Elishia Thompson: Should Steroids Be Legalized?

1078 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Negative effects of steroids essay

85% of teen athletes are not educated on the side effects of steroids. This means many of them can fall into average use due to being only told the positive effects, yet no matter its pros and cons anabolic steroid use is illegal. “The possession or sale of anabolic steroids without a valid prescription is illegal” (Drug Enforcement Administration). The greatest consequence possible is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sport type organizations and committees such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the NCAA, MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL have taken precautions to rid themselves and their members of anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are not and should not be legalized. Many people get confused between the usages of steroids that are legal, primarily use for medical conditions and steroids used to increase muscle mass therefore the term steroids must be elaborated. Before the answer of if steroids should be legalized can be explained, it should be known exactly which steroids are causing controversy. Certain steroids are useful and sometimes help patients with problems such as asthma. Those sorts of steroids are considered to be an anti-inflammatory type medication. Therefore in order to focus the subject, illegal steroids or steroids to enhance athletic performance will be referred as anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances associated to the male sex hormones. They stimulate the growth of skeletal muscle and the advancement of male type characteristics in both males and in females. “During the 1930s, scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could facilitate the growth of skeletal muscle in laboratory animals”(NIDA 1). This discovery later led to steroid abuse by body-builders, weightlifters... ... middle of paper ... ...p://voices.yahoo.com/the-positive-effects-steroids-417457.html>. "Should steroids be legal?." The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. . Ohman, Joel. "Steroids in Sports." : Pictures & Statistics. N.p., 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 1 May 2014. . "Anabolic Steroids." Steroid Abuse -. Drug Enforcement Administration, 1 Mar. 2004. Web. 1 May 2014. . Ryan, Sharon. "What’s So Bad About Performance Enhancing Drugs?." . Department of Philosophy West Virginia University, 1 Aug. 2008. Web. 1 May 2014. . O'Leary, John . "Drugs, Laws and Versapaks." Drugs and Doping In Sport. London: Cavendish Publishing Limited, 2001. . Print.

Show More
Related

  • Performance Enhancing Drugs: Steroids

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jost, Kenneth. "Performance-Enhancing Drugs: An Overview." Performance Enhancing Drugs. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "Sports and Drugs." CQ Researcher 14 (23 July 2004): 616-622. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Use of Anabolic Steroids in Society Today

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    The use of steroids in our society today is very common, that is with prescription. But that is not the kind of steroids I am talking about, I am talking about Anabolic Steroids. Anabolic steroids are a very sensitive issue in the world of sports today. Even though the side effects are life threatening, men and woman alike continue to submit their bodies to this illegal drug. Anabolic steroids are taken either through pills or injected directly into the blood stream with a needle. In 1994, 1,084,000 Americans, or 0.5 percent of the adult population, said that they had use anabolic steroids, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Under Federal Law it is illegal to possess or distribute anabolic steroids for nonmedical uses. However, heavy demand has generated a black market with estimated sales of up to $400 million a year, according to a NIDA Research Report, Anabolic Steroids: A Threat to Body and Mind (NIDA July/August1997).

    Read More

  • Effects Of Anobolic Steroids

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anabolic steroids are a group of muscle building chemicals, which are synthetic versions of the male hormone, testosterone. Developed in the 1930’s, they were prescribed to aid in muscle tissue repair by those who had undergone surgery or had degenerative diseases. Now the patients do not only use them but also athletes. Starting in the 1940’s steroids were introduced into sports. Steroids were one of the main reasons that Russia’s 1952 Olympic weightlifting team came out with pile of medals. With these results other nations thought their competitors should have the same advantage, and the use of steroids spread like wildfire.(NIDA pg 2) But now steroids are illegal to use if not prescribed by a physician, and have been banned by nearly all-athletic organizations, both professional and amateur.

    Read More

  • Should Athletes Use Anabolic Steroids

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    Performance-enhancement drugs are considered a violation to sporting ethics and are in contradiction of the law. Athletes use anabolic steroids to increase the mass and strength in their muscles. Studies show that, “In the 1800s, strychnine, cocaine, nitroglycerine as well as other antidotes, were used to sustain or improve an athlete’s performance” (“Steroids”). Not only do competitors’ consume these illegal drugs for performance reasons, but they also take them for pain

    Read More

  • Athletes and Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports

    4514 Words  | 10 Pages

    Abstract: Since the beginning of sports competition, athletes have always looked for some kind of edge over their competitors. They will do whatever it takes to be one of the elite, and that includes injecting supplements into their bodies to make them bigger, stronger, and faster. Steroid use is probably one of the most common drug misuses in sports competition. Athletes found that with anabolic steroids, one could become a better athlete twice as fast. Not until 1975 was the drug first banned from Olympic competition because of the health risks it produced.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Steroids

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    Latiner, C. (n.d.). STEROIDS AND DRUG ENHANCEMENTS IN SPORTS. THE REAL PROBLEM AND THE REAL SOLUTION. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from https://laworgs.depaul.edu/journals/sports_law/Documents/Steroid%20Problem%20by%20Laitner.pdf

    Read More

  • Professional Athletes and Steriod Use

    2157 Words  | 5 Pages

    Mohun, Janet and Aziz Khan. Drugs, Steroids, and Sports. New York, NY: F. Watts, 2008.

