In many ways the advent of steroids in the United States mirrored the rapid rise of celebrity culture. The so called "cult of celebrity" has grown to mammoth proportions and shows no indication of slowing. Every day brings more gossip and news about famous personalities that inhabit our lives in a peripheral state, as we don't actually know them personally, yet they continue to seem so eerily familiar. It is no surprise, then, that steroid use among celebrities has not only increased but has also had an effect on habits of the American public.

It is an interesting contradiction that when star athletes and sports figures are suspected of using anabolic steroids, there is a full scale investigation launched with the full backing of the legislature behind the proceedings. However, if a celebrity is suspected of using these substances, he or she is simply publicly lauded for their superior physiques. What sort of message does that send to young people? Does it imply that, as a society, we only look down upon steroid abuse when it affects the caliber of performance for elite athletes and may in fact influence the score of a crucial sporting event? Does it mean that when there’s no playoff game at stake or no immediate event to be won, that it’s not worth trying to prevent the use of dangerous steroids for celebrities or even ordinary people outside the glare of Hollywood? These mixed messages are troublesome and we must take steps to standardize our collective response to steroid use and avoid singling out some professional contexts as being less harmful than another. The fact remains that the extremely destructive by products of steroid use are every bit as present in famous actors that abuse the substance as in star athletes that are banned, in most cases, from using the drugs.

There has been much discussion that celebrities such as Dr. Dre, Carrot Top and Slyvester Stallone are or at one time may have been using steroids. In January of 2008, bold faced names like R&B singer Mary J. Blige, rapper Wyclef Jean, actor and director Tyler Perry, along with 50 Cent and Timbaland were all implicated in a steroids trafficking ring that was revealed in Albany. Human Growth Hormone was the main substance being shipped and used, however, taking the drug itself is not illegal. Rather the federal authorities are going after the centers and clinic that often prescribe the substances illegally under the guise of promoting anti-aging practices and claiming that the drug is a miracle substance that can turn back the hands of time. Ultimately, much of the responsibility for these kinds of incidents rests with the prescribing doctor and less with the celebrity user. With little to no oversight regarding steroids, such as Human Growth Hormone (due to the fact that is not categorized as a controlled substance), there is rampant misuse among famous personalities whose livelihood, in many cases, is dependent upon maintaining a rigid standard of youth and beauty.