A seven year old boy dreams of one day becoming the greatest baseball
player the world has ever seen. He practices and works on his
physical strength every day, but he knows it won’t be enough to beat
the best of the best. The long hours of practice are not as long as they
could be if he had a little extra help. Does he let the dream die, or
does he pursue his lifelong dream with the assistance of performance
enhancing drugs? Is it right to punish him if he continues striving
toward his goal? Performance enhancing drugs should not be
prohibited in professional sports. Performance enhancing drugs
should be allowed in sports because permitting the use of
performance enhancing drugs would reduce the black market
monopoly of steroids, which in turn would reduce the risk of improper
dosage and make steroids safer; it would create an equal opportunity
for athletes; there are no proven long term health effects; using
steroids does not lead to an addiction; and there would be no need to
test for drugs, which would save a lot of money.
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Dieticians
Coaching
Legal Drugs
Special Training
Special Equipment
"There is no coherent argument to support the view that
enhancing performance is unfair; if it were, we would ban
coaching and training. Competition can be unfair if there is
unequal access to particular enhancements, but equal access can
be achieved more predictably by deregulation than by
prohibition.“
Norman Fost, MD, MPH
Professor and Director of the Medical Ethics
Program at the University of Wisconsin
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Dieticians
Coaching
Legal Drugs
Special Training
Special Equipment
"There is no coherent argument to support the view that
enhancing performance is unfair; if it were, we would ban
coaching and training. Competition can be unfair if there is
unequal access to particular enhancements, but equal access can
be achieved more predictably by deregulation than by
prohibition.“
Norman Fost, MD, MPH
Professor and Director of the Medical Ethics
Program at the University of Wisconsin
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Ritalin
Adderall
Beta Blockers
Inhalers
"Sport is for enjoyment and competition, and usually aims to improve; but
what is the difference between increasing skill and performance by
training, and taking drugs? If it is the use of personal effort rather than
outside help, then what of ropes, crampons and oxygen for climbing?
What of advanced training by teams of sports physiologists who wire
athletes to equipment monitoring heart, muscle, brain and nerves to
optimise activity; or teams of sports psychologists improving your
responses and neutralising those observed in competitors? What of
dieticians tampering with foods and additives - drugs by any other name to improve performance? What is more 'fair' - the use of a team of sports
specialists or a simple pill? What is the difference between training at
altitude and taking erythropoietin to achieve a similar effect?
Sam Shuster, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Dermatology at
Newcastle University

Ingenuity, innovation, and knowledge
about what makes us faster and stronger
(and avoiding what might do more harm
than good) has always been a part of the
game.

What the Black Market Provide?
•
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o Most illicit anabolic steroids are sold at gyms,
Access to illegal substances including steroids.
Black market steroids come from 3
sources.
o Steroids manufactured legally and illegally in
other countries and smuggled into the U.S.
o Steroids manufactured in this country by
licensed pharmaceutical companies and diverted
to the black market by the producer, distributor,
pharmacist, veterinarian, or physician.
o Steroids produced by clandestine laboratories.
 i.e. counterfeit products sold as steroids but
containing no active anabolic agent or;
 Counterfeit preparations containing an
anabolic steroid, but of a different type or
dose than is indicated on the package
(Burge).
o International smuggling is the main supply of
illicit anabolic steroids in the US, followed by
illegally diverting and clandestinely
manufactured steroids.
Where/how are steroids obtained?
competitions, and through mail-order operations
(via the internet).

What is the prevalence?
o estimated that there were more than 1 million
people in the United States spending $100
million a year, according to Federal lawenforcement officials (Alfano and
Janofsky).

