Thanks for your reply Grunta, I do appreciate it. The difference you and I seem to be having is again based on the level of abuse, the degree of abuse if you like. You've described abuse as "more", I on the other hand am describing it as anything beyond a medical need.
As far as elite athletes been given steroids under medical supervision / observation. What is that exactly? I've never seen it nor experienced it. Doctors are trained to deal with health issues, and when one arise due to steroids taking, they are quick to deal with it (not by omitting the offending steroids, but) by giving that elite athlete yet another drug to counteract whatever symptom the steroids have caused. At the top level, it's not only the doctor who has a say, but the coach is very much involved with what's going on. I appreciate that a doctor is supposed to care more about the health of the athlete than his or her performance, but that's only when he (alone) is involved. And that alone bit is never fully available to him, for as long as there are trainers/coaches out there who's main purpose is to produce elite performance (or their job is on the line)...welcome to sport politics!
The main difference between an elite athlete and the gym goer who's into abusing steroids, is that the elite athlete has pressure placed upon him by the whole system, pressure to perform or lose that sporting scholarship, or contract or whatever it is that is allowing that athlete to train at the elite level he or she is training at. The gym goer on the other hand has pressure placed upon him by none other than himself.
The elite athlete is of use only when he performs, otherwise his name gets forgotten very quickly. That's the pressure he faces being at the top of his game.
The above info is from first hand experience rather than hearsay or some written material put out there for public consumption.
Again Grunta (and others), I'm not expecting people to agree with what I'm saying here, however what I've said is based on real facts based on experience, rather than what someone might have heard or have read in the media. Thank you.