essay on drugs in sport

• About The Journalist’s Resource
• Follow us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Criminal Justice
• Environment
• Politics & Government
• Race & Gender

Expert Commentary

Performance-enhancing drugs in athletics: Research roundup

2015 roundup of research on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in athletics and academics as well as their potential health effects.

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

by Leighton Walter Kille, The Journalist's Resource June 9, 2015

This <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org/health/athletic-academic-performance-enhancing-drugs-research-roundup/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist's Resource</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-150x150.png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;">

Performance-enhancing drugs have a long history in sports, of course, but pharmacological research has led to a surge in the number of substances available, each with its own potential for misuse.

Given the potential financial rewards of athletic success, it’s no surprise that we’ve been witness to a seemingly endless procession of allegations and scandals. Sluggers Barry Bonds (steroids) and Alex Rodriguez (human growth hormone); cyclists Lance Armstrong (EPO),  Floyd Landis (testosterone) and Alberto Contador (clenbuterol); runners Tyson Gay (steroids) and Justin Gatlin (testosterone); and golfer Vijay Singh (IGF-1) are only some of the more prominent professionals implicated in such behavior. The complicity of medical professionals and shadowy labs is often involved, and a 2015 report from the International Cycling Union (UCI) found the sport’s own governing body bore significant responsibility.

Not surprisingly, hard numbers on rates of usage are difficult to come by, but anecdotal evidence isn’t lacking and anonymous surveys have provided some insight. Questionable use of medications and supplements have also been reported in the U.S. armed forces , fire and police departments , amateur athletics , and even high schools .

Below is a selection of studies on a range of issues related to performance-enhancing drugs. It has sections on their potential economic impacts, prevalence , health effects and athletes’ attitudes . For additional studies on these topics, you can search PubMed , which is the federal clearinghouse for all medical research. At bottom, we have also included some studies relating to cognitive-enhancing drugs and the related academic dimensions of this issue.

—————————-

“The Economics of Corruption in Sports: The Special Case of Doping” Dimant, Eugen; Deutscher, Christian. Edmond J. Safra Working Papers, No. 55, January 2015.

Abstract: “Corruption in general and doping in particular are ubiquitous in both amateur and professional sports and have taken the character of a systemic threat. In creating unfair advantages, doping distorts the level playing field in sporting competition. With higher stakes involved, such distortions create negative externalities not only on the individual level (lasting health damages, for example) but also frictions on the aggregate level (such as loss of media interest) and erode the principle of sports. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive literature overview of the individual’s incentive to dope, the concomitant detrimental effects and respective countermeasures. In explaining the athlete’s motivation to use performance enhancing drugs, we enrich the discussion by adapting insights from behavioral economics. These insights help to understand such an athlete’s decision beyond a clear-cut rationale but rather as a product of the interaction with the underlying environment. We stress that in order to ensure clean sports and fair competition, more sophisticated measurement methods have to be formulated, and the respective data made publicly available in order to facilitate more extensive studies in the future. So far, the lack of data is alarming, especially in the area of elite sports where the stakes are high and doping has a substantial influence.”

“The Frequency of Doping in Elite Sport: Results of a Replication Study” Pitsch, Werner; Emrich, Eike. International Review for the Sociology of Sport , October 2012, Vol. 47, No. 5, 559-580. doi: 10.1177/1012690211413969.

Abstract: “The difficulty of measuring the prevalence of doping in elite sport is a recurring topic in the scientific literature on doping. The Randomized Response Technique is a method for asking such embarrassing or even threatening questions while allowing the respondents to answer honestly. It was used to measure the prevalence of doping among German squad athletes by Pitsch et al. (2005, 2007). In a replication study with better sampling control, it was possible to replicate the general trend of the data from the 2005 study…. The paper-based survey resulted in a rate of 10.2% ‘honest dopers,’ irrespective of the disciplines, obtained with the question: ‘Have you ever knowingly used illicit drugs or methods in order to enhance your performance?’ By adding the rate of cheaters (24.7%), whose behaviour the researchers know nothing about, one can calculate the interval (10.2%, 34.9%), which should include the true rate of dopers throughout their career among German elite athletes. In contrast, this means that the larger proportion of athletes, namely, 65.2%, represents ‘honest non-dopers.’ In the 2008 season, this figure was 65%.”

“Growth Hormone Doping in Sports: A Critical Review of Use and Detection Strategies” Baumann, Gerhard P. Endocrine Reviews , April 2012, Vol. 33, No. 2 155-186. doi: 10.1210/er.2011-1035.

Abstract: “[Growth hormone] is believed to be widely employed in sports as a performance-enhancing substance. Its use in athletic competition is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and athletes are required to submit to testing for GH exposure…. The scientific evidence for the [performance-enhancing characteristics] of GH is weak, a fact that is not widely appreciated in athletic circles or by the general public. Also insufficiently appreciated is the risk of serious health consequences associated with high-dose, prolonged GH use. This review discusses the GH biology relevant to GH doping; the virtues and limitations of detection tests in blood, urine, and saliva; secretagogue efficacy; IGF-I doping; and information about the effectiveness of GH as a performance-enhancing agent.”

“Supplements in Top-Level Track and Field Athletes” Tscholl, Philippe; Alonso, Juan M.; Dollé, Gabriel; Junge, Astrid; Dvorak, Jiri. American Journal of Sports Medicine , January 2010, Vol. 38, No. 1, 133-140. doi: 10.1177/0363546509344071.

Abstract: “Analysis of 3,887 doping control forms undertaken during 12 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships and one out-of-competitions season in track and field. Results: There were 6,523 nutritional supplements (1.7 per athlete) and 3,237 medications (0.8 per athlete) reported. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; 0.27 per athlete, n = 884), respiratory drugs (0.21 per athlete, n = 682), and alternative analgesics (0.13, n = 423) were used most frequently. Medication use increased with age (0.33 to 0.87 per athlete) and decreased with increasing duration of the event (from sprints to endurance events; 1.0 to 0.63 per athlete). African and Asian track and field athletes reported using significantly fewer supplements (0.85 vs. 1.93 per athlete) and medications (0.41 vs. 0.96 per athlete) than athletes from other continents. The final ranking in the championships was unrelated to the quantity of reported medications or supplements taken. Compared with middle-distance and long-distance runners, athletes in power and sprint disciplines reported using more NSAIDs, creatine, and amino acids, and fewer antimicrobial agents. Conclusion: The use of NSAIDs in track and field is less than that reported for team-sport events. However, nutritional supplements are used more than twice as often as they are in soccer and other multisport events; this inadvertently increases the risk of positive results of doping tests.”

“Alcohol, Tobacco, Illicit Drugs and Performance Enhancers: A Comparison of Use by College Student Athletes and Nonathletes” Yusko, David A.; et al. American Journal of Sports Medicine, August 2010. doi: 10.3200/JACH.57.3.281-290.

Abstract: Compares the prevalence and pattern of substance use in undergraduate student athletes and nonathletes from 2005-2006. Data was collected using questionnaires from male (n = 418) and female (n = 475) student athletes and nonathletes from 2005-2006 to assess prevalence, quantity, and frequency of alcohol and drug use, and to determine patterns of student athletes’ alcohol and drug use during their athletic season versus out of season. Male student athletes were found to be at high risk for heavy drinking and performance-enhancing drug use. Considerable in-season versus out-of-season substance use fluctuations were identified in male and female student athletes. Additional, and possibly alternative, factors are involved in a student athlete’s decision-making process regarding drug and alcohol use, which suggests that the development of prevention programs that are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the college student athlete may be beneficial.”

Health effects

“Performance Enhancing Drug Abuse and Cardiovascular Risk in Athletes” Angell, Peter J.; Chester, Neil; Sculthorpe, Nick; Whyte, Greg; George, Keith; Somauroo, John. British Journal of Sports Medicine , July 2012. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2012-091186.

Abstract: “Despite continuing methodological developments to detect drug use and associated punishments for positive dope tests, there are still many athletes who choose to use performance- and image-enhancing drugs. Of primary concern to this review are the health consequences of drug use by athletes…. We will address current knowledge, controversies and emerging evidence in relation to cardiovascular (CV) health of athletes taking drugs. Further, we delimit our discussion to the CV consequences of anabolic steroids and stimulant (including amphetamines and cocaine) use. These drugs are reported in the majority of adverse findings in athlete drug screenings and thus are more likely to be relevant to the healthcare professionals responsible for the well-being of athletes.”

“Illicit Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use” Kanayama, Gen; Hudson, James I.; Pope Jr., Harrison G. Hormones and Behavior , Volume 58, Issue 1, June 2010, Pages 111-121. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.09.006.

Abstract: “The anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are a family of hormones that includes testosterone and its derivatives. These substances have been used by elite athletes since the 1950s, but they did not become widespread drugs of abuse in the general population until the 1980s. Thus, knowledge of the medical and behavioral effects of illicit AAS use is still evolving. Surveys suggest that many millions of boys and men, primarily in Western countries, have abused AAS to enhance athletic performance or personal appearance. AAS use among girls and women is much less common. Taken in supraphysiologic doses, AAS show various long-term adverse medical effects, especially cardiovascular toxicity. Behavioral effects of AAS include hypomanic or manic symptoms, sometimes accompanied by aggression or violence, which usually occur while taking AAS, and depressive symptoms occurring during AAS withdrawal. However, these symptoms are idiosyncratic and afflict only a minority of illicit users; the mechanism of these idiosyncratic responses remains unclear. AAS users may also ingest a range of other illicit drugs, including both “body image” drugs to enhance physical appearance or performance, and classical drugs of abuse. In particular, AAS users appear particularly prone to opioid use. There may well be a biological basis for this association, since both human and animal data suggest that AAS and opioids may share similar brain mechanisms. Finally, AAS may cause a dependence syndrome in a substantial minority of users. AAS dependence may pose a growing public health problem in future years but remains little studied.”

“Adverse Health Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids” Van Amsterdama, Jan; Opperhuizena, Antoon; Hartgensb, Fred. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology , Volume 57, Issue 1, June 2010, Pages 117-123. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2010.02.001.

Abstract: “Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are synthetic drugs derived from testosterone. Illegally, these drugs are regularly self-administered by body builders and power lifters to enhance their sportive performance. Adverse side effects of AAS include sexual dysfunction, alterations of the cardiovascular system, psyche and behavior, and liver toxicity. However, severe side effects appear only following prolonged use of AAS at high dose and their occurrence is limited…. The overwhelming stereotype about AAS is that these compounds cause aggressive behavior in males. However, the underlying personality traits of a specific subgroup of the AAS abusers, who show aggression and hostility, may be relevant, as well. Use of AAS in combination with alcohol largely increases the risk of violence and aggression. The dependence liability of AAS is very low, and withdrawal effects are relatively mild. Based on the scores for acute and chronic adverse health effects, the prevalence of use, social harm and criminality, AAS were ranked among 19 illicit drugs as a group of drugs with a relatively low harm.”

