Sports in modern day society are a big industry. They bring in millions in revenue, plus it’s a form of entertainment that Americans enjoy.  But until recently people rarely knew what went on behind closed doors, they only knew what went on, on the field. “Pros feel so pressured by society; they feel like they don’t have any other option but to turn to steroids.” (Tucker, pg. 1) It is my opinion that the use of performance drugs should be illegal because of the negative effects they have, the unfair advantages they give athletes, and because there has not been enough medical education on the effects, both positive and negative, of enhancing drugs on the physical and mental health of the human body.

The negative effects that performance enhancing drugs, steroids, have on the body are numerous. If people actually knew the harm that they were doing to their body when they take steroids either by pills, or by injection. (Anabolic pg. 3) The negatives of the usage are like taking an elephant and sticking it on a scale and placing an ant on the other side of the scale. Which one do you think is going to outweigh the other one? Steroids are highly addictive and depression has been known to occur, and continue a year after the user stops using them. (Goldberg pg.124) Depression, I mean really come on, an athlete is willing to go to that level to gain a little muscle, and a tiny advantage over the other athletes. Some, other negatives that are caused by steroids are: mood disturbances, risk of psychosis, increased aggression, acne, bad breath, baldness, muscle cramps, and increased nose bleed. (Robinson pg. 4) In men, steroids cause prostate enlargement, decreased testicular size, and also the development and growth of breasts, in women, they have a greater risk of getting cervical cancer, they have decreased breast size,  and the generally experience  the absence of menstruation. (Robinson pg. 4)  I can’t understand what ever happened to the golden days when a person actually wanted to work hard, and not take the easy way out?

Next are the unfair advantages that are obtained from the usage of steroids. There are two basic types of steroids that are known these days, and they are anabolic (muscle building) and androgenic (increased masculinity). The anabolic steroids are the most commonly used. These help the user gain and maintain muscle. I find this to be an advantage because this person can take and inject himself, and go work out and gain twice as much muscle in less time, but a good honest person that doesn’t have to take anything, it takes him a long time to gain that muscle and it also takes three times as much work.   Of course it sounds like a glorious concept, but as we have already discussed, the negative outweighs the positive.  I believe that someone should have to work for something, and not just have it handed to them, weather it’s materialistic, or in the form of a pill. Especially, if it’s for the purpose of entertainment. Over time I guess we as a society have lost the sole purpose of sports, weather professional, or in the back yard, is to have fun and enjoy quality time with family and friends.

One of the most important things we can do is become educated on this topic. (Winkle pg. 2) I think that this is crucial if we are to stop the use of steroids, this is not limited to performance enhancing because people who use them often turn to other drugs to alleviate some of the negatives of steroids. (Steroids pg.2) I think there should be classes offered to all high school students in the U.S., which explains how harmful these things are to the body. This class should not only go over the negatives of the usage upon yourself, but to everyone around you as well. The class should be offered at high schools, because this is where steroids are very popular. Forty-five percent of 200 high school users cited appearance as being the main reason for taking steroids. (Zaccardi pg.2) If I wouldn’t have been brought up in a house where drugs and things like that weren’t permitted, I’m not going to lie; I would probably turn to steroids. With the pressures to perform that are put on athletes and people as well, it’s no wonder we as a society resort to these types of alternative methods. I think if we could become more educated, it might reduce some of the pressures, and it might also help us in the long run as well too because we could be a more healthier country.  Another major issue is that we need to develop a new method of keeping up with our medications, so that they don’t get into the wrong hands.  Don’t get me wrong, these medications are important, but there needs to be some limitations and restrictions put on these so that they are not so easily acquired. Forty percent of high school students said that steroids are “fairly easy” or “very easy” to obtain. (Gupta pg.2) Forty percent, I’m not a math person, but that is almost half, that said they were easy to get, and this keep in mind is in our high schools. Next it’s vital that we take and look at the physical and mental aspects of steroid usage. As discussed earlier in the paper, depression is a side effect that is commonly occurring during and after usage. I feel like this is a big issue in the sporting arena, because let’s say we have an athlete that has been abusing steroids, and he is playing in the World Series, and his team is about to win it. There is a ball hit to him and he drops it costing him and his team a World Series championship. Of course he is going to feel like he let his team down, but what he also has to think about is the newspaper articles, and the T.V. ads  that is going to come out tomorrow, and he is already suffering with depression, because it’s a side effect, but this now only intensifies his symptoms. Now he is susceptible for suicide, or mental break down. I think it’s time we realize our problem, implement stricter regulations, and step up to the plate and face the facts, and try to correct our mistakes. 

In conclusion, I feel like the use of performance enhancing drugs should be illegal because of the negative effects they have, the unfair advantages they give athletes, and because there has not been enough medical education on the effects of enhancing drugs on the physical and mental health of the human body.  I feel like steroids are something that isn’t to be taken lightly. I think this is a serious issue, and athletes should try to work harder in the gym and not work harder with their syringes. Hero’s (athletes) are not something that is fake,  they are the real all-American person, the one that is clean of all impurities, and one who doesn’t feel so pressured that he thinks his only alternative is to turn to performance enhancing drugs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Anabolic Steroids.” 5. 8 Dec 2008 <http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_ster1.asp>. 

Goldberg, Raymond. Taking Sides. Seventh. New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 2006. 

Gupta, Dr. Sanjay. “The Truth About Steroids and Sports.” CBS NEWS Feb. 3, 2008 3. 2 Dec 2008 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/03/sunday/printable3783478.shtml

Robinson, David. “The Pros and Cons of Steroids.” 8. 5 Dec 2008 <http://criticalbench.com/pros-cons-steroids.htm>.

“Steoids (Anabolic-Androgenic).” Nida Info Facts 3. 6 Dec 2008 <http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/steroids.html>. 

Tucker, Ross. “Pressure of pro days, combine drive some to steroids.” Sports Illustrated Feb. 19, 2008: 3.

Winkle, “Performance Enhancing Drugs In Sports.” July 24,2006 4. 5 Dec 2008 <http://www.sportales.com/Sports/Performance-Enhancing-Drugs-In-Sports.28157>.

Zaccardi, Nick. “Preventive Medicine.” Anabolic Steroids 9. 3 Dec 2008 <http://dwb.edu/Teacher/NSF/C11/C11Links/www.wellnessmd.com/anabolics.html>.