasing traffic is to write something on gay clubs. He notes that his traffic seems to increase significantly after a gay clubs post, particularly in the number of hits he gets from Malaysian IPs. Keeping this in mind, I have decided that I should check out whether the "gay" theme does anything for my statistics and ranking, both of which have been plummeting into the never-ending abyss over the last couple of weeks.

Now the use of steroids is one of those issues that draws extreme arguments from each side of the equation. My personal view is that for people wanting to use them for cosmetic reasons then they should be allowed to. If the government is concerned then they should not prohibit the use of steroids but require that they be administered under a doctors care based on a prescription.

I am not making arguments for an against the use of steroids in professional sports. However, when steroids are used properly and are not misused and abused then the evidence suggests that they are safe. Steroids are no different from any other drug in that if they are abused or misused then the side-effects and consequences can be severe. The steroid debate is a hypocritical one by my reckoning as the government and some medical practitioners have sort to demonize steroids as the epitome of evil yet they do not come out anywhere near as strongly against tobacco or alcohol, very weird!

Anyway, back to the gay lube oil story. It seems that Australian Customs has seized more than 100 bottles containing illegal liquid steroids hidden inside sexual lubricant packaging with the aptly named bottles being labelled "gay lube oil". The bottles apparently contain testosterone and deca durabolin. To import these substances is not prohibited provided you have the necessary paperwork from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The maximum penalty for smuggling goods such as these into Australia is five years in prison and a $110,000 fine.

Now, aside from the fact that the substances are prohibited without the necessary paperwork, I am wondering how the gay lube oil is to work. I am particularly wondering about the way the testosterone and deca are to be injected. But, I guess that is another story for another time. These particular goodies have been imported from Thailand.

I suppose gay lube oil is like any other oil in that it keeps all your parts running smoothly and at peak performance.

Testosterone and Depression

An Australian study has highlighted that low levels of free testosterone are linked to increases in the likelihood of depression, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, muscle and bone loss, and decreased sexual performance. Those most at risk are older men, those who are obese, smokers, and anyone in poor health.

In fact the study showed that those with low naturally occurring levels of free testosterone were 271 percent more likely to show signs of depression.

For me this is the perfect example of a loophole in the laws against steroid use. Doctors can prescribe testosterone products to those with a medical need. Therefore, anyone looking to get a happy boost might want to pay a trip to their local doctor.

The report can be found in Archive General Psychiatry, 65: 283-289, 2008.

Herbal Medicines -- Jamu

Although this particular story originates from Malang in East Java it might just be representative of any region in Indonesia. Indonesians are big believers in traditional herbal medicines and cosmetics both of which are big business and provide turnovers to the owners of these businesses in the many millions and hundreds of millions of dollars annually. These companies include Martha Tilaar and Jamu Jago to mention but two.

However, a recent survey by the Indonesian Department of Health through the Health Service of Malang found that 77 types of jamu in Malang contravened current safety regulations with respect to the ingredients contained in the jamu. Of these 38 were registered and 39 were unregistered brands. The registered brands were immediately cancelled.

Most contained substances that are banned because they require a doctors prescription to be bought. The banned substances include diuretics, beta-2 stimulants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, powerful pain relievers, asthma medicines, and a range of other prescription drugs.

I guess you drink jamu at your own risk!

Blogging Statistics...

This might be called a recurring theme for me but it remains one of interest! I would guess that based on my stats sex or sex-related material gets the visitors in but it does not get them back over and over again. So, then the real question is how to increase visitors, particularly repeat visitors, without resorting to time tested tactics relating to sex!

Controversy always works and my posts on the last supper still draw a good number of hits. The posting of the accompanying pictures to those posts was a worthwhile deal because some were hard to track down at first (although they are not so hard to track down anymore).

Yet, the killer here I think is that if what you are posting is readable and interesting then people will keep coming back. I also think that if you write it as you see it, the idea of calling things based on your personal experience, then you make a personal connection with the reader without ever having to meet them in person! So, in that sense it does not matter whether you are anonymous or you reveal your true identity. Two examples of this are my blogging colleagues Jakartass and Rima Fauzi.

I return to both their blogs because I enjoy reading what they write as much as I enjoy how it is written. I should also give a shout out to the other blogs I read, all of which are in my blog roll. But, a special mention to the ones I read most often such as Treespotter, GJ, Greenstump, Dilligaf, and Finally Woken (all linked in my blog roll -- check them out!).

However, as I have already written many times, I blog to amuse and humor myself! If I do happen to amuse and humor others along the way then so be it! I never really started doing this blogging thing for recognition, personal or otherwise, so stat numbers are not so crucial to me or my existence. The idea that someone is reading what I write is intriguing to me but that is about as far as it goes. Nah, I am competitive and I like to win and I like to be the best, but I am also a realist and this reminds me of an analogy involving bodybuilding and working out!

"There is always going to be someone bigger than you out there!" So, don't get too caught up in the ego of this. Simply, there is always some one out there prepared to work harder, do more, or take more steroids to be the best! I am struggling to be just happy being me right at this moment in time without putting on any added pressure on myself of having to be the absolute number one blogger in Indonesia and the world!