“Effects of Growth Hormone Therapy on Exercise Performance in Men” Triay, Jessica M.; Ahmad, Bushra N. Trends in Urology & Men’s Health , July/August 2012, Vol. 3, Issue 4, 23-26. doi: 10.1002/tre.274.

Conclusions: “In the athletic arena, [growth hormone] doping is considered to be widespread and used in combination with other agents, and regimens vary depending on individual preferences and cost implications…. It must be recognised that the effects of GH administration in adults with a normal GH/IGF-1 axis are not comparable to those in GH deficiency and that the complexity of processes influencing GH release and peripheral actions means that overall performance should be considered as opposed to isolated effects. Although studies to date have been small in both subject numbers and treatment times, they have demonstrated measurable changes in GH and IGF-1 levels, as well as possible deleterious effects on exercise performance that should be taken seriously.”

“Performance-Enhancing Drugs on the Web: A Growing Public-Health Issue” Brennan, Brian P.; Kanayama, Gen; Pope Jr., Harrison G. American Journal on Addictions , March-April 2013, Vol. 22, Issue 2, 158-161. doi: 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2013.00311.x.

Abstract: “Today’s Internet provides extensive “underground” guidelines for obtaining and using illicit substances, including especially anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and other appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs). We attempted to qualitatively characterize APED-related Internet sites. We used relevant Internet search terms [and] found thousands of sites involving AAS and other APEDs. Most sites presented an unabashedly pro-drug position, often openly questioning the qualifications and motivations of mainstream medical practitioners. Offers of AAS and other APEDs for sale, together with medical advice of varying legitimacy, was widespread across sites. Importantly, many sites provided detailed guidelines for exotic forms of APED use, some likely associated with serious health risks, which are probably unknown to most practicing clinicians.”

“Doping in Sport: A Review of Elite Athletes’ Attitudes, Beliefs and Knowledge” Morente-Sánchez, Jaime; Zabala, Mikel. Sports Medicine , March 2013. doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0037-x.

Abstract: “Although most athletes acknowledge that doping is cheating, unhealthy and risky because of sanctions, its effectiveness is also widely recognized. There is a general belief about the inefficacy of anti-doping programmes, and athletes criticise the way tests are carried out. Most athletes consider the severity of punishment is appropriate or not severe enough. There are some differences between sports, as team-based sports and sports requiring motor skills could be less influenced by doping practices than individual self-paced sports. However, anti-doping controls are less exhaustive in team sports. The use of banned substance also differs according to the demand of the specific sport. Coaches appear to be the main influence and source of information for athletes, whereas doctors and other specialists do not seem to act as principal advisors. Athletes are becoming increasingly familiar with anti-doping rules, but there is still a lack of knowledge that should be remedied using appropriate educational programmes. There is also a lack of information on dietary supplements and the side effects of [performance-enhancing substances].”

“Age and Gender Specific Variations in Attitudes to Performance Enhancing Drugs and Methods” Singhammer, John. Sport Science Review , December 2012. doi: 10.2478/v10237-012-0017-3.

Abstract: “Using a population-based cross-sectional sample of 1,703 Danish men and women aged 15-60 years, the present study examined age and gender variation in attitudes to performance enhancing drugs and methods…. Overall, participants held negative attitudes to drugs and methods enhancing predominantly cognitive-abilities-enhancing performance drugs and to appearance-modifying methods, but were positive to drugs for restoring physical functioning conditions. However, attitudes varied nonlinearly across age. Lenient attitudes peaked at around age 25 and subsequently decreased. Lenient attitudes to use of drugs against common disorders decreased in a linear fashion. No gender differences were observed and attitude did not vary with level of education, self-reported health or weekly hours of physical activity.”

“Drugs, Sweat and Gears: An Organizational Analysis of Performance Enhancing Drug Use in the 2010 Tour De France” Palmer, Donald; Yenkey, Christopher. University of California, Davis; University of Chicago. March 2013.

Abstract: “This paper seeks a more comprehensive explanation of wrongdoing in organizations by theorizing two under-explored causes: the criticality of a person’s role in their organization’s strategy-based structure, and social ties to known deviants within their organization and industry. We investigate how these factors might have influenced wrongdoing in the context of professional cyclists’ use of banned performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in advance of the 2010 Tour de France….. We find substantial support for our prediction that actors who are more critical to the organization’s strategy-based structure are more likely to engage in wrongdoing. Further, we find that while undifferentiated social ties to known wrongdoers did not increase the likelihood of wrongdoing, ties to unpunished offenders increased the probability of wrongdoing and ties to severely punished offenders decreased it. These effects were robust to consideration of other known causes of wrongdoing: weak governance regimes and permissive cultural contexts, performance strain, and individual propensities to engage in wrongdoing.”

“Elite Athletes’ Estimates of the Prevalence of Illicit Drug Use: Evidence for the False Consensus Effect” Dunn, Matthew; Thomas, Johanna O.; Swift, Wendy; Burns, Lucinda. Drug and Alcohol Review , January 2012, Vol. 31, Issue 1, 27-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2011.00307.x.

Abstract: “The false consensus effect (FCE) is the tendency for people to assume that others share their attitudes and behaviours to a greater extent than they actually do…. The FCE was investigated among 974 elite Australian athletes who were classified according to their drug use history. Participants tended to report that there was a higher prevalence of drug use among athletes in general compared with athletes in their sport, and these estimates appeared to be influenced by participants’ drug-use history. While overestimation of drug use by participants was not common, this overestimation also appeared to be influenced by athletes’ drug use history.”

“The Role of Sports Physicians in Doping: A Note on Incentives” Korn, Evelyn; Robeck, Volker. Philipps-Universitat, Marburg, March 2013.

Abstract: “How to ban the fraudulent use of performance-enhancing drugs is an issue in all professional — and increasingly in amateur — sports. The main effort in enforcing a ‘clean sport’ has concentrated on proving an abuse of performance-enhancing drugs and on imposing sanctions on teams and athletes. An investigation started by Freiburg university hospital against two of its employees who had been working as physicians for a professional cycling team has drawn attention to another group of actors: physicians. It reveals a multi-layered contractual relations between sports teams, physicians, hospitals, and sports associations that provided string incentives for the two doctors to support the use performance-enhancing drugs. This paper argues that these misled incentives are not singular but a structural part of modern sports caused by cross effects between the labor market for sports medicine specialists (especially if they are researchers) and for professional athletes.”

“Socio-economic Determinants of Adolescent Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs” Humphreys, Brad R.; Ruseski, Jane E. Journal of Socio-Economics , April 2011, Vol. 40, Issue 2, 208-216. doi: 10.1016/j.socec.2011.01.008.

Abstract: “Evidence indicates that adolescents (athletes and non-athletes use performance enhancing drugs. We posit that adolescent athletes have different socio-economic incentives to use steroids than non-athletes. We examine adolescent steroid use using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. Multi-sport upperclassmen and black males have a higher probability of steroid use. Steroid use is associated with motivations to change physical appearance and experimentation with illicit substances. These results suggest there are different socio-economic motivations for adolescent steroid use and that steroid use is an important component of overall adolescent drug use.”

Cognitive-enhancing drugs

“Randomized Response Estimates for the 12-Month Prevalence of Cognitive-Enhancing Drug Use in University Students” Dietz, Pavel; et al. Pharmacotherapy , January 2013, Vol. 33, Issue 1, 44-50. doi: 10.1002/phar.1166.

Results: “An anonymous, specialized questionnaire that used the randomized response technique was distributed to students at the beginning of classes and was collected afterward. From the responses, we calculated the prevalence of students taking drugs only to improve their cognitive performance and not to treat underlying mental disorders such as attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, depression, and sleep disorders. The estimated 12-month prevalence of using cognitive-enhancing drugs was 20%. Prevalence varied by sex (male 23.7%, female 17.0%), field of study (highest in students studying sports-related fields, 25.4%), and semester (first semester 24.3%, beyond first semester 16.7%).”

“The Diversion and Misuse of Pharmaceutical Stimulants: What Do We Know and Why Should We Care?” Kaye, Sharlene; Darke, Shane. Addiction , February 2012, Vol. 107, Issue 3, 467-477. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03720.x.

Results: “The evidence to date suggests that the prevalence of diversion and misuse of pharmaceutical stimulants varies across adolescent and young adult student populations, but is higher than that among the general population, with the highest prevalence found among adults with attention deficit-hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and users of other illicit drugs. Concerns that these practices have become more prevalent as a result of increased prescribing are not supported by large-scale population surveys…. Despite recognition of the abuse liability of these medications, there is a paucity of data on the prevalence, patterns and harms of diversion and misuse among populations where problematic use and abuse may be most likely to occur (e.g. adolescents, young adults, illicit drug users). Comprehensive investigations of diversion and misuse among these populations should be a major research priority, as should the assessment of abuse and dependence criteria among those identified as regular users.”

“Adderall Abuse on College Campuses: A Comprehensive Literature Review” Varga, Matthew D. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work , 2012, Vol. 9, Issue 3. doi: 10.1080/15433714.2010.525402.

Abstract: “Prescription stimulant abuse has dramatically increased over the past 10 years, but the amount of research regarding college students and illicit prescription stimulant use is still very limited. This has important implications for college mental health professionals and higher education administrators. In this comprehensive literature review the author explores factors contributing to illicit use, self-medication, and recreational use of controlled prescription stimulants; discusses the potential consequences for those students abusing stimulants; and provides recommendations for educating, combating, and assisting students who illicitly use prescription stimulants on college campuses.”

“A Comparison of Attitudes Toward Cognitive Enhancement and Legalized Doping in Sport in a Community Sample of Australian Adults” Partridge, Brad; Lucke, Jayne; Hall, Wayne. AJOB Primary Research , November 2012. doi: 10.1080/21507716.2012.720639.

Abstract: “This article compares public attitudes toward the use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement with the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport. We explore attitudes toward the acceptability of both practices; the extent to which familiarity with cognitive enhancement is related to its perceived acceptability; and relationships between the acceptability of cognitive enhancement and legalized doping in sport. Of 1,265 [survey] participants, 7% agreed that cognitive enhancement is acceptable; 2.4% of the total sample said they had taken prescription drugs to enhance their concentration or alertness in the absence of a diagnosed disorder, and a further 8% said they knew someone who had done so. These participants were twice as likely to think cognitive enhancement was acceptable. Only 3.6% of participants agreed that people who play professional sport should be allowed to use performance-enhancing drugs if they wanted to. Participants who found cognitive enhancement acceptable were 9.5 times more likely to agree with legalized doping.”

