Patricia Neal once said, “A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug” (Neal). However, many teenagers of this era, large part athletes, seem to think differently and they constantly use illegal drugs. To help fight this problem, many colleges have taken strong actions in trying to stop drug abuse by athletes. High schools throughout the country have considered taking these same actions for various reasons as well. Some people believe that high school athletes ought to be given a routine drug test because it will help prevent them from abusing illegal substances. Such actions will also help detect cheaters who use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to get an edge over their opponents. On the other hand, some believe that routine drug testing is unnecessary because it will be inefficient in detecting drug abusers. However, there are more pros to this system than cons, and therefore high schools throughout the United States should give their athletes routine drug tests.
One reason why high school athletes should be given a routine drug test is because it will help prevent a large number of students from abusing illegal substances. Marijuana, ecstasy, and other narcotic drugs have become popular not only among adults but also among teenagers. In fact, a 2003 study pointed out that more than 7.5 million individuals, ages 12 to 17, reported having used an illegal drug at least once in their lifetime. The same study indicated that out of the students in grades nine through twelve 40.2 percent had used marijuana, 12.1 percent had used inhalants, 11.1 percent had used ecstasy, 8.7 percent had used cocaine, 7.6 percent had used methamphetamine, and 3.3 percent had used heroin ("Teens and Drugs Fast Fa...
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...s to enforce routine drug tests for athletes, just think of all of the lives that can be saved with such a magnificent system.
Works Cited
Neal, Patricia. "Drug Quotes." BrainyQuotes. N.p., 01 Jan 2010. Web. 1 Apr 2010. .
Schwarzenegger, Arnold. "Steroid Quotes." Staroid Quotations. N.p., 24 Feb 2009. Web. 1 Apr 2010. .
"How significant is teen drug use?." Teens and Drugs Fast Facts. National Drug Intelligence Center, 01 Jan 2006. Web. 1 Apr 2010. .
"Teen Drug Abuse ." MedicineNet. N.p., 21 Jun 2007. Web. 1 Apr 2010. .
"Anabolic Steroids." Nida for Teens. NIDA, 01 Jan 2010. Web. 1 Apr 2010. .
In American high schools across the country, many people buy, sell, and use drugs. In addition, these people influence everyone around them. On these campuses, some of the people influenced by this illegal activity are sports players. One of the sports most affected is baseball. Doping in baseball is wrong because it ruins baseball's reputation, it negatively influences the athlete's health, and the drugs are bad for young people who hold up athletes as role models.
...er and stronger as said before. I mean look at Lance Armstrong he took performance enhancing drugs for his medical condition (also to help him because he was not good enough) and what happened he won so that is proof that with performance enhancing drugs you get faster and stronger no matter what. Yeah i know he got caught and and consequences occurred but why does that matter because one day performance enhancing drugs will be allowed in Major League Baseball, National Football League, Soccer, Olympics, etc. No matter what anyone says i believe since so many players use them they’ll just give up on the consequences and just let them use it and play with performance enhancing drugs. On the other hand they could just ban people for life because of medical conditions , then once this happens people will listen and stop taking drugs so they can do what they love.
Citius, Altius, Fortius is the motto of the Olympic games. Translated from Greek, it means "Faster, Higher, Stronger". Recently, Olympic contenders have been doing everything they can to live up to that motto. Most do it by training hour after hour, each day. Others try to do it by illegally taking performance enhancing drugs. This is why we need to test for drugs at the Olympics. Drug Testing in the Olympics began only recently in the 1968 Games held in Mexico1. Drugs are banned for two very good reasons: the use of drugs produces an unfair advantage, and it is hazardous to the athlete to take them. While drug testing is now commonplace, the procedures are still fairly primitive and arouse much controversy2. We all remember the Andreea Raducan situation from the Sydney Olympics. She unknowingly had consumed a performing enhancing drug that was in her cold medication. Her medal was revoked as soon as the drug test results got back.3 While Andreea was caught, many others who intentionally "doped up" weren't Many of the drugs or procedures out there, still can't be tested for, and more and more athletes are cheating. Most of the drugs and procedures have adverse long term effects, some resulting in death. The drug tests are detrimental to the existence of the Olympics and need to be upheld at all costs.
Marcovitz, Hal. How Serious a Problem Is Drug Use in Sports? San Diego: Reference Point Press, 2013. Print.
In the article, “Random Drug Testing of Athletes”, the author, Darla Tappins, argues that student athletes should not be required to participate in random drug tests. She provides six main reasons in effort to support her claim. These include the unfair stereotyping towards athletes who are no more likely to be involved in drug use than nonathletes, the unreliability and inaccuracy of the drug tests, the high costs of performing such tests, the unnecessary time consumption they require, the uncomfortability of those required to partake in them, as well as the inability of tests to detect steroid use, which is the most common drug exploited by athletes. Overall, the author does an ineffective job of proving her claim and evaluating
In all areas of sports, professional, college, and even high school, there is widespread illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs. Although there are many reasons for athletes to choose to use these drugs, the cost of such use, both to the athlete and to society can be extraordinarily high. It is important to understand why performance-enhancing drugs are used and what are the consequences of their use to the athlete and society.
