Here's where my thought process comes from. I think I've been online since 1990 or so. I started lifting in 1980. Now I'm not gonna do the 'listen to an older fella' BS lol. What that length of time means is I've seen a LOT (like 1000's) of forum and gym members come and go. Heck, I still compete and the same applies. What happens is that they come into lifting or building as a younger fella. Let's say 18-25 years old. At the time they start and for the first few years they are mega gung-ho.In the last 10 years you can add the info on PED's has become more and more accessible in a way it never was before.
So what happens is that they get very keen on getting on gear. A LOT don't know all they should and a LOT aren't ready. But they are old enough to earn a wage and so can spend their bucks how they want. And someone will sell to them so...
A couple more years down the road career, lifestyle and 'the girl' mean the focus they had, the gains they go etc all get diluted. In some it gets diluted to the point where training is, at best, some duct covered weights in the garden shed and they start using the lines 'I USED to be in shape'. I'm from that group that's in this for life. The longer I train the bigger and stronger I get. So if you got good in 2-3 years where you gonna be if you do it for 5, 10 or 15?
And yes there's a LOT to the idea of leaving taking PED's for as long as possible before the age of 25 or so. We KNOW how our bodies were when the balls dropped. We KNOW how much progress we made to begin with and, looking back, how little we really knew until we got past 25.