By the way...the other thing that seems to drive visitors is posting good pieces and posting often. If I can visit and see something new each time I visit I tend to keep visiting other blogs. So, I reckon it would be the same for others who visit me...

Sportspeople and Steroids

It was with a small degree of disappointment that I read Marion Jones had been sentenced to six months in prison. The reality is that this woman through her own stupidity has thrown away a life of recognition and appreciation by being caught out in a lie but her crimes are not deserving of jail time.

There are serious questions about the danger of steroids that are quite separate from their use by sportspeople in the pursuit of the winning edge. Let's face it the current use of steroids in professional sports is a monster of out own creation. Sportspeople can become fabulously wealthy if they are winners. Winners are rewarded and losers, well, they come back another day and do it all over again, perhaps this time with some chemical assistance.

Steroids in sports...there are two options here; open slather or zero tolerance! The fact that those that seek the winning edge are going to continually invest in methods and mechanisms to get around the possibility of detection means that there will never be 100% eradication. It was interesting to note that the former Australian Head Swim Coach suggested that there should be serious consideration given to the open slather approach. He was obviously and quickly shot down, but all the same the point was a valid one and one with which we are all familiar--if you cannot beat 'em, join 'em.

The issue of steroid use in the general population is a completely different issue as the responsible use of steroids has generally been shown to enhance well-being and health. However, as with any drug the irresponsible use and abuse of any drug can have severe side-effects, including death! But to suggest that steroids are the evil of all evils is in and of itself irresponsible.

This post is not advocating that children should be permitted to use steroids. This post is suggesting that adults, in consultation with their doctors should be permitted to use steroids, even where their use is for cosmetic rather than health purposes. I hope one day I run for office and someone digs up this post and tries to attack me with it. But with a bit of luck before I ever run for office this debate will be long over and decided in favour of responsible use.

The simple reality is that if the debate is premised on the dangers to long or short term health then the debate must also include other harmful drugs. Tobacco and alcohol kill many thousands, perhaps millions, of people every year through out the world. Neither are illegal, why? For the purposes of consistency it would make perfect sense for the governments of the world to also go after these other killers and ban them absolutely and immediately rather than reducing the areas where you can legally kill yourself by banning smoking in public places for instance.

But the 1920s highlighted the fallacy that is prohibition! By banning steroids or making the possession of steroids an indictable and jailable offence does not prevent their use. It simply drives it underground and allows the development of a black market. The government would be in a better position if it was to legalize steroids. It could even be a revenue raiser in that where there is no legitimate medical use for the steroid prescribed then it is deemed to be for cosmetic use and there is a tax applied.

But back to Marion Jones and her very public fall from grace. She has been humiliated enough through the fact that she had to make a public admission of her guilt as it related to lying about the use of performance enhancing drugs. Her medals and records have been stripped from her personally and from the record books. She is banned from competition and is unlikely to ever have the opportunity to compete again except perhaps in some kind of masters competition in a couple of decades down the track (pun intended). Jail is supposed to rehabilitate the offender but it is unlikely to rehabilitate Marion Jones as most of her rehabilitation in the sense of understanding her crime has occurred with her public humiliation on an international scale.

Community service through giving back to the children of this world would be a much more suitable punishment. If Naomi Campbell can abuse her domestic help and get to sweep streets then it is strange that Marion Jones gets injected or smeared with a steroid and has to go to jail because she lied about it! Community service if the judge in the case wants to set an example then make her do a couple of thousand hours of community service at "Little Athletics" or something similar. Marion Jones' crime did not really hurt anyone but herself. It may have disappointed her family, friends, and fans but it did not hurt anyone but herself. The punishment on the other hand hurts her children who are going to be deprived of their mother for the next six months.

There is a need for balance in terms of the crime and the punishment...It is time for the justice system and judges to wake up an smell the coffee!

Post Script...

There is an interesting piece in The Age Newspaper (Australia) about how Marion Jones got her just desserts and that no one should have sympathy for her because she is a drug cheat...Most sportspeople caught using performance enhancing drugs are not jailed for using the drugs themselves. Marion Jones was not jailed for admitting to using steroids. She was, however, jailed for lying to Federal Investigators and misleading an investigation, a breach of the US Criminal Code.

Most of the commentary implies Jones was jailed for being a drug user and this is not only a misrepresentation of the facts but it is irresponsible. It was good to see that the quote by John Fahey, former NSW Premier and Federal Minister, and now Chief of the WADA, pointing out that Jones was not jailed for being a drug taker.

To suggest that Jones got off easier than she should have because she disappointed a lot of people is ludicrous! You do not go to jail for disappointing people. You go to jail for committing crimes! If people started getting sent to jail for disappointing their family, friends, and fellow citizens our jails would suddenly become much more over-crowded and financially burdensome for all of us. There is more value in keeping Jones out of jail than putting her behind bars for six months. Jones did not get what she deserved but rather she was given what was thought to be sufficient appeasement for the masses...

Her humiliation, once again, is more than punishment enough!