In many high schools around the country, student athletes are using drugs. “The percent of students that have drunk alcohol is 72.5% while the number of students who have used marijuana is 36.8%” (Report: Nearly Half of High School Students Using Drugs, Alcohol). The students believe that since they are athletes that they do not need to abide by the rules because they feel more superior and that the narcotic will not hurt or affect them. Implementing random drug tests for athletes will create a positive image and not hurt others or themselves. Schools need to have drug tests for student athletes because drugs effect relationships, using drugs have consequences, and lastly they have a major effect on the body.
Peterson, Judy Monroe. Steroids, sports, and body image: the risks of performance-enhancing drugs. Berkeley Heights, NJ, USA: Enslow Publishers, 2004. Print.
Many wonder how drugs can influence an athlete's performance in sports. Over the past few years, it has become more known and more common for athletes to use drugs to enhance their performance abilities. It has been becoming more common for athletes to overdose on drugs whether it being intentional or accidental. Many athletes who use performance enhancing drugs do not know the consequences or the damage the drugs can do to their body. Most athletes that use performance enhancing drugs are high school students. They believe that because their favorite professional athletes is using the enhancers that they are able to also. Athletes should be drug tested before every game to help reduce the use of drugs.
If given the chance to be the best in a sport, some athletes will risk everything and cheat. According to a study from the NCAA in 2007, 35% of college athletes start using steroids in college. College athletics are very competitive. In order to get ahead, athletes are using steroids. This is a problem for colleges across the United States. In fact, it’s difficult to see which college athletes are enhancing their performance by taking anabolic steroids or those who are not taking steroids. This is because many athletes train numerous hours on their own and with personal trainers to get ahead of the competition. The use of anabolic steroids is helping athletes achieve goals they never would on their own. Steroids ruin the purpose of playing
Drugs are a big issue in the sports industry. Many athletes will take performance-enhancing drugs, such as steroids, to help them play better. These types of drugs should not be allowed because it gives the player a greater advantage over other players who are playing with their natural ability. This issue could be solved if there was monthly drug testing and if the drug was not so easy to get ahold of. Many major league baseball players are getting caught using performance-enhancing drugs. Mostly power hitters and pitchers will use these steroids.
Performance-enhancing drugs should continue to be banned from professional sports because they have side effects that athletes may be unaware of, there is a disadvantage to athletes that do use PED’s and it is unfair to previous athletes who hold records. Individuals may disagree and argue that we should revoke the ban so we will be able to monitor it more safely. If the ban on performance-enhancing drugs was to be lifted who knows what the next illegal drug to become legal will be.
“A medical dictionary defines a drug as ‘any substance that when taken into the living organism may modify one or more of its functions’” (Newton 12). However, when speaking of drug testing for abuse a person is usually thinking about illegal drugs or drugs that can alter athletic performance in sporting events. Mandatory drug testing was not allowed in public schools until June 2002 when the Supreme Court allowed for public schools to do random drug testing (Carroll 23). This decision allowed for drug testing in all schools throughout the United States not just for athletes but also students who are in any activities within the school, for example clubs and competitive events (Carroll 23). Even though drug testing is now allowed by the Supreme Court many schools do not yet have mandatory drug test policies. Mandatory drug testing for high school athletes should be required because it decreases drug use in schools, is relatively inexpensive, and can prevent drug use and or abuse that can lead to a lifelong addiction.
Today, drug use in sport has reached enormous proportions in society and is destroying athletics from the ground up. Nowhere is the problem more serious than in professional athletics, where athletes, coaches and trainers misuse drugs in search of ways of ways to improve performance. Many athletes fail to take their time when making the decision whether to use drugs to their advantage. Unfortunately athletes may use drugs for therapeutic indications, recreatio9nal or social reasons, as muscular aids or to mask the presence of other drugs during drug testing. But the safety of the athlete's health is being neglected. Drug use has led to an increased number of deaths and suspensions of athletes. Also, if this continues all athletes someday will have to choose whether to compete at a world-class level and take drugs, or compete at a club level and be clean. In sports, athletes, coaches and trainers will try their best to find a way to reach the top level. They not only search for a way to enhance performance...
...thlete under twenty-four hour surveillance is neither feasible nor lawful. Only when there are more accurate tests can the enforcement of drug rules and regulations be possible. As more sophisticated tests come to market, fewer drugs will escape detection. With the limited ability of current techniques to catch athletes red-handed, pressure must be put on the athletic community to reject doping. Until the athletic community refuses doping as a means to an end, little can be done to stop it from happening.