Keywords: drugs, youth, sports, cheating, higher education, corruption, ADHD, research roundup

About The Author

Leighton Walter Kille

Drug Abuse in Sports

The essay will examine the issue of drug abuse in the sports world, exploring how performance-enhancing and recreational drug use affects athletes, the integrity of sports, and the measures taken to combat this problem. On PapersOwl, there’s also a selection of free essay templates associated with Drug Abuse.

How it works

Drug abuse occurs in all sports and at most levels of competition. Athletic life may lead to drug abuse for a number of reasons,, to self-treat injuries, and retirement from sport. Most sport organizations ban the use of any drug that can help your ability to excel in any sport. Using enhancing drugs, always have side effects like easy to anger, depression, and even death. Today people may know that athletes use steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, but it is only the people who get caught that they dislike and punish, they don’t drug test them until suspicions arise.

These athletes are also usually the ones who set the amazing records such as many famous athletes ( like Alex Rodriguez).

Also during seasons the teams usually get drug tested if the players seems juiced. Juiced is a term used for somebody on drug that enhance their abilities to perform in a game. Some of the athletes use marajuana, as a enhancing drug because it makes you feel less when your on it, allowing harder workouts. Also, if some teenagers take performance drugs they are making them better than everyone else giving themselves an advantage over everyone else which is cheating, so why should they get money for using drugs to win, how do we know they aren’t actually good

at the sport. Performance drugs in sport should not be tolerated and should be illegal. Stores shouldn’t give teenagers drugs that way they can do well in a sport. Many store managers however have been called into court to make their statement “why they did give the athletes the enhancing drugs”?

Another claim made here is that penalties for using drugs such as fines, suspensions, and even lifetime bans. The simularities often cited here this is the case of death penalties for using illegal drugs or being a drug supplier can result in penalties not as far as death. If you use or start to use the illegal drugs then you will have to keep taking them. If you stop you start to have erratic behaviour. Many people who use this drugs can’t get off them because they are addictive. Just like many other drugs that make you feel great, such as weed and other psychedelic drugs.

Many think drug enhancers are okay because they allow people to get fit, especially when off season. But many people don’t understand that when your on off season, your still owned by the team and company. The company then can fire them, or release a fine for a good amount of money. Usually the fines are above 2 million dollars.Now according to the FDA anyone with drugs or taking them will be suspended and fined because its a violation the the rules. Now if someone isn’t caught until they are retired or later on after taking it, they still will get fined. And maybe they even go to court for illegal drug use, they can still lose their rings or trophies for illegal enhancement , if they win the World Series.

• “Abuse of Drugs to Enhance Sports Performance: Winning at Any Cost.” Nationwide Children’s Hospital, www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sports-medicine/sports-medicine-articles/abuse-of-drugs-to-enhance-sports-performance-winning-at-any-cost.
• “Guide to Addiction and Treatment for Athletes.” American Addiction Centers, americanaddictioncenters.org/athletes.
• Rpowell. “Mind, Body and Sport: Substance Use and Abuse.” NCAA.org – The Official Site of the NCAA, 18 July 2017, www.ncaa.org/sport-science-institute/mind-body-and-sport-substance-use-and-abuse.

Cite this page

Drug Abuse In Sports. (2021, Apr 20). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/drug-abuse-in-sports/

"Drug Abuse In Sports." PapersOwl.com , 20 Apr 2021, https://papersowl.com/examples/drug-abuse-in-sports/

PapersOwl.com. (2021). Drug Abuse In Sports . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/drug-abuse-in-sports/ [Accessed: 6 Sep. 2024]

"Drug Abuse In Sports." PapersOwl.com, Apr 20, 2021. Accessed September 6, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/drug-abuse-in-sports/

"Drug Abuse In Sports," PapersOwl.com , 20-Apr-2021. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/drug-abuse-in-sports/. [Accessed: 6-Sep-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2021). Drug Abuse In Sports . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/drug-abuse-in-sports/ [Accessed: 6-Sep-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

• Tools and Resources
• Customer Services
• Affective Science
• Biological Foundations of Psychology
• Clinical Psychology: Disorders and Therapies
• Cognitive Psychology/Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational/School Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Health Psychology
• History and Systems of Psychology
• Individual Differences
• Methods and Approaches in Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Organizational and Institutional Psychology
• Personality
• Psychology and Other Disciplines
• Social Psychology
• Sports Psychology
• Share This Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

Article contents

Alcohol abuse and drug use in sport and performance.

• Matthew P. Martens Matthew P. Martens University of Missouri
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.168
• Published online: 28 June 2017

Issues associated with athletics, alcohol abuse, and drug use continue to be salient aspects of popular culture. These issues include high-profile athletes experiencing public incidents as a direct or indirect result of alcohol and/or drug use, the role that performance-enhancing drugs play in impacting outcomes across a variety of professional and amateur contests, and the public-health effects alcohol abuse and drug use can have among athletes at all competitive levels. For some substances, like alcohol abuse, certain groups of athletes may be particularly at-risk relative to peers who are not athletes. For other substances, participating in athletics may serve as a protective factor. Unique considerations are associated with understanding alcohol abuse and drug use in sport. These include performance considerations (e.g., choosing to use or not use a certain substance due to concerns about its impact on athletic ability), the cultural context of different types of sporting environments that might facilitate or inhibit alcohol and/or drug use, and various internal personality characteristics and traits that may draw one toward both athletic activity and substance use. Fortunately, there are several effective strategies for preventing and reducing alcohol abuse and drug use, some of which have been tested specifically among athlete populations. If such strategies were widely disseminated, they would have the potential to make a significant impact on problems associated with alcohol abuse and drug use in sport and athletics.

Introduction

Alcohol and drugs are a pervasive part of many sports, and in many ways they are inextricably linked. These links include issues such as ubiquitous alcohol advertising and sponsorship in many sports, frequent scandals involving performance-enhancing drugs (e.g., anabolic steroids and human growth hormone), and high-profile incidents among nationally known athletes that involve excessive alcohol and/or drug use. Scholarship on alcohol abuse, drug use, and sport has increased substantially, providing a more complete understanding of the phenomenon. Alcohol use among athletes has received more attention in the research literature than use of other substances, which is not surprising considering that it is abused more than drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamines. Three primary topics related to alcohol and other drug use are discussed in this article. First, rates of alcohol abuse and drug use among different groups of athletes are addressed. When possible, comparisons with relevant nonathletes norms are discussed. Second, several unique considerations associated with understanding alcohol abuse and drug use specifically among athletes are presented. Third, prevention and intervention strategies that have promise for reducing alcohol abuse and drug use in sport are explored. Finally, suggestions are provided for future directions among scholars and practitioners interested in this topic.

Prevalence of Substance Abuse in Sport

Although few studies have examined prevalence rates of alcohol abuse or other formal alcohol use disorders among athletes, several studies have examined rates of binge drinking or other indicators of at-risk alcohol consumption. Research has generally shown that younger adolescents participating in sport are more likely than those not participating in sport to report excessive alcohol use (Kwan, Bobko, Faulkner, Donnelly, & Cairney, 2014 ), although this relationship may differ depending upon other contextual factors. For example, one study of more than 8,000 high school students in the United States found that participating in sports was associated with an overall increase in problematic alcohol use over time, but only for adolescents who did not participate in other extracurricular activities like academic or music clubs (Mays, DePadilla, Thompson, Kushner, & Windle, 2010 ). Another study of more than 3,000 Norwegian adolescents found that sports participation was associated with increased likelihood of future alcohol intoxication, but only for those participating in team sports (Wichstrøm & Wichstrøm, 2009 ). Several large studies from the 1990s and early 2000s showed that college athletes in the United States were more likely than those not participating in formal athletics to report high-risk drinking and experience alcohol-related problems (Leichliter, Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1998 ; Nelson & Wechsler, 2001 ; Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Grossman, & Zanakos, 1997 ). In these studies, more than 50% of college athletes reported at least one binge-drinking episode (typically defined as five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women in a single sitting) and more than 25% reported three or more binge-drinking episodes in the preceding two weeks. Comparison rates for those not participating in formal athletics were 38%–43% for at least one binge-drinking episode and 16%–21% for at least three binge-drinking episodes. College athletes were also more likely than nonathletes to report a host of academic, legal, and interpersonal difficulties associated with their alcohol use. A more recent study showed that college athletes at all competitive levels (intramural, club, and varsity) engaged in binge-drinking episodes more frequently than nonathletes (Barry, Howell, Riplinger, & Piazza-Gardner, 2015 ). Comparatively fewer studies have been conducted among older adults participating in organized sports, although evidence suggests both amateur and elite adult athletes in certain sports may drink more than the general adult population and/or at hazardous levels (Dietze, Fitzgerald, & Jenkinson, 2008 ; Kerry S O’Brien, Blackie, & Hunter, 2005 ; O’Farrell, Allwright, Kenny, Roddy, & Eldin, 2010 ). Together, the existing research suggests that, in general, those who participate in sport are at-risk for excessive alcohol use and related negative consequences.

Recreational Drugs

In contrast to the literature on alcohol abuse, research on recreational drug use and sport suggests that those participating in athletics may be less likely than others to use a variety of substances (Lisha & Sussman, 2010 ). A meta-analysis of 17 studies examining drug use among adolescents found that those participating in sport were significantly less likely than those not participating in sport to report cannabis use (Diehl et al., 2012 ). Another systematic review of longitudinal studies among adolescents found that athletic participation was inversely associated with the use of drugs other than cannabis (Kwan et al., 2014 ). Research among college athletes in the United States has also found that athletes were less likely than nonathletes to report marijuana use (Wechsler et al., 1997 ), and rates of other drug use among this group are generally lower than population norms (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, Schulenberg, & Miech, 2015 ; Rexroat, 2014 ). Finally, the limited research on illicit drug use among elite athletes at both the adult and adolescent level also suggests lower prevalence rates relative to the general adult population (Dunn, Thomas, Swift, & Burns, 2011 ; Peretti-Watel et al., 2003 ).

Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Drug use in sport is often most associated with a variety of substances designed to improve athletic performance (e.g., anabolic steroids, human growth hormone). Many of these substances are illegal without a prescription and/or banned by sporting agencies. Several high-profile incidents have involved athletes being punished for the use of the substances, such as Ben Johnson losing the 100-meter track gold medal in the 1988 Olympics for steroid use, Lance Armstrong being stripped of seven Tour de France cycling titles for performance-enhancing drug use, and a number of top athletes in United States receiving suspensions for steroid or other performance-enhancing drug use. Such incidents may create the impression that performance-enhancing drug use is rampant in athletics, but the research evidence is equivocal. A meta-analysis of nine studies found an overall positive association between adolescent sports participation and anabolic steroid use (Diehl et al., 2012 ). In contrast, a study of more than 16,000 high school students in the United States reported no differences in steroid use between those who did and did not participate in athletics (Miller, Barnes, Sabo, Melnick, & Farrell, 2002 ). A 2013 study of approximately 21,000 college athletes in the United States indicated that only 0.4% of the sample used anabolic steroids in the preceding 12 months (Rexroat, 2014 ). In comparison, a national study of college students reported an annual prevalence rate of 0.5% (Johnston et al., 2015 ).

