posted June 28, 2000 10:27 PM            

Monday June 26 5:51 PM ET

Drug Adviser Sees Andro As Steroid
By OWEN S. GOOD, Associated Press Writer

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - President Clinton's top drug policy adviser said Monday the muscle-building supplement that Mark McGwire made famous should be classified as a steroid ``within a few months.''

``I've got to do something about andro,'' Barry McCaffrey said in a speech to the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance. ``I've got to get valid testing completed, and I bet that's the way it comes out: that andro is a steroid.''

Androstenedione, commonly called andro, is an unregulated food additive. Sales soared in 1998, the year McGwire hit a record 70 home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals, after it was reported that the first baseman used it. McGwire stopped using it last year.

McCaffrey said andro already meets two of three tests used by government laboratories to determine whether a substance is a steroid. ``I suspect we'll find that it meets the third, although I have been saying that for over a year now,'' McCaffrey said, admitting that tests should have been finished already.

If androstenedione does meet the third requirement, it would be declared a steroid, illegal to use without a legitimate medical reason.

Major League Baseball did not ban andro despite a study it financed that found its use could be hazardous. The NBA is considering a ban now. It already is banned by the Olympics, the NCAA, the NFL and the men's and women's tennis tours.

``We've regularly met with (baseball officials) on a range of subjects, including this,'' said McCaffrey spokesman Robert Weiner. ``They're just waiting for the feds. They don't want to take the initiative on their own. Certainly, other sports have taken an initiative.''

Androstenedione supplements are made of a naturally occurring steroid hormone. The body metabolizes andro into testosterone, which is considered a steroid. When supplements of testosterone are taken in high doses, they are known to have an anabolic effect - increasing muscle size and strength.

McCaffrey's comments came after he gave the keynote address at a conference on performance-enhancing drug use among athletes, sponsored by the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance.

The alliance comprises major amateur and professional sports leagues, including the U.S. Olympic Committee and the National Football League.