Richard Cork

Aiken

Nov 19, 2009

English 1101

Should Performance-enhancing Drugs Be Allowed in Sports

Taking of performance-enhancers by professional and amateur athletes should not be allowed in order to secure the safety of individual athletes and the integrity of competitive sports. Adults and teenagers alike are feeling increasing pressure to stay competitive. The current state of the systems in place to control these doping practices aren’t up to high enough standards. The secretive nature involved with taking these drugs creates ever increasing unsafe conditions for aspiring competitors. The dilemma present is whether or not to make these drugs completely legal so they can be monitored in safer conditions or to outright ban them to try to eliminate the problem completely. However, the dangers associated with the unseen world of doping in sports are too costly to just simply ignore or brush them to the way side.
Perhaps the most commonly associated drugs recognized when referring to performance-enhancing substances are steroids “or more precisely, anabolic-androgenic steroids -- are the synthetic derivatives of the naturally occurring male anabolic hormone testosterone.” (“Anabolic Steroids“, espn.com). The androgenic aspect of the steroid facilitates development of male reproductive systems. The anabolic aspect of it is what makes athletes intending to use them desire it. Protein, which helps develop muscles in the body is produced and kept in by the anabolic part of testosterone. Other symptoms induced by steroids are temporary increased stamina and certain euphoric feelings.
There are a large number of steroids being used, but some of the most common include “Andro, Methenolone, THG, Clenbuterol, and DHEA.” The effects of these steroids include building muscle strength without bulking up, avoiding detection from anti-doping tests, and even usage as anti-aging supplements (“Steroid Use Continues Despite Health Risks to Athletes”, sportsmedicine.about.com). There are five main categories of banned substances.
Anabolic Steroids, which help athletes to build muscle, and to recover faster from training; Peptide hormones, these are substances that occur naturally in the body, but which produce similar effects to the anabolic steroids; Strong analgesic painkillers, such as morphine and other opiates; Stimulants, drugs like amphetamines and cocaine can raise heart rate and may improve performance; Diuretics, chemicals that help the body to lose fluids, and may, for instance, be useful in helping boxers to meet their fighting weight.” (“Doping: Banned substances”, news.bbc.co.uk)
There are also other drugs not limited to these categories that may be banned from usage in sporting events which include even some cough medicines.
Reasons for athletes taking steroids are far and wide, which all stem from the desire to perform better. Men, women, and even children are taking them, they all stem from the desire to look, perform, and feel better regardless of the consequences. The pressure to succeed knowing that success could possibly bring exorbitant amounts of money along with it and also possibly world-wide recognition can follow. For some the need to merely stay competitive in an already steroid-laden world is enough to drive an athlete to doping. Others may even see it as a shortcut, forgoing the process and hard work required to attain physical attributes that others took to achieve. It might even be that a competitor believes that he must return from an injury more quickly than naturally possible. The performance-enhances offer a wide scope of effects that may look promising to those willing to cross the line of using drugs to get ahead. The advantages of doping laid out before potential users includes building muscle mass and increasing strength, increasing the flow of oxygen to parts of the body, covering up or making pain unnoticeable, stimulating the body, helping yourself relax, rapid reducing of weight, and even hiding the use of other performance-enhancers that they might already be using (Freudenrich, Craig “How Performance-enhancing Drugs Work“, howstuffworks.com).
There are several ways for a doper to use these drugs. They can be taken orally in an ingestible pill form or they can be administered by injection by needle. They can also come in a gel form and a in cream form, as well. Injected steroids may be broken down into more specific categories, as well. Short-term and long-term. The most common ways the drugs are done is in cycles referred to as “cycling“, “pyramiding“, and “stacking“. These can be periods of weeks or months with breaks in between. “Stacking” is the use of different types of performance-enhancers at the same time. “Pyramiding” is the slow increasing of dosage over time until a peak is met. Doses taken by abusers are often incredibly exceeding the normal doses given my medical professionals.
The dangers involved with taking steroids and similar drugs are all encompassing; from minor to life threatening, invisible and obviously apparent, to physical and even psychological. The effects can be permanent and even unnoticeable until it’s far too late. “…their dangers may not even manifest for months, years, or even decades” (“Anabolic Steroids”, espn.com). Sharing needles produces the risk of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B. The risks of taking steroids include
“premature balding or hair loss, dizziness, mood swings, including anger, aggression, and depression, believing things that aren’t true (delusion), extreme feelings of mistrust or fear (paranoia), problems sleeping, nausea and vomiting, trembling, high blood pressure that can damage the heart or blood vessels over time, aching joints, greater chance of injuring muscles and tendons, jaundice or yellowing of the skin; liver damage, urinary problems, shortening of final adult height, increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer” (“Are Steroids Worth the Risk?“, kidshealth.org).
There are also specific risks to males entailing: infertility, growing of breasts, shrinking of the testicles, impotence, difficulty or pain while urinating, and male-pattern baldness. Specific risks to females include: male-pattern baldness, deepening of the voice, excessive growth of body hair, changes in menstrual-cycle and breast reduction.
The psychological side effects that develop can be extreme. The development of what’s commonly referred to as “roid-rage” can cause extreme aggression and willingness to fight. Extreme uncontrolled fits of anger can result from repeated taking of steroids. Steroids may also be addictive, causing dependency on the drug and even causing the user to have withdrawal symptoms(“Anabolic Steroids“, espn.com).
Being an athlete means to have good work ethic and train hard based on your own will and merit. Drugs shouldn’t be taken to “cheat” your way to your goals. It harms the integrity of the spirit of competition and it also harms your body. The risks are too great and the results of doping are often attractive enough to usurp the better judgment of a person. This is why using these dangerous performance-enhancers should be made illegal by sporting events and better testing should be developed to deter and make sure that athletes don’t go down the path to doping.