Rates of performance-enhancing drug use may be higher among elite athletes, where the stakes and incentives for optimal performance are quite high. A recent review of the literature concluded that the “doping” rate among elite athletes was between 14% and 39%, although there was considerable variation among different types of sports and hard data on the question is lacking (de Hon, Kuipers, & van Bottenburg, 2015 ). These estimates are consistent with several anecdotal reports in the popular press estimating that performance-enhancing drug use rates are relatively high among elite adult athletes, particular in certain sports (e.g., American football or track and field).

The Sporting Context, Alcohol Abuse, and Drug Use

Research has generally shown that, particularly among adolescents, sport participation is associated with positive psychosocial outcomes (Clark, Camiré, Wade, & Cairney, 2015 ). This finding extends to prevalence rates of some substances (e.g., cannabis and other illicit drugs), where sport participation has been shown to be a protective factor. Yet, for other substances (e.g., alcohol) sport participation serves as a risk factor. Such contradictory findings illustrate the importance of understanding the roles various sport-related factors play in either promoting or inhibiting alcohol abuse and drug use. It is also important to explore such factors considering the ethical issues inherent in the use of some substances in sport (i.e., performance-enhancing drugs) and the degree to which the use of other substances can lead to unique negative consequences for athletes (e.g., failed drug tests, negative publicity, poor sporting performance). Several factors that are somewhat unique to the sporting context are discussed.

The Cultural Context of Alcohol and Sport

Despite the potential negative effects of alcohol use on athletic performance (Barnes, 2014 ), in many countries alcohol and sport are inextricably linked. Alcohol beverage companies throughout the world serve as major sponsors for leagues, teams, and in some cases even individual athletes (Collins & Vamplew, 2002 ). There are several mechanisms by which these associations might translate to individual drinking behavior. One involves an indirect association: athletes, most of whom have likely been following sport from a young age, have strongly ingrained ideas associating athletic participation with alcohol consumption. A second is a more direct association, where athletes receive free or discounted alcohol products due to sponsorship from a beverage company. Two studies of athletes in Australia and New Zealand, ranging from club to national level, revealed positive associations between alcohol sponsorship and individual alcohol consumption (O’Brien & Kypri, 2008 ; O’Brien, Miller, Kolt, Martens, & Webber, 2011 ).

Another cultural aspect of sport that may relate to drinking behavior involves popularity and prestige. Athletes, particularly those who are successful and well-known, are often afforded higher social status than their peers, which can lead to significant social opportunities (Holland & Andre, 1994 ; Tricker, Cook, & McGuire, 1989 ). At the adolescent and collegiate level, successful athletes may find that they are regularly invited to social gatherings where alcohol or other drugs are provided. Athletes old enough to go to bars, clubs, and other public establishments may find that other patrons are eager to socialize with them, including purchasing their drinks. Additionally, a club or bar owner may provide free drinks to athletes of a certain stature to encourage their patronage. Basic behavioral economics principles indicate that the likelihood of substance use will increase with lower price and greater availability (Murphy, Correia, & Barnett, 2007 ). Thus, athletes who may be at-risk for developing a substance abuse problem may often find it relatively easy to be in social settings where alcohol and drugs are readily available.

Performance-Related Considerations

Athletes have clear incentives to perform at an optimal level in their sport. The reward value of such incentives generally increase as athletes progress to more elite competitive levels, culminating in major awards, international recognition, educational opportunities in the form of university scholarships, and the opportunity to make one’s (often well-compensated) livelihood in sport. Thus, some athletes will be tempted to use substances that have the potential to make them stronger and faster, thereby improving their athletic performance. Indeed several studies among athletes at varying competitive levels have shown that the primary reason athletes choose to use performance-enhancing substances is to improve their athletic performance (Miller, Barnes, Sabo, Melnick, & Farrell, 2002 ; Rexroat, 2014 ). Conversely, concerns about the impacts certain substances can have on athletic performance may serve as an important deterrent among athletes. Research among college students in the United States suggests that concerns about athletic performance is an important reason they choose not to use certain substances, although factors such as health-related concerns and lack of desire to experience the substance’s effects seem to be more salient factors (Rexroat, 2014 ). Addressing the role certain substances can play in inhibiting athletic performance could be a potentially useful component of interventions designed to prevent and reduce drug use among athletes.

Seasonal Effects

A unique aspect of many athletes’ lives involves the yearly rhythms surrounding their competitive season. Although many athletes train year-round, they have defined periods when their athletic performance is more salient and relevant. For example, the formal competitive season for a college football player in the United States runs from August (the start of official practice) through December or January (depending upon the date of the final game). These athletes may have other obligations throughout the year, such as spring practice and off-season workouts, but they are not participating in formal competitions. Athletes who limit alcohol and drug use due to performance-related concerns may choose to increase their use outside of these formal competitive seasons. Several research studies have shown that transitioning from in- to off-season serves as a risk factor for heavy drinking among athletes. Studies among college athletes in the United States found heavier alcohol consumption outside of their athletic season, including one longitudinal study that reported average drinking rates doubled during the off season (Bower & Martin, 1999 ; Martens, Dams-O’Connor, & Duffy-Paiement, 2006 ; Thombs, 2000 ). Another study of professional Australian Football League players showed a dramatic increase in risky drinking between pre-season and in-season time periods versus the off season (Dietze et al., 2008 ). The use of other substances may follow a similar pattern, and suggests the need for targeted intervention/prevention efforts for athletes transitioning out of their competitive seasons.

Drug Testing

Formal testing for the presence of certain drugs, particularly during an athlete’s competitive season, is another factor that almost certainly impacts drug use among these groups. Elite athletes at the international level are regularly tested for both performance-enhancing and illicit drug use, as are athletes in many major professional sports leagues and major amateur organizations (e.g., college athletes at National Collegiate Athletic Association member institutions). Several studies have shown that drug testing serves as a deterrent to banned substances (Coombs & Ryan, 1990 ; Dunn, Thomas, Swift, Burns, & Mattick, 2010 ), and may partially account for relatively low prevalence rates of certain illegal drugs. However, one study among adolescents in the United States showed that randomized testing reduced drug use but increased other risk factors for use, such as perceived norms and less risky beliefs about drug use (Goldberg et al., 2003 ). Further, if athletes are aware of their testing schedule, they may be able to organize their use around times when it would not trigger a positive test. Fear of a positive drug test almost certainly inhibits short-term drug use for some athletes, but the degree to which drug testing provides a more general impact on the substance use habits of athletes is more difficult to determine.

Ethical Considerations

A final sport-related contextual factor to address when considering substance use among athletes is ethical issues related to performance-enhancing drug use. This consideration is almost wholly unique to the athletic environment, as it is one of the only arenas where an individual may be incentivized to take a substance that would allow him or her to be physically superior to a specified opponent. Health or societal concerns regarding substance use can be applied across almost any group, but sport is unique in that use of certain substances may undermine the core foundation of the entity. Virtually all sports are based on the notion that each competitor agrees to a specified set of rules and regulations, which in many instances involve the types of drugs and other performance-enhancing techniques that are allowable. For example, in many professional sports leagues, athletes are allowed to take certain narcotic painkillers, but cannot take anabolic steroids or human growth hormone. Sporting organizations are motivated to ensure that athletes do not use drugs that are banned by their governing body, as it is important that they convey to the public that they are attempting to enforce the ideal of all athletes playing by the same rules. Further, sporting organizations are also motivated for their athletes to be perceived as living up to some sort of ideal (e.g., serving as a “role model” for children), which is why use of certain substances that have no performance benefits still results in suspension and other punishments. Many athletes therefore find themselves in situations regarding drug use that seem arbitrary, and at times hypocritical, in terms of the substances they can ingest. For example, they may be suspended for using a substance legal in several countries and states in the United States (cannabis), but they are allowed to use narcotic painkillers in an effort to facilitate their return to the practice or competitive arena.

Intervention and Prevention Strategies for Alcohol Abuse and Drug Use

A number of effective intervention and prevention strategies for alcohol abuse and drug use have been identified. This section of the chapter will address those strategies that have been well-studied and have the strongest empirical support. When possible, research that has examined these approaches specifically among athletes is presented here. Most of these studies focus on alcohol use, but in some cases their findings may translate to other substances.

Motivational Enhancement Interventions

The term “motivational enhancement” refers to a group of interventions, often sharing similar characteristics, which are designed to enhance an individual’s motivation to change a target behavior(s). Most of these interventions are founded in motivational interviewing, which is a theoretical and therapeutic approach that helps clients resolve ambiguity about behavior change (Miller & Rose, 2009 ). Motivational interviewing-based approaches are designed to help individuals identify their own reasons for change and support specific efforts toward change. A common feature of motivational enhancement interventions is personalized feedback, where the individual receives personalized information about the behavior in question. Theoretically, this feedback helps increase internal discrepancies in the individual that subsequently result in behavior change. Popular components of this feedback include personalized social norms information (i.e., how the individual’s drinking behavior and perception of “typical” drinking among a specific reference groups compares to actual drinking norms), typical drinking levels (e.g., estimated blood alcohol concentration on a heavy drinking occasion) and risks associated with such levels, and a summary of problems associated with the behavior in question (e.g., specific negative consequences experienced over the past 30 days as a result of alcohol consumption). These interventions also sometimes include an alcohol skills training component (Dimeff, Baer, Kivlahan, & Marlatt, 1999 ).

Overall, there is considerable empirical support for the efficacy of motivational enhancement interventions. Several meta-analyses have shown that brief (1–2 sessions) in-person interventions are effective at reducing at-risk alcohol and drug use (Burke, Arkowitz, & Menchola, 2003 ; Jensen et al., 2011 ; Lundahl, Kunz, Brownell, Tollefson, & Burke, 2010 ). Further, interventions that provide personalized feedback in the absence of individual clinician contact have also been shown to be efficacious at impacting substance use (Miller et al., 2013 ). A handful of studies have examined the efficacy of motivational enhancing interventions specifically among athletes, with promising results. For example, in one study, Martens and colleagues ( 2010 ) found that a personalized feedback-only intervention was effective among a sample of college athletes at reducing peak blood alcohol concentration. Another study by Doumas et al. ( 2010 ) found that a feedback-only intervention was effective among high-risk drinkers at reducing average weekly drinking, drinking to intoxication, and peak number of drinks consumed on a single occasion. Finally, a recent study by Cimini et al. ( 2015 ) provided similar support for the efficacy of a single-session in-person motivational enhancement intervention. Together, these findings suggest that brief, motivational enhancement interventions have considerable potential in reducing harmful alcohol consumption among athletes.