Why a black market?
o The Anabolic Steroids Control Act labeled a
dozen forms of the drug as Controlled
Substances, meaning that the production and
distribution of them would be strictly monitored
by the feds.
o Made it a felony to possess or distribute AAS
for nonmedical purposes.
o The House Report (108-461) stated that the
purpose of the Act is "to prevent the abuse of
steroids by professional athletes (Group).
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Reduced the likelihood that the average steroid user will seek or be able to obtain medical
supervision.
Athletes are injecting powerful drugs about which medical experts no very little about.
o Often take in doses as much as 10 times amount used for legitimist medical purposes.
o Combination of different steroids. Manny also mix in additional medications including:
legal over the counter medications, prescription drugs, and/or illegal recreation drugs.
The combinations and effects of mixing different types of medications without consulting
a medical profession is inherently risky. Drug interactions pose serious health risks
(Burge).
Factors have limited the trust and credibility that many steroid users place in health
professionals
o Compounding this lack of trust is the demonization of steroids and users by the media and
wider society, as well as the fact that government policy has been directed predominately
by anti-doping efforts within elite sport.
o This has left the majority of steroid users marginalized limited opportunities have been
developed for this population to engage with health professionals to reduce harm and
promote health. Ultimately, as a result, users have had to rely on ‘locker-room anecdotes’
both within gyms, and, increasingly, through the internet.
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
In 2007, the DEA’s “Raw Deal” enforcement action
revealed a vast network of national and international
suppliers producing all types of steroids, using the
internet and U.S. mail system to consummate sales of, in
many cases, impure injectable steroids. In sum,
continued steroids enforcement currently costs the U.S.
over $7 billion annually and has inadvertently fueled a
large market of more dangerous drugs that are readily
available to users.
Federal agents report that many of the underground
steroid labs seized in are extremely unsanitary, further
illustrating the danger in buying these products
illegally (DEA).
EX. ALCOHOL PROHIBITION
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
Alcohol prohibition did not deter people from
buying illegal alcohol
In fact statistics of alcohol
consumption/distribution increased.
o Illicit production and distribution
continued to expand throughout
Prohibition despite the ever-increasing
resources devoted to enforcement. That
pattern of consumption is to be expected
after an entire industry is banned as new
entrepreneurs in the underground
economy improve techniques and expand
output, while consumers begin to realize
the folly of the ban.
o The average age of people dying from
alcoholism fell by six months between
1916 and 1923, a period of otherwise
general improvement in the health of
young people (Thornton)..
o Resulted in black market , the
consumption of unregulated alcohol rose.
By amending the Prohibition law,
decreased the need for a black market, and
alcohol is now one of the most regulated
substances in the US.
BLACK MARKET ACTIVITY