    Read More

  • Steroids Essay

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anabolic Steroids or simply put, “Steroids”, is a medicine which has become increasingly popular in the last few decades, specifically in the world of professional sports and body building. In a literal term, the word anabolic means building of the body muscle and by using anabolic steroids, the potential user becomes stronger, sharper, larger and tougher than he would normally be. The consequences of these steroids could be much bigger to a human body and the usage of such illegal products could put an individual’s body at great risk (Haupt & Rovere, 1983).

    Read More

  • ANABOLIC STEROIDS

    366 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anabolic steroids are drugs containing, or hormone-like substances, that are used to increase strength and promote muscle growth. They were first developed in the 1930s in Europe to treat undernourished patients and to promote healing after surgery. Competitive weightlifters began using steroids in the 1950s as a way to increase their athletic performance. Use gradually spread throughout the world among athletes in other has been estimated that at least one in 15 male high school seniors in the United States--more than a half-million boys--has used steroids. Some are athletes attempting to increase their strength and size; others are simply youths attempting to speed up their growth to keep pace with their peers. In some countries, anabolic steroids are available over the counter. In the United States, a doctor's prescription is necessary.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects of Anabolic Steroids

    2110 Words  | 5 Pages

    The intent of this essay is to show that steroids have many negative effects and that steroids, and other natural supplements, should be closely studied by the FDA.  This essay will also support the claim that the professional sports industry needs to eliminate steroid use and set a good example for younger athletes.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: Steroid Use Among Athletes

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    My issue over the concern of athletes have been struggling with the usage of steroids has widely spread among athletes and others; not only do steroids give an athlete a hard times but it’s also an unfair advantage to the other athletes and what they’ve accomplish. “Besides making muscles bigger, anabolic steroids may help athletes recover from a hard workout more quickly by reducing the amount of muscle damage during the session” (“Steroids in Sports”,2005). Now a days steroids are everywhere as an athlete. Many males and female young athletes preferably take it because they want to look and feel good when it comes to impressing someone and trying to become someone they look forward too. Young teens and adults try to cheat themselves in the career of their dreams. When it comes to a sport, teen athletes are not aware of what type of consequences may happen to them at the time. It may come to the time where it’s too late to take care of. In other cases, some athletes may like feeling the aggressive they get when they take drugs such as steroids. Athletes shouldn’t take steroids as the harmful health effects of the anabolic steroid in population wise. Many people have had their lives ruined by the use of illegal steroids and yet the desired effects are overwhelming that people tend to forget about the results and consequences that may effect. Athletes on steroids believe taking steroids will enhance their performance, strength, and size without having to put necessary work. These benefits, however, are associated with much short-term and long term risk.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Performance Enhancing Drugs

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scott, Michael. “The Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports.” The Use of performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports. San Joaquin Delta College, 2008. Web. 19 June 2013.

    Read More

  • Steroid Use By Athletes Should be Banned

    2039 Words  | 5 Pages

    Steroids became an option to athletes in the Olympics and other major sporting events during the 1950’s. But this use of steroids among athletes only became widely apparent when Canadian sprint runner Ben Johnson tested positive for steroid use after winning the gold medal for the one hundred-meter dash during the 1988 Olympics (Francis, 45). Now a skinny fifteen-year-old can just walk down to the local gym and find people who either sell or know how to get in contact with those who sell the drug that will make him envious of his friends. Steroids are an attractive drug. While steroids seem harmless to the unaware user, they can have a risky effect. Most of the time whether the users are new or experienced, they do not know the dangerous consequences steroids can have on their bodies and their minds. Though steroids cause a relatively insignificant number of deaths in our society, the banning of steroids is justified because steroids have a lot of side effects not known to the uninformed user.

    Read More

  • Should Performance Enhancing Drugs Be Legalized In Professional Sports?

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    ..., Kjetil K. "Why We Shouldn’t Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. .

    Read More

  • Doping In Sports Essay

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    Overall it is clear that the need to use performance enhancing drugs is outweighed by the consequences and issues caused by performance enhancing drugs. Sporting events such as the world cup, the Olympics or the World Series make young children feel inspired and encouraged about what they could achieve through dedication and hard work. I feel it is important for the sporting industry as well as the athletes to return respectability to the sport. By

    Read More

More about Elishia Thompson: Should Steroids Be Legalized?

Open Document