Alcohol and Drug Skills Training Programs

Another class of interventions involve those designed to teach individuals specific skills and strategies that are used to reduce alcohol and drug use and limit the likelihood of experiencing substance-related problems. Most of these programs have focused on alcohol use, and their specific content can vary widely and include both alcohol-specific topics and general lifestyle factors (Larimer & Cronce, 2007 ). The delivery of these types of programs can also vary considerably, including individually in the context of a motivational interviewing-based session (Martens, Smith, & Murphy, 2013 ), in a group format (Fromme & Corbin, 2004 ), or via a computer without personal contact (Carey, Henson, Carey, & Maisto, 2009 ). Overall, empirical support for these types of programs has been mixed, which is not surprising considering the diversity of approaches (Cronce & Larimer, 2011 ).

Only a few studies have examined the efficacy of alcohol skills programs specifically among athletes. One early study found no effects for a single session program delivered in a group setting that included general educational information about alcohol and other drugs, stress management, and strategies to alleviate peer pressure associated with substance use (Marcello, Danish, & Stolberg, 1989 ). This study was limited by factors such as a low sample size and high dropout rate. Other skills programs are presented in the literature, but they have either not been formally evaluated (Curry & Maniar, 2004 ; Meilman & Fleming, 1990 ) or have not been subjected to peer review (Wyrick et al., 2009 ). Considering that many sporting entities mandate that their athletes receive some degree of education/training on alcohol and drug-related issues, implementing skills-based programs that have shown evidence of efficacy in the general population could have a significant impact on the alcohol and drug use habits of athletes at a variety of competitive levels.

Contingency Management

One of the most efficacious strategies for intervening with individuals experiencing alcohol and drug disorders is contingency management, with one meta-analysis indicating that it had the strongest effects of any psychosocial intervention in terms of treating substance use disorders (Dutra et al., 2008 ). Contingency management interventions are based on basic operant behavior principles, where target behavior is reinforced and therefore likely to increase. For example, patients in a contingency management program for a drug-use disorder may receive a cash payment or voucher each time they provide a negative urine sample. The level of reinforcement often increases over time, with consecutive instances of the target behavior yielding escalating rewards (Budney, Moore, Rocha, & Higgins, 2006 ). Theoretically, the individual will initially engage in the behavior (e.g., being abstinent from alcohol or drugs) to receive the tangible reward associated with the intervention. Over time, the individual will begin to experience other reinforcers that naturally occur due to decreased substance use, such as better relationships and job performance. Ideally, these reinforcers will be powerful enough to cause the individual to continue to engage in the target behavior even after the contingency management intervention has ended. For example, an athlete in a contingency management program whose sport performance improves after ceasing drug use may be likely to continue to refrain from drug use even when he or she no longer receives the financial incentives associated with the program.

To date no studies have been published that examined the efficacy of contingency management interventions specifically among athletes. Due to the fact that many sporting organizations already routinely test athletes for various substances, implementing such a program in certain athletic settings may be somewhat easier than the typical outpatient or inpatient clinic. Indeed, many organizations already have a punishment-related system affiliated with drug testing (e.g., suspensions for positive drug tests); a contingency management system would involve the reverse of this, where athletes received incentives for negative drug tests. Such a program would likely be most appropriate for athletes who have been experiencing fairly significant alcohol and drug problems and are attempting to eliminate their use of the substances.

Twelve-Step Programs

Twelve-step programs are likely the mode of alcohol and drug abuse intervention most familiar to the general public. They are most frequently affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA). AA or NA programs have historically been the most common route for individuals to engage in a 12-step program, but there are examples of individual interventions designed to facilitate the 12-step process (e.g., Project MATCH Research Group, 1997 ). Twelve-step programs conceptualize addiction as a disease, and therefore complete abstinence is the desired outcome. “Working” a 12-step program involves a series of steps, which include behaviors such as admitting that one is powerless over addiction (Step 1), asking God or a higher power to remove shortcomings (Step 7), and carrying the 12-step message to other alcoholics/addicts (Step 12).

There is evidence to suggest that 12-step programs are as efficacious as other interventions/treatments (Ouimette, Finney, & Moos, 1997 ; Project MATCH Research Group, 1997 ). However, it can be difficult to examine the efficacy of individual 12-step programs; by definition, they are usually anonymous and assignment to appropriate control conditions is logistically challenging. No published studies have examined the efficacy of 12-step programs among athletes, although numerous athletes have undoubtedly participated in such programs. If an athlete has a significant alcohol abuse and/or drug use problem and is open to abstinence as a treatment goal, then encouraging them to consider a 12-step program would be appropriate.

Environmental Interventions

Environmental interventions to refer to a broad class of interventions designed to impact behavior by changing the external environment in such a way as to inhibit alcohol and drug use. The interventions addressed thus far in this chapter are individual interventions, in that they are designed to change thoughts, behaviors, and emotions of specific individuals who receive the intervention. In contrast, environmental interventions are not necessarily targeted to specific individuals but are designed to create a context that disincentivizes alcohol and drug use among all of those in the environment. Most of these interventions have focused on alcohol use because it is a legal substance readily available in most communities. An example of a well-known environmental intervention involved raising the drinking age in the United States from 18 to 21, which resulted in a decrease in alcohol consumption and traffic crashes (Wagenaar & Toomey, 2002 ).

Many environmental interventions involve attempts to create policies or rules that limit access to alcohol, such as restricting times when alcohol can be sold or outlawing drink discounts or other specials that might encourage heavy alcohol use (Toomey, Lenk, & Wagenaar, 2007 ). Other interventions focus on creating, publicizing, and enforcing rules against alcohol and drug use (e.g., alcohol-free dormitories on college campuses). A number of studies have shown that environmental interventions can be efficacious at impacting the target behavior (see Middleton et al., 2010 ; Task Force on Community Preventive Services, 2010 ; Toomey et al., 2007 ), but they can also pose unique challenges. Implementing environmental interventions often requires considerable coordination among a variety of parties, some of whom actually benefit from substance use. For example, if a group of bar owners believed that drink specials yielded more patrons and greater profits, it might be challenging to convince them to outlaw such specials in an attempt to limit heavy drinking.

Another means of conceptualizing environmental interventions for alcohol and drug abuse is behavioral economics theory, which posits that the decision to use substances is related to availability and price of both the substances themselves and alternative sources of reinforcement (Vuchinich & Tucker, 1988 ). For example, all else being equal, adolescent alcohol use would theoretically be lower in a community that had numerous alcohol-free social activities available that were reinforcing to young people than a community that did not have such alternative activities. Behavioral economic theory also posits that alcohol and drug use will be lower when individuals are orientated toward future rewards incompatible with substance use, such as successful educational and vocational outcomes (Murphy & Dennhardt, 2016 ). Therefore, environmental interventions that promote such a future-based orientation may result in diminished desire to obtain short-term reinforcement from alcohol and drug use.

To date, only one large controlled trial has examined the efficacy of an environmental alcohol intervention among athletes. In this study, the researchers evaluated the efficacy of the Good Sports program (Rowland, Allen, & Toumbourou, 2012 ), which was implemented at community football clubs in Australia. This program includes a variety of environmental interventions grouped across three accreditation levels. An example of a level 1 intervention strategy is serving alcoholic drinks only in standard drink amounts, an example of a level 2 strategy is not serving shots of liquor, and an example of a level 3 is having and distributing a written alcohol policy to club members. An initial study showed that clubs with higher accreditation levels reported less alcohol use than clubs with lower accreditation levels (Rowland et al., 2012 ). Subsequently, researchers conducted a trial where 88 football clubs were randomized to the intervention or control condition. After the intervention, participants in the intervention condition reported less risky alcohol use than those in the control condition (Kingsland et al., 2015 ).

Considering these promising findings, as well as the overall support for different types of environmental interventions in other populations, athletic organizations should consider contextual strategies designed to limit alcohol and other drug use. Many large organizations have clear rules and policies built into their larger systems, such as suspensions for positive drug tests or alcohol-related arrests. Individual teams, clubs, or schools/universities could build more specific, targeted policies into their systems. For example, a high school or adolescent sporting club might ask team members to sign a pledge to refrain from alcohol and drug use, whereas a collegiate or adult club might ask team members to pledge to limit their alcohol consumption in some way. Consistent with behavioral economic theories, organizations could also promote social activities that do not involve substance use. Such strategies may be particularly useful among adolescents and young adults, and they could involve activities such as regular team social outings and partnerships with local community organizations that offer substance-free activities.

Conclusion and Future Directions

Research has convincingly established that for some substances, particularly alcohol, athletes have higher levels of at-risk use than individuals not participating in athletics. Conversely, rates of use for many other types of drugs are lower among athletes than nonathletes. Nonetheless, it is important to focus on understanding and limiting drug use among athletes, considering the myriad negative effects of such use on this population at all competitive levels. Research in the general population has established several effective individual and environmental intervention strategies, and there is emerging evidence for the efficacy of many of these interventions specifically among athletes. One recommendation for future research is to examine strategies for disseminating different types of empirically supported interventions to athletes, particularly those that are low cost (e.g., personalized feedback interventions delivered electronically). A second research direction could involve examining the efficacy of environmental interventions at more local levels, such as team-specific strategies designed to limit alcohol and drug use. A third direction involves more research focused on substances besides alcohol, particularly in terms of intervention studies. Finally, researchers could consider exploring strategies for targeting/tailoring existing interventions to be more efficacious specifically among athletes. For example, one study found that personalized feedback tailored specifically for college athletes was more effective than feedback applicable to a general student population at reducing high-risk drinking (Martens, Kilmer, Beck, & Zamboanga, 2010 ). Tailoring other types of existing interventions may also yield enhanced effects among athletes.

