Timesunion.com has released its list of top stories for the year 2008 based on the number of clicks by readers. Included in this list are the reports that Obama’s surname was converted into a terrorist’s name in an absentee ballot, the story about a psychologist who had sexual relations with a student, and wrong information told by the police.

Interestingly, the story that ranked second was an article entitled “Steroids beyond sports”. The story details the use of steroids extending from sports to various celebrities. This article was released last January and mentioned a number of stars who have allegedly used anabolic  steroids and injectable human growth hormones.

From Albany Times Union:

The names of R&B music star Mary J. Blige, along with rap artists 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean, and award-winning author and producer Tyler Perry, have emerged in an Albany-based investigation of steroids trafficking that has already rocked the professional sports world, according to confidential sources.

Information has surfaced recently showing those stars are among tens of thousands of people who may have used or received prescribed shipments of steroids and injectable human growth hormone in recent years. Law enforcement officials have said they have no evidence in their sprawling multistate probe that customers, including Blige or other entertainers, violated any laws. Instead, they are targeting anti-aging clinics, doctors and pharmacists who prescribed the drugs.

Still, medical experts say that use of steroids and human growth hormone — an estimated $10 billion-a-year operation worldwide — reaching into the entertainment industry illustrates how pervasive steroids use in the United States has become. It is not unique to athletics, where performance-enhancing drug use has marred many sports. For many celebrities, the lure of hormonal drugs is their supposed, unproven anti-aging effects.

Investigations of baseball players that have been doping surprised the public. Apparently, the news of famous artists using steroids also caught the public eyes. As mentioned in the article, this was nothing new to Hollywood and while people focus on the individuals taking them, they should be more interested in the doctors providing these athletes and celebrities with prescriptions to purchase the drugs.