•
•
Assuming enforcement is necessary, any
time one imposes an enforcement
regime, black-market activity will arise,
presenting many problems in the steroid
context.
High prices from black market suppliers
increase profits and attract criminals
into the black-market.
Policy has actually created greater
access to more dangerous forms of
steroids through the supplement
industry’s uncontrolled production of
new, undetectable and untested
laboratory steroid products. Sales of
these black-market steroids have
exploded in recent years, using the web
as a vehicle to locate both national and
international sources.
• This would actually allow for the recommendation
of safe level dosing in conjunction to warnings
against excess use or abuse.
• Public would have the ability to make safe informed decision,
obtain reliable medical drugs, consultations, follow–up,
screening, and care.
• Save the lives of athletes and reduce risks to others.
o Note: Legalization of steroids in sports would never eliminate all risk.
However, it would give athletes the ability to make informed decisions
regarding their health and steroid use, receiving medical treatment,
consultations, thereby reducing the danger of self-administrating, improper
dosages, and the use of altered steroids in the market.
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By legalizing steroids in sports we should see:
A decline in the need for regulatory agencies’ scientists having to design tests in time to
proactively catch these new and existing drugs, which is exacerbated by the black market
which produces or uses a new untested or unknown substance.
Effective short and longitude studies in order to maximize the benefit to risk ratio.
The role of a doctor is to preserve their patients best interests with respect to present and future
health. A sports doctor has to fulfill this role while maintaining the athletes performance at as
high of level as possible(Kayser, Maucon and Andy).
Should the ban on drugs in sports be removed , pharmaceutical companies would have huge
incentives to establish safe dose for steroids and other drugs (Black).
•Tests can only screen for known Performance enhancers.
•Designer Steroids.
•Performance enhancers are not universally illegal.
•Test results are not binomials.
Athletes with genetics potential are dealt
an “unfair” advantage at birth
African Americans genetics
Gold Medalist, Eero
Maentyranta.
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•
40–50% more red blood cells
Spirit of Sport
 Character and Education
 Fun and Joy
 Teamwork
 Excellence in Performance
If steroids are made legal and all bans are lifted in
professional sports, than is the spirit of sport,
defined by The World Anti-Doping Agency Code,
being violated?
Cheating?
 Adderall/
 Beta
Ritalin being used by students
blockers being used by musicians and
actors
Abusing steroids cannot lead to addiction. The
evidence that abusing steroids creates dependence
is inconclusive.
ADDICTION:
“Addiction is a biological and
psychological condition that
compels a person to satisfy their
need for a particular stimulus and
to keep satisfying it, no matter
what.”
DEPENDENCE:
“Dependence is a physical state that
occurs when the lack of a drug causes the
body to have a reaction. Physical
dependence is solely a physical state
indicating that the body has grown so
adapted to having the drug present that
sudden removal of it will lead to negative
consequences such as a withdrawal
reaction. This can occur with almost any
kind of drug.
*Source (http://health.discovery.com/centers/pain/medicine/med_addict.html)
Recent Studies show mixed data on Steroid dependence
among abusers*:
*Published in Addiction Review, July 2009.
*Authors include Gen Kanayama1, Kirk J. Brower2, Ruth I. Wood3, James I. Hudson1 & Harrison G. Pope Jr1
Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA,1
University of Michigan Addiction Research Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA2 and Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine of the
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA3
 Study
concludes that among abusers,
only approx 30% develop dependence
 Admits possible selection bias
 Suggests reasons for possible
dependence, including:
• Possible Body Dimorphic disorder
• More biologically vulnerable to effects of withdrawal
• Overlap of dependence with other forms of substance
dependence/conduct disorder
New study indicates:
Specifically, dependent AAS users were:
• Significantly older and more muscular
• More likely to have had a single parent by age 13
• More likely to report a first-degree relative with a substance
use disorder
• Less educated
Dependent AAS users also reported a much more frequent history of
conduct disorder than non-dependent AAS users and a much higher
life-time prevalence of non-alcohol substance dependence than
either comparison group…"
“There has been
for the
long-term health effects of anabolic steroid
use,
… any evidence of long-term
damage is purely anecdotal right now.”
-Charles E. Yesalis
Health & Human Development
Penn State University
•National Institute of Health (A part of the US Dept. of Health and
Human Services)
Steroids have not been proven to have devastating long
The 15 leading causes of death in 2006 were:
term side effects
Diseases of heart (heart disease)
Drug & Alcohol Review, Nov2008, Vol. 27 Issue 6, p679-686, 8p, 3
charts, 1 diagram
Chart; found on p68
Malignant neoplasms (cancer)
Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
Accidents (unintentional injuries)
Diabetes mellitus (diabetes)
Alzheimer’s disease
Influenza and pneumonia
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis (kidney
disease)
Septicemia
Intentional self-harm (suicide)
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease
Parkinson’s disease
Assault (homicide)
by Melonie Heron, Ph.D.; Donna L. Hoyert, Ph.D.; Sherry L.
Murphy, B.S.; Jiaquan Xu, M.D.; Kenneth D. Kochanek, M.A.;
and Betzaida Tejada-Vera, B.S.; Division of Vital Statistics.
National Vital Stastics Report, Apr2009, Vol. 57 Issue 14.
•
Needle Sharing is More Dangerous than actual Steroids
Injecting risk Behaviour
% Ever Engaging
In Risk Practice
Re-using injecting equipment
Use of injecting equipment after someone else
Use of injecting equipment before someone else
Dividing AAS doses using syringes
Using a multi-dose vial
Sharing a multi-dose vial
Observing others sharing injecting equipment
4.2
0.0
2.1
17.0
61.7
23.4
4.8
% engaging in
risk practice over
last month of use
2.1
0.0
0.0
17.0
21.3
19.1
0.0
Midgley, S. J., et al. "Risk behaviours for HIV and hepatitis infection among anabolic-androgenic steroid users." AIDS
Care 12.2 (2000): 163-170. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.



Athletes are more likely to be harmed from use of
Adderal and Ritalin
Leads to vomiting, increased
blood pressure, paranoia,
hypertension, and
irregular heart beat.
Alcohol Use in Sports
Joyce, B. Matthew, Paul E. A. Glaser, and Greg A.
Gerhardt. "Adderall^® produces increased
striatal dopamine release and a prolonged time course
compared to amphetamine isomers."
Psychopharmacology 191.3 (2007): 669-677. Academic
Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.