• Barnes, M. J. (2014). Alcohol: Impacts on sports performance and recovery in male athletes. Sports Medicine , 44 , 909–919.
• Barry, A. E. , Howell, S. M. , Riplinger, A. , & Piazza-Gardner, A. K. (2015). Alcohol use among college athletes: do intercollegiate, club, or intramural student athletes drink differently? Substance Use & Misuse , 50 , 302–307.
• Bower, B. L. , & Martin, M. (1999). African American female basketball players: An examination of alcohol and drug behaviors. Journal of American College Health , 48 , 129–133.
• Budney, A. J. , Moore, B. A. , Rocha, H. L. , & Higgins, S. T. (2006). Clinical trial of abstinence-based vouchers and cognitive-behavioral therapy for cannabis dependence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 74 , 307–316.
• Burke, B. L. , Arkowitz, H. , & Menchola, M. (2003). The efficacy of motivational interviewing: A meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 71 , 843–861.
• Carey, K. B. , Henson, J. M. , Carey, M. P. , & Maisto, S. A. (2009). Computer versus in-person intervention for students violating campus alcohol policy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 77 , 74–87.
• Cimini, M. D. , Monserrat, J. M. , Sokolowski, K. L. , Dewitt-Parker, J. Y. , Rivero, E. M. , & McElroy, L. A. (2015). Reducing high-risk drinking among student-athletes: The effects of a targeted athlete-specific brief intervention. Journal of American College Health , 63 , 343–352.
• Clark, H. J. , Camiré, M. , Wade, T. J. , & Cairney, J. (2015). Sport participation and its association with social and psychological factors known to predict substance use and abuse among youth: A scoping review of the literature. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 8 , 224–250.
• Collins, T. , & Vamplew, W. (2002). Mud, sweat, and beers: A cultural history of sport and Alcohol . New York: Berg.
• Coombs, R. H. , & Ryan, F. J. (1990). Drug testing effectiveness in identifying and preventing drug use. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse , 16 , 173–184.
• Cronce, J. M. , & Larimer, M. E. (2011). Individual-focused approaches to the prevention of college student drinking. Alcohol Research & Health , 34 , 210–221.
• Curry, L. A. , & Maniar, S. D. (2004). Academic course for enhancing student-athlete performance in sport. Sport Psychologist , 18 , 297–316.
• de Hon, O. , Kuipers, H. , & van Bottenburg, M. (2015). Prevalence of doping use in elite sports: A review of numbers and methods. Sports Medicine , 45 , 57–69.
• Diehl, K. , Thiel, A. , Zipfel, S. , Mayer, J. , Litaker, D. G. , & Schneider, S. (2012). How healthy is the behavior of young athletes? A systematic literature review and meta-analyses. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine , 11 , 201–220.
• Dietze, P. M. , Fitzgerald, J. L. , & Jenkinson, R. A. (2008). Drinking by professional Australian Football League (AFL) players: Prevalence and correlates of risk. Medical Journal of Australia , 189 , 479–483.
• Dimeff, L. A. , Baer, J. S. , Kivlahan, D. R. , & Marlatt, G. A. (1999). Brief alcohol screening and intervention for college students (BASICS): A harm reduction approach. New York: Guilford.
• Doumas, D. M. , Haustveit, T. , & Coll, K. M. (2010). Reducing heavy drinking among first year intercollegiate athletes: A randomized controlled trial of web-based normative feedback. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology , 22 , 247–261.
• Dunn, M. , Thomas, J. O. , Swift, W. , & Burns, L. (2011). Recreational substance use among elite Australian athletes. Drug and Alcohol Review , 30 , 63–68.
• Dunn, M. , Thomas, J. O. , Swift, W. , Burns, L. , & Mattick, R. P. (2010). Drug testing in sport: The attitudes and experiences of elite athletes. International Journal of Drug Policy , 21 , 330–332.
• Dutra, L. , Stathopoulou, G. , Basden, S. L. , Leyro, T. M. , Powers, M. B. , & Otto, M. W. (2008). A meta-analytic review of psychosocial interventions for substance use disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry , 165 , 179–187.
• Fromme, K. , & Corbin, W. (2004). Prevention of heavy drinking and associated negative consequences among mandated and voluntary college students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 72 , 1038–1049.
• Goldberg, L. , Elliot, D. L. , MacKinnon, D. P. , Moe, E. , Kuehl, K. S. , Nohre, L. , & Lockwood, C. M. (2003). Drug testing athletes to prevent substance abuse: Background and pilot study results of the SATURN (Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification) study. Journal of Adolescent Health , 32 , 16–25.
• Holland, A. , & Andre, T. (1994). Athletic participation and the social status of adolescent males and females. Youth & Society , 25 , 388–407.
• Jensen, C. D. , Cushing, C. C. , Aylward, B. S. , Craig, J. T. , Sorell, D. M. , & Steele, R. G. (2011). Effectiveness of motivational interviewing interventions for adolescent substance use behavior change: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 79 , 433–440.
• Johnston, L. D. , O’Malley, P. M. , Bachman, J. , Schulenberg, J. E. , & Miech, R. A. (2015). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2014: Volume 2, College students and adults ages 19–55 . Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
• Kingsland, M. , Wolfenden, L. , Tindall, J. , Rowland, B. C. , Lecathelinais, C. , Gillham, K. E. , . . . , McElduff, P. (2015). Tackling risky alcohol consumption in sport: A cluster randomised controlled trial of an alcohol management intervention with community football clubs . Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health . Advance Online Publication.
• Kwan, M. , Bobko, S. , Faulkner, G. , Donnelly, P. , & Cairney, J. (2014). Sport participation and alcohol and illicit drug use in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Addictive Behaviors , 39 , 497–506.
• Larimer, M. E. , & Cronce, J. M. (2007). Identification, prevention, and treatment revisited: Individual-focused college drinking prevention strategies 1999–2006. Addictive Behaviors , 32 , 2439–2468.
• Leichliter, J. S. , Meilman, P. W. , Presley, C. A. , & Cashin, J. R. (1998). Alcohol use and related consequences among students with varying levels of involvement in college athletics. Journal of American College Health , 46 , 257–262.
• Lisha, N. E. , & Sussman, S. (2010). Relationship of high school and college sports participation with alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use: A review. Addictive Behaviors , 35 , 399–407.
• Lundahl, B. W. , Kunz, C. , Brownell, C. , Tollefson, D. , & Burke, B. L. (2010). A meta-analysis of motivational interviewing: Twenty-five years of empirical studies. Research on Social Work Practice , 20 , 137–160.
• Marcello, R. J. , Danish, S. J. , & Stolberg, A. L. (1989). An evaluation of strategies developed to prevent substance abuse among student-athletes. Sport Psychologist , 3 , 196–211.
• Martens, M. P. , Dams-O’Connor, K. , & Duffy-Paiement, C. (2006). Comparing off-season with in-season alcohol consumption among intercollegiate athletes. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 28 , 502–510.
• Martens, M. P. , Kilmer, J. R. , Beck, N. C. , & Zamboanga, B. L. (2010). The efficacy of a targeted personalized drinking feedback intervention among intercollegiate athletes: A randomized controlled trial. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors , 24 , 660–669.
• Martens, M. P. , Smith, A. E. , & Murphy, J. G. (2013). The efficacy of single-component brief motivational interventions among at-risk college drinkers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 81 , 691–701.
• Mays, D. , DePadilla, L. , Thompson, N. J. , Kushner, H. I. , & Windle, M. (2010). Sports participation and problem alcohol use: A multi-wave national sample of adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 38 , 491–498.
• Meilman, P. W. & Fleming, R. L. (1990). A substance abuse prevention program for student-athletes. Journal of College Student Development , 31 , 477–479.
• Middleton, J. C. , Hahn, R. A. , Kuzara, J. L. , Elder, R. , Brewer, R. , Chattopadhyay, S . . . , Lawrence, B. Task Force on Community and Preventive Services (2010). Effectiveness of policies maintaining or restricting days of alcohol sales on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 39 , 575–589.
• Miller, K. E. , Barnes, G. M. , Sabo, D. , Melnick, M. J. , & Farrell, M. P. (2002). A comparison of health risk behavior in adolescent users of anabolic-androgenic steroids, by gender and athlete status. Sociology of Sport Journal , 19 , 385–402.
• Miller, K. E. , Barnes, G. M. , Sabo, D. F. , Melnick, M. J. , & Farrell, M. P. (2002). Anabolic-androgenic steroid use and other adolescent problem behaviors: Rethinking the male athlete assumption. Sociological Perspectives , 45 , 467–489.
• Miller, M. B. , Leffingwell, T. , Claborn, K. , Meier, E. , Walters, S. , & Neighbors, C. (2013). Personalized feedback interventions for college alcohol misuse: An update of Walters & Neighbors (2005). Psychology of Addictive Behaviors , 27 , 909–920.
• Miller, W. R. , & Rose, G. S. (2009). Toward a theory of motivational interviewing. American psychologist , 64 , 527–537.
• Murphy, J. , & Dennhardt, A. (2016). The behavioral economics of young adult substance abuse. Preventive Medicine . Advance Online Publication.
• Murphy, J. G. , Correia, C. J. , & Barnett, N. P. (2007). Behavioral economic approaches to reduce college student drinking. Addictive Behaviors , 32 , 2573–2585.
• Nelson, T. F. , & Wechsler, H. (2001). Alcohol and college athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise , 33 , 43–47.
• O’Brien, K. S. , Blackie, J. M. , & Hunter, J. A. (2005). Hazardous drinking in elite New Zealand sportspeople. Alcohol and Alcoholism , 40 , 239–241.
• O’Brien, K. S. , & Kypri, K. (2008). Alcohol industry sponsorship and hazardous drinking among sportspeople. Addiction , 103 , 1961–1966.
• O’Brien, K. S. , Miller, P. G. , Kolt, G. S. , Martens, M. P. , & Webber, A. (2011). Alcohol industry and non-alcohol industry sponsorship of sportspeople and drinking. Alcohol and Alcoholism , 46 , 210–213.
• O’Farrell, A. M. , Allwright, S. P. , Kenny, S. C. , Roddy, G. , & Eldin, N. (2010). Alcohol use among amateur sportsmen in Ireland. BMC Research Notes , 3 , 313.
• Ouimette, P. C. , Finney, J. W. , & Moos, R. H. (1997). Twelve-step and cognitive-behavioral treatment of substance abuse: A comparison of treatment effectiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 65 , 230–240.
• Peretti-Watel, P. , Guagliardo, V. , Verger, P. , Pruvost, J. , Mignon, P. , & Obadia, Y. (2003). Sporting activity and drug use: Alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use among elite student athletes. Addiction , 98 , 1249–1256.
• Project MATCH Research Group . (1997). Matching alcoholism treatments to client heterogeneity: Project MATCH posttreatment drinking outcomes. Journal of Studies on Alcohol , 58 , 7–29.
• Rexroat, M. (2014). NCAA National Study of Substance Use Habits of College Student-Athletes .
• Rowland, B. , Allen, F. , & Toumbourou, J. W. (2012). Impact of alcohol harm reduction strategies in community sports clubs: Pilot evaluation of the Good Sports program. Health Psychology , 31 , 323–333.
• Task Force on Community Preventive Services (2010). Effectiveness of policies restricting hours of alcohol sales in preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 39 , 590–604.
• Thombs, D. L. (2000). A test of the perceived norms model to explain drinking patterns among university student athletes. Journal of American College Health , 49 , 75–83.
• Toomey, T. L. , Lenk, K. M. , & Wagenaar, A. C. (2007). Environmental policies to reduce college drinking: An update of research findings. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs , 68 , 208–219.
• Tricker, R. , Cook, D. L. , & McGuire, R. (1989). Issues related to drug abuse in college athletics: Athletes at risk. Sport Psychologist , 3 , 155–165.
• Vuchinich, R. E. , & Tucker, J. A. (1988). Contributions from behavioral theories of choice to an analysis of alcohol abuse. Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 97 , 181–195.
• Wagenaar, A. C. , & Toomey, T. L. (2002). Effects of minimum drinking age laws: review and analyses of the literature from 1960 to 2000. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Supplement 14 , 206–225.
• Wechsler, H. , Davenport, A. E. , Dowdall, G. W. , Grossman, S. J. , & Zanakos, S. I. (1997). Binge drinking, tobacco, and illicit drug use and involvement in college athletics: A survey of students at 140 American colleges. Journal of American College Health , 45 , 195–200.
• Wichstrøm, T. , & Wichstrøm, L. (2009). Does sports participation during adolescence prevent later alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use? Addiction , 104 , 138–149.
• Wyrick, D. L. , Fearnow-Kenney, M. , & Milroy, J. (2009). Drug and alcohol prevention for NCAA student-athletes: Division II pilot study final report . Greensboro, NC: Prevention Strategies.

