Steroids

Steroids

What price are people willing to pay in order to achieve their dreams? What do people do when hard work isn't enough? There is a very fine line between success and morality. In the sports and the general public, that line is crossed both on and off the field. Often times breaking the law is the easiest way to realize your dreams. I'm talking about steroids, the answer to all your dreams. Many people, both athletes and regular people like you and me, use steroids because they are trying to accomplish something that they set out to do. For athletes, it may to hit an extra homerun and for the general public, it may to look bigger so that people can notice you or to impress that one person from the opposite sex. In this paper, I will be talking about the history of steroids, the types of steroids people use, the effect steroids have on the body, and the many different ways to take steroids

Anabolic steroids were developed nearly 75 years ago by German scientists to give their Olympic athletes an edge over their competition. For years the German athletes were dominant in strength disciplines, such as weightlifting, wrestling, and track and field events such as shot put and sprinting. The dominance continued for eight years until a German athlete defected to the United States and alerted the US Olympic committee. American scientists then started to develop performance enhancers of there own. For the next eight years other countries began to develop programs of their own hoping to help there athletes gain an upper edge on other athletes. However these programs focused on performance and not on safety resulting in the death of many athletes. During the Rome Olympics in 1960, a Danish cyclist named Knud Enemark Jensen died during competition. His autopsy revealed traces of amphetamines. In the 1972 Munich games, a swimmer by the name of Rick Demont tested positive for ephedrine. Finally, in the 1970's, the International Olympic committee began to develop testing programs aimed at putting a stop to anabolic steroid use. These tests were not enough. In the 1980 Olympic Games, 20% of the participants who were chosen randomly, failed the drug test.

The drug testing procedure is extremely easy. The person who is observing the test just takes a urine sample. There is one problem with this. How do we actually know that the urine in the cup is actually from the athlete who is in question. When the athlete is chosen, an official accompanies him to a private place. When the athlete arrives, he or she must sign a confirmed consent form. The athlete is then stripped down to nothing making sure that the athlete does not have urine from another person. The major problem is finding the athlete. Since elite athletes are subject to training year round, finding where an athlete is located is usually the main problem. There is always a chance that the test will not detect steroids. There could be a non detectable drug that testers may not know of yet.

In the early 1980's the National Football league, National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League followed suit and began testing its athletes as well. Finally, in 1990, the Anabolic Steroid Control Act became law in the United States. This law criminalized non medical users, as well as possession and distribution of anabolic steroids(Powers).

Everywhere you look on television you see steroids. Baseball is cracking down on steroids. The MLB just passed a drug testing policy. It says that if a person is caught with steroids in there body one time, they are suspended for 50 games. If they are caught a second time, they are suspended for a whole year. If they are caught a third time, they are banned from the sport of baseball for two years. They are allowed to be reinstated after two years. Many baseball players testified in front of the Supreme Court stating that they have never used Steroids. Rafael Palmeiro, a professional baseball player, was one of the players that testified that he had not used steroids. This past year, he failed a drug test. He lost many fans and a lot of respect. He may also face charges from the Supreme Court for lying. This is just one example of steroids in sports.

Pioneering the steroid industry proved hard for the Germans. Early steroids were found to be unstable unless administered within weeks of formulation. If kept on the shelf the steroids would begin to grow bacteria. The bacteria that grew in the steroids caused side effects. Side effects accounted for many deaths and long-term health problems in the early years of steroid usage. Today steroids are a multi billion-dollar industry controlled largely by pharmaceutical companies. The steroids produced today are subject to the same rigorous testing and approval by the Food and Drug Administration that Tylenol and Aspirin are.

There are too many