Performance Enhancing
Drugs can be traced as far
back as 500 BC
• Warriors used deer liver and lion
hearts
• Celtics drank wine with flavored
borage
• Babylonians and Romans used
herbs before battle
Fost,Norman. “What should professional sports organizations do about players who use steroids?” Washington Post TIMES SUNDAY READ; Pg. 11 October 18, 2009 Sunday
Search for the Competitive Edge: A History of Dietary Fads and Supplements 1
Elizabeth A. Applegate and Louis E. Grivetti2
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
 Athletes
have used performanceenhancing drugs and devices since the
beginning of recorded history
• Greeks put on shoes to run faster.
• Runners carbo-load to improve their endurance
• Taking caffeine pills before working out
• Kenyan runners training at higher elevation
• Lasik surgery: Mark McGwire, Tiger Woods
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
Role Models: model of a specific “role”
“Athletes display the athletic virtues: diligence,
perseverance, the value of training, fair play and
sportsmanship, grace under pressure, the pursuit of
excellence.” –Jeffrey Standen, Sports Law Professor
“My one son loves watching Pujols and he swings exactly
like him. He likes to play the game like he does, but that's
where it stops. He might want to shoot the ball like Kobe, or
tackle like a line-backer, or run like Walter, or pass like
Vick, But I never hear them say....I want to be just like
Vick....or I want my life to be just like Walter.” -
 “Athletes
are models for their roles, and
like any role model they can succeed or
fail at that role. But it is on that singular
and limited dimension, as an example or
model of the specific role of the athlete,
that we should judge our professional
athletes, and no more.”-Jeffrey Standen, Sports Law Professor
Actresses, actors, musicians encourage drugs/drinking
through their music, movies, and lifestyles. Why are
athletes held to a different standard?
Akunyili, Dora Nkem and Ijeoma P.C. Nnani. "Risk of medicines: Counterfeit drugs." The International Journal
of Risk and Safety in Medicine 16.3 (2004): 181-190.
Alfano, Peter and Michael Janofsky. "Drugs That May Build Bulk Pull Weight on Black Market." The New York
Times (1988).
Black, Terry. "Repeal the Ban on Drugs in Sport for Fairer Contests and Reduced Health Risks." A Journal of
Policy Analysis and Reform (1996): 101-106.
Burge, John. "Legalize and Regulate: A Prescription for Reforming Anabolic Steroid legislation." Loy. L.A. Ent.
L.J. 15.33 (1994-1995): 33-62.
DEA, U.S. DEA Announces Largest Steroid Enforcement Action in U.S. History. 24 September 2007. 23 April
2010 <http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr092407.html>.
Evans-Brown, Michael, Andreas Kimergårdb and Jim McVeighc. "Elephant in the room? The methodological
implications for public health research of performance-enhancing drugs derivedfrom the illicit market."
Wiley Interscience (2009).
Group, Steroids Working. "The United States Sentencing Commission." 2006. 2006 Steroids Report. 2010 25
2010 <http://www.ussc.gov/USSCsteroidsreport-0306.pdf>.
Kayser, Bengt, Alexandre Maucon and Mtah Andy. "Viewpoint Legalisation of performance-enhancing drugs."
Lancet (2005): 21.
Thornton, Mark. "Prohibition's Failure: Lessons for Today." USA Today 1 March 1992.
Berry, Donald A. “The science of doping” Nature. 454.7205 (2008): 692. Web. 28 April.
2010.
Sekera, M. H., et al. “Another designer steroid: discovery, synthesis, and detection of
'madol' in urine.” Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 19.6 (2005): 781. PubMed.
Web. 28 April. 2010.
Handelsman, D. J. “Designer androgens in sport: when too much is never enough.”
Sci. STYKE. 2004.224 (2004): 41. PubMed. Web. 28 April. 2010.
Catlin, D. H. “Tetrahydrogestrinone: discovery, synthesis, and detection in urine.”
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 18.12 (2004): 1245. PubMed. Web. 28 April.
2010.
HBO :Real Sports. (2007, November 4) from
http://dailymotion.com/related/1946654/video/xkv7_steroids/1. 27 April
2010
Somers, K. (2005, February 27). Roid Rebel. The Arizona Republic.
http://www.azcentral.com/members/blog/kentsomers. 27 April 2010