Related Articles

• Psychological Aspects of Tobacco Control
• Internet-Based Methods in Managing Alcohol Misuse

Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Psychology. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 07 September 2024

• Cookie Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Legal Notice
• Accessibility
• [185.66.14.236]
• 185.66.14.236

Character limit 500 /500

Log in using your username and password

• Search More Search for this keyword Advanced search
• Latest content
• Current issue
• For authors
• New editors
• BMJ Journals

You are here

• Volume 38, Issue 6
• Why we should allow performance enhancing drugs in sport
• Article Text
• Article info
• Citation Tools
• Rapid Responses
• Article metrics

• J Savulescu 1 ,
• B Foddy 2 ,
• M Clayton 2
• 1 Uehiro Chair of Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
• 2 Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Correspondence to:
 Professor Savulescu
 Flat 2, 3 Bradmore Road, Oxford OX2 6QW, UK; julian.savulescuphilosophy.ox.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2003.005249

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request permissions.

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

• EPO, erythropoietin
• PCV, packed cell volume
• performance enhancing drugs

The legalisation of drugs in sport may be fairer and safer

The marathon was run in the first modern Olympics in 1896, and in many ways the athletic ideal of modern athletes is inspired by the myth of the marathon. Their ideal is superhuman performance, at any cost.

DRUGS IN SPORT

The use of performance enhancing drugs in the modern Olympics is on record as early as the games of the third Olympiad, when Thomas Hicks won the marathon after receiving an injection of strychnine in the middle of the race. 1 The first official ban on “stimulating substances” by a sporting organisation was introduced by the International Amateur Athletic Federation in 1928. 2

Using drugs to cheat in sport is not new, but it is becoming more effective. In 1976, the East German swimming team won 11 out of 13 Olympic events, and later sued the government for giving them anabolic steroids. 3 Yet despite the health risks, and despite the regulating bodies’ attempts to eliminate drugs from sport, the use of illegal substances is widely known to be rife. It hardly raises an eyebrow now when some famous athlete fails a dope test.

In 1992, Vicky Rabinowicz interviewed small groups of athletes. She found that Olympic athletes, in general, believed that most successful athletes were using banned substances. 4

Much of the writing on the use of …

An earlier, abridged version of this piece was published as “Good sport, bad sport” in The Age , 3 August 2004 , p A3-1 .

Read the full text or download the PDF:

The Use of Drugs in Sport

Sports have traditionally served as a window into people’s physical prowess and accomplishments. In their quest for perfection, athletes push the limits of human ability, and as a result, drug usage in sports has become a hotly contested issue. This essay aims to investigate the moral issues surrounding drug usage in sports, with a particular emphasis on professional prescriptions. This article will examine different viewpoints and give reasons for and against the use of drugs in sports, stressing the possible advantages and moral problems involved.

The proponents of drug usage in sports contend that certain drugs may enhance athletic performance, training adaptations, and healing. To help athletes perform at their best by reducing pain and inflammation, Lundberg and Howatson (2018) underline the possible advantages of analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications. When taken properly and under medical supervision, these drugs have the potential to improve performance without posing any risks.

Using analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications may assist sportspeople in overcoming the frequent difficulties of pain and inflammation. Athletes may keep training and competing at high levels while minimizing pain and inflammation while avoiding physical discomfort. Athletes may exceed their limits because of this, which can lead to better performance. Furthermore, these medicines may help in the healing process, allowing athletes to swiftly and efficiently recover from injuries or rigorous training sessions.

In addition, having authorized medical personnel prescribe drugs is seen as a reliable method of improving athletes’ performance and health. Natural bodybuilding contests, in which the use of drugs is strictly controlled, are on the rise, as described by Liokaftos (2019). When used properly, drugs can help athletes perform at their best without jeopardizing the sport’s integrity.

Drug prescriptions are written by skilled specialists, ensuring that athletes always get the right direction and oversight. These experts have the knowledge and skills necessary to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of medication usage while also customizing the prescriptions to meet the demands of each athlete. Trained experts may reduce possible health concerns and stop drug misuse by guaranteeing appropriate drug usage. This strategy protects athletes’ health and enables them to realize the advantages of drug usage responsibly and ethically.

Although there are reasons in favor of drug usage in sports, ethical issues also need to be resolved. The likelihood of unfair benefits, which could undermine the concept of fair competition, is one of the primary issues. Athletes having access to those substances might lead to an unfair gain over their opponents because of an uneven playing field created through performance-enhancing tablets. This weakens the values of sportsmanship and fair play since success relies more on pharmaceutical treatments than inherent talent.

In addition, using drugs while competing involves serious health risks and possible long-term repercussions for athletes. Dimeo and Miller (2018) emphasize the risks connected to doping techniques by drawing attention to the possibility of organ damage and cardiovascular problems. It’s possible for athletes to feel tremendous pressure to perform well and win at any cost, which may cause them to engage in unsafe habits that might endanger their health.

It is still possible for adverse outcomes and unforeseen repercussions to occur, even under expert supervision. The long-term effects on athletes’ health are unknown, even though skilled specialists may advise and monitor drug usage. An athlete’s body may endure great stress from drug usage in sports, sometimes resulting in irreparable harm.

Athletes may also neglect their well-being and the spirit of fair play in their quest for victory at any cost by engaging in unethical behavior. The urge to succeed might lead sportspeople to use unsafe doses and extreme methods, endangering their health and reputation. The urge for quick results and a competitive advantage might skew judgment and cause people to neglect possible health risks.

Beyond the specific athletes, societal repercussions are also included in ethical concerns. Accepting drug use in sports could convey an incorrect impression to younger athletes and the broader public. It may strengthen the notion that effort, commitment, and natural skill are more important for sporting success than outside assistance. According to Simon (2018), sports should represent human potential, emphasizing principles like honesty, justice, and personal development. The integrity of the sports environment may be damaged by drug usage, which jeopardizes these essential ideals.

In conclusion, several ethical issues accompany the usage of drugs in sports. Even while there are justifications for the prudent use of medicines to improve performance and speed up recovery, it is impossible to overlook the possibility of unequal benefits, health hazards, and the demise of core athletic ideals. It’s critical to strike a balance between performance optimization and preserving the rules of fair competition. Further study, reliable testing procedures, and instruction on the adverse effects of drug usage are required to guarantee the ethical use of drugs in sports. A level playing field must be maintained so that athletes may compete and make informed decisions. Any decision-making process involving the use of drugs in sports should place protecting the integrity of sport and players’ health first. Ultimately, resolving the ethical ramifications of drug use in sports requires striking a compromise that upholds the ideal of fair play and safeguards players’ health.

Dimeo, P., & Møller, V. (2018).  The anti-doping crisis in sport: Causes, consequences, solutions . Routledge.

Hurst, P., Kavussanu, M., Boardley, I., & Ring, C. (2019). Sports supplement use predicts doping attitudes and likelihood via sport supplement beliefs.  Journal of sports sciences ,  37 (15), 1734-1740.

Liokaftos, D. (2019). Natural bodybuilding: An account of its emergence and development as a competitive sport.  International Review for the Sociology of Sport ,  54 (6), 753-770.

Lundberg, T. R., & Howatson, G. (2018). Analgesic and anti‐inflammatory drugs in sports: Implications for exercise performance and training adaptations.  Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports ,  28 (11), 2252-2262.

Simon, R. L. (2018).  Fair play: The ethics of sport . Routledge.

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Related Essays

Hap: an interdisciplinary approach to health policy, the impact of language and culture on psychological reactance theory: a literature review, social media influence in politics, clinical psychology: definition, history, and its comparison with other mental health professions, name some ethical dilemmas presented by the patient’s situation., benefits of education, popular essay topics.

• American Dream
• Artificial Intelligence
• Black Lives Matter
• Bullying Essay
• Career Goals Essay
• Causes of the Civil War
• Child Abusing
• Civil Rights Movement
• Community Service
• Cultural Identity
• Cyber Bullying
• Death Penalty
• Depression Essay
• Domestic Violence
• Freedom of Speech
• Global Warming
• Gun Control
• Human Trafficking
• I Believe Essay
• Immigration
• Importance of Education
• Israel and Palestine Conflict
• Leadership Essay
• Legalizing Marijuanas
• Mental Health
• National Honor Society
• Police Brutality
• Pollution Essay
• Racism Essay
• Romeo and Juliet
• Same Sex Marriages
• Social Media
• The Great Gatsby
• The Yellow Wallpaper
• Time Management
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Violent Video Games
• What Makes You Unique
• Why I Want to Be a Nurse
• Send us an e-mail

Articles on Drugs in sport

Displaying 1 - 20 of 83 articles.

The AFL’s illicit drug policy is under fire but the bigger issue is that not all sports have one

Daryl Adair , University of Technology Sydney

Chinese swimming scandal: a strong defence by world anti-doping body, but narrative of ‘ cover-up ’ remains

Tracey Holmes , University of Canberra and Catherine Ordway , University of Canberra

Why cocaine is considered performance-enhancing for athletes, and why it matters when the athlete took it

Nial Wheate , University of Sydney and Shoohb Alassadi , University of Sydney

Protection racket or fair medical model? Why the AFL’s illicit drugs policy is a necessary duty of care

Can the cricketers banned for ball tampering ever regain their hero status? It’s happened before

Keith Parry , Western Sydney University and Emma Kavanagh , Bournemouth University

Explainer: the doping case against Russian curler Aleksandr Krushelnitckii

Jack Anderson , The University of Melbourne

Russian Olympic doping saga shows need for a radically different approach

Russia’s humiliating ban from the Winter Olympics is the right move to protect integrity in sport

Doping among amateur athletes like CrossFitters is probably more common than you’d think

Kyle J.D. Mulrooney , University of Kent and Katinka van de Ven , UNSW Sydney

How social media is helping Australian journalists uncover stories hidden in plain sight

Amanda Gearing , Queensland University of Technology

‘The clubs are really angry’: the AFL illicit drug’s policy under a blowtorch

Taking her medicine: Maria Sharapova grand slammed

It may not be game over for Maria Sharapova

David Randles , University of Chester

Sharapova, drugs and the nature bias

Julian Savulescu , University of Oxford

Maria Sharapova’s positive drug test: what is it and what does it mean for her?

