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... Cyclists used the drugs not only in training but to aid them in their races to give them that extra mile. Many athletes competing in the Olympic games tend to use the performance enhancers a lot. They probably think since they [performance drugs] got them this far, why stop now when they could win a gold medal. In the ' 92 Olympics the banned drugs most frequently used were anabolic steroids (57 %), stimulants (22 %), narcotics (8 %), diuretics (5 %), masking agents (1 %) and beta-blockers (1 %) (Goldwire).
Antihistamines and decongestants are also on the Olympics banned substance list. Athletes come up with new and different ways of using drugs to enhance their performance without getting caught. Athletes use the drugs in cycles. They use the drug in cycles of six to twelve weeks, followed by six to several months of being drug-free, this is known as cycling. Athletes start off with a low dosage and then gradually increase to the highest point of use, this is called pyramiding (Goldwire). Performance enhancing drugs can either be taken orally or they can be injected.
Lyle Alzado explained that "the injected type is usually injected into the butt so that there are no visible scars" (Smith, 22). Oral forms include Winstrol, Avatar and Dianabol. Athletes can easily overdose on these types of drugs which can cause serious heath injury and / or possibly death. The recommended dosage for oral forms is 2. 5 milligrams to 10 milligrams per day. Athletes have been known to (4) take up to 400 milligrams. Athletes are told to use the drug once every three to four weeks, but heavy users usually use twice a week.
Anabolic steroid users have been known to take twenty times the prescribed dosage (Murray, 25). Many sports facilities have rules and regulations against drug use, so the teams and organizations perform drug tests to eliminate the drug problem in the organizations. I think that the use of drug tests is a good idea to discharge the players that have a drug abuse problem. Players today have the urge to use the performance enhancing drugs to make themselves perform at a higher level.
With all the drugs in sports today the games seem almost useless to play because the advantage that the users have over the true competitors is unfair. Cocaine and amphetamines are the drugs that are most frequently tested for in colleges (Fields, Lange, Kreiter, & Fudala, 683). Sports officials have found different strategies for combating drug abuse by athletes (Worsnop, 516). Drug testing is also very ineffective because many athletes get passed over for drug testing. The popular athletes and the world record holders are the ones who get passed over, to avoid drug scandals. This is done to protect someone else in their organization from getting caught (Ungerleider, 52).
The drug situation in sports today is horrible and part of that is because only certain athletes abide by the rules. A clinical survey was taken on the drug testing policies in colleges and the study showed that out of two hundred and forty-five schools, only twenty-nine percent of those schools reported drug testing (Fields, Lange, Kreiter, & Fudala, 683). The use of these terrible drugs is very high in colleges which is sad because kids are going to throw their athletic talent out the window with the use of the performance enhancing drugs. The clinical survey also stated that sixty percent of the schools conducting positive tests must be referred to the team physician or drug treatment center.
Forty-five percent of the schools said that treatment was required to remain active on the team and thirty-one percent said another (5) consequence of testing positive was dismissal from the team. Thirty percent gave a temporary leave to athletes and twenty-six percent revoked the athletes's cholarships. With all the new drugs out on the market it is virtually impossible to have tests that can identify all the different drugs. Athletes have come up with new ways to escape positive testing.
Athletes can take the performance drugs shortly before their race to increase their chances, but the one drawback to this is that they can be easily detected through the athletes' urine at the end of a race. Athletes try repeatedly to escape positive detection but once they are tested positive the sports officials will be watching very carefully. After a player's return from rehab, they are they are watched carefully by the league. Many of the world class athletes are able to adjust their normal dosage so they can escape detection (Worsnop, 516 - 515). Most of the professional leagues and the NCAA have lists of banned drugs and testing procedures. In 1983, the National Basketball Association set its drug policy and it is now viewed as the most progressive in all sports.
The NBA has the right to administer drug tests to players if it feels there is a need to administer one. If a player is tested positive for the use of drugs, they are banned from the NBA for two years. Players may reapply for entrance to the league with the approval of both the commissioner and the players union. In 1988 the NBA expanded its policy to include random drug testing of the rookies that enter the league in their first year. In the National Collegiate Athletic Association more than seventy substances of different types of drugs including stimulants, steroids, and street drugs are on the organization's prohibited list.
In 1990, the NCAA instituted a very stiff policy regarding steroids. The policy states that division one football players must undergo a year-round, mandatory testing for steroids on a random basis. Any player testing positive on the first offense is faced with suspension for a year and on the second (6) offense the player is handed a lifetime suspension from NCAA competition. At one time Stanford University was able to compete in sports with disregard to collegiate rules about the mandatory drug testing. Conrad Rushing a California judge said, "drug testing is invasion of the athletes privacy" (Worsnop, 528). I think that statement is very wrong because drug testing should be a mandatory event in every college whether or not it is an invasion of their privacy.
It is a policy and every school should abide by the rules no matter what. Drugs in schools ruins the reputation of the school and if it continues, schools will have less kids applying and they will have no other options but to get rid of the problems of drugs. Sooner or later the drug problem will just keep growing and growing and all sports are going to lose attention. Most important, sports are going to lose the support of their fans which effect the finances of the players and organizations. Without enough financial support sports cannot survive and sports would be ruined forever.
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