James Heathers , University of Sydney

After the Essendon saga, any reform to anti-doping regimes must give athletes a greater say

Jason Mazanov , UNSW Sydney

Their club failed them, but Essendon players can’t escape blame for doping ban

Dennis Hemphill , Victoria University

The pomp in circumstance: CAS rules against Essendon players

Comfortable and satisfied? WADA vs Essendon players at the Court of Arbitration for Sport

‘Independent’ investigators can’t guarantee success in eradicating doping from sport

Stephen Moston , James Cook University

Related Topics

• Anti doping
• Illicit drugs
• Performance enhancing drugs
• Sports corruption

Top contributors

Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney

Honorary Associate, Faculty of Business, School of Management, University of Technology Sydney

Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Business, UNSW-Canberra, UNSW Sydney

Honorary Professor and Research Fellow, Victoria University

Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide

Professor of Sports Law, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne

Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Sydney

Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford

Visiting Fellow, La Trobe University

Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Murdoch University

Lecturer in Law, Deakin University

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling

Senior Lecturer and Associate, Monash Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies, Monash University

Associate Professor, Deakin University

Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health, Victoria University

• X (Twitter)
• Unfollow topic Follow topic

We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.

• Essay Database >
• Essay Examples >
• Essays Topics >
• Essay on Sports

Use Of Drugs In Sports Argumentative Essay Example

Type of paper: Argumentative Essay

Topic: Sports , Drugs , Athletes , Doping , Performance , Olympics , Health , Control

Words: 1800

Published: 02/20/2023

ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS

Introduction

In the contemporary times, the use of drugs by athletes has emerged as a rather acute problem in professional sports. The immediate solution to this problem entails the resolution of a chain of related issues: how to improve the system of drugs controls, which drugs are to be prohibited, what measures shall be made against those athletes who violated anti-drug rules. Whereas many regard the use of drugs in sports as beneficial and helpful for the athlete, others believe the drug usage by sportsmen as extremely detrimental and destructive. As far as my opinion is concerned, performance-enhancing drugs must not be allowed in sports as they impose a harmful effect on the health of the sportsmen in the long run.

This debate can be better understood by having a glimpse over the history. It is believed by many historians that the use of performance-enhancing drugs began with the first Olympic Games held in 776 BC. Later, participants started to take hallucinogenic and analgesic extracts from mushrooms, wine and various herbs. The proponents of PEDs assert that even though these products would be prohibited today, athletes were not banned from using drugs that would help them to win in ancient times. By the time the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896, athletes already had a wide arsenal of pharmacological aid. For instance, sportsmen actively used powerful stimulants as codeine and strychnine (Pampel, 2007, p.160). The 1940s witnessed the start of use of steroids. John Ziegler, a renowned psychologist, created modified synthetic testosterone with increased anabolic characteristics. These steroids were specifically created for the US weightlifting national team. It was the first artificial anabolic steroid – methandrostenolone (trade name Dianabol) (Porterfield, 2007, p.28). Soon, Dianabol became widely available and compulsory for weightlifters, football players, runners and other athletes. Its use increased protein synthesis, and helped muscles to recover faster after heavy workouts. This drug increases the nervous excitement resulting in more powerful muscle contractions. In actual fact, it became the basis for higher speeds and better reaction among athletes who used this drug (Porterfield, 2007, pp.28-29). Sportsmen continued to freely consume enhancing drugs until 1968 after which the International Olympic Committee introduced a procedure for compulsory urine tests to detect doping among athletes (Porterfield, 2007, p.31). At the same time, there is another argument offered by the advocates of drugs’ utilization in sports. They assert that the pharmacology makes life of the athletes much easier by protecting sportsmen`s health to a certain extent. As an athlete is constantly exposed to powerful loads and exhausting exercises, he must not dispense with extra medical substances that help the body to recover. Advocates acknowledging the effectiveness of performance enhancing drugs bicker that the devastating effects of these drugs on health are overstated pointlessly. They believe that it is the sole decision of an athlete whether or not to take drugs or if the drugs are harmful. They also argue that the use of drugs in sports in a contemporary requirement of the evolving sports industry just like superior technologies and techniques that are employed for training. On the other hand, I strongly oppose the use of PEDs due to their harmfulness and potential fatality. In fact, the athletes using them acquire an unmerited advantage due to which it is absolutely justified to consider them cheaters. In my opinion, no athlete associated with any sport has the right of violating the competitions’ spirit. In addition, doping offers an erroneous example to the youngsters. Furthermore, the users of performance-enhancers adopt an unfair means to weaken the significant accomplishments of clean athletes. Since the introduction of urine tests to check doping levels in sports, the athletes have been using various drugs that also have a profound effect on human body. These biologically-active medication substances are used to increase the physical and emotional capabilities of sportsmen in an artificial manner. The list of prohibited drugs in sports is updated on a regular basis. Currently, it contains more or less ten thousand items. The official list of prohibited pharmacological substances, approved by the Medical Commission of the Olympic Committee in 1988, is divided into several main classes (Thieme & Hemmersbach, 2009, p.40): - Doping substances, - Stimulants (central nervous system stimulants, sympatho-mimetic drugs, analeptics), - Narcotic analgesics, - Anabolic steroids and other hormonal anabolic agents, - Doping methods (various manipulations with blood and urine), - Alcohol, - Local anesthetics, and - Corticosteroids Stimulants affect the central and peripheral nervous system. These include amphetamine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, caffeine, strychnine, fenotropil, and mesocarb. Stimulants can cause (Reardon and Creado, 2014, “Drug abuse in athletes”):

• Increase in blood pressure and accelerated heart activity;

• Violation of thermoregulation and heat stroke, followed by collapse of health and death; • The occurrence of dependence on drugs and mental disorders. The most commonly used stimulant is caffeine. Currently, there is no ban on it because it is a part most drinks including coffee and tea. Stimulants are prohibited only during competition (Reardon and Creado, 2014, “Drug abuse in athletes”). Similarly, painkillers, or narcotic analgesics, decrease sensitivity to pain, regardless of its nature and causes. Athletes resort to them to shorten the recovery period after injuries and traumas. Their use is prohibited only during competition. Non-steroidal analgesics are not on the list of prohibited drugs (Reardon and Creado, 2014, “Drug abuse in athletes”). Anabolic-androgenic steroids (anabolic steroids) are among the most popular groups of doping agents. These are synthetic derivatives of the natural male sex hormone – testosterone. On the one hand, anabolic-androgenic steroids promote the absorption of protein, muscle building, development of the male body as well as the development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic effect, or masculinization) (Thieme & Hemmersbach, 2009, p.63). The most fundamental characteristic of anabolic steroids is their ability to enhance the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, as well as structural elements of the body cells and, hence, to activate repair processes in bone and muscle tissues. They stimulate amino acid absorption in the intestine, activate the production of erythropoietin (a substance that stimulates the process of hematopoiesis), and anabolic processes in the bone marrow. Anabolic steroids promote the fixation of calcium in human bones (Thieme & Hemmersbach, 2009, p.64). Whereas all the above-mentioned qualities of drugs are considered beneficial for the sportsmen, it is no secret that the uncontrolled use of anabolic steroids can cause mental disorders, liver failure, and development of tumors in liver and lung, thrombosis sclerosis and other dysfunctions of human body (Pope et al., 2013). Furosemide, chlorthalidone, amiloride, and acetazolamide are several diuretics and are used for three reasons. They help in the quick reduction of body weight. In addition, they help athletes improve their appearance (particularly gymnasts, figure skaters). Intense urination provoked by diuretics helps in getting rid of the other dopes or masks their application due to a significant decrease in urine density (Thieme & Hemmersbach, 2009, p.68). Almost all the doping agents are used as medicines. They are used under medical supervision. The patient is not subjected to physical stress, takes protective drugs and special diet – under such conditions it is not considered to be doping among sportsmen. After discussing drugs that are most widely used by sportsmen, it is necessary to consider issues that arise with the use of forbidden drugs. To prevent the use of such drugs, the world of sports has doping control – an essential part of a comprehensive program of measures aimed at preventing the use of banned doping substances by athletes. To put more simply, doping control procedure involves selection of biological samples for analysis, physico-chemical study of the samples, the verdict, and the imposition of sanctions on violators (Wilson & Derse, 2001, p.31). During the competition, an athlete is notified that he must pass a drug test (according to the rules). The mandatory drug tests are for winners (taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd places) as well as for one of the few athletes who did not win anything. This particular athlete is chosen randomly considering the decision of the commission. These athletes proceed to the special room of doping control where their urine is taken and tested for the presence of banned medical substances. Rejection of an athlete to undergo a doping control or attempt to falsify its results is considered the recognition of the fact that he took performance-enhancing drugs with all the ensuing consequences (Wilson & Derse, 2001, p.32). In recent past, doping control was necessary for only qualified athletes and only during critical international and domestic competitions. But today this control is carried out not only in the competitive period, but also during training sessions. Moreover, doping testing is required for all persons involved in sports, regardless of his or her sports chosen.

The problem of the use of drugs in sports is one of the most complex issues of the modern sport. The use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes is not only detrimental to their own health, but also undermines the ideological foundations of the sport as a phenomenon. Proponents of drug utilization in sports need to understand that this issue also contains a moral aspect. Doping leads to inequality of conditions for competitors and this inequality does not stem from the level of preparedness. Instead, it is determined with the level of development of the pharmaceutical industry, medical science and economic opportunities of their attraction in the sports field. Athletes are regarded as role models for the youngsters and involvement in doping sets a wrong example for the followers. Therefore, it is excessively important to realize and understand the negative impacts of drugs and performance-enhancers as a means to achieve success.

Pampel, F. (2007). Drugs and Sports. Infobase Publishing. Print. Pope, H., Wood, R., Rogol, A., Nyberg, F., Bowers, L., and Shalender Bhasin. (17 Dec. 2013). “Adverse Health Consequences of Performance-Enhancing Drugs: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement”. NCBI. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2016 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4026349/ Porterfield, J. (2007). Doping: Athletes and Drugs. The Rosen Publishing Group. Print. Reardon, C., and Shane Creado. (14 Aug. 2014). “Drug abuse in athletes”. NCBI. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2016 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4140700/ Thieme, D., and Peter Hemmersbach. (2009). Doping in Sports. Springer Science & Business Media. Print. Wilson, W., and Ed Derse. (2001). Doping in Elite Sport: The Politics of Drugs in the Olympic Movement. Human Kinetics. Print.

Cite this page

Share with friends using:

Removal Request

Finished papers: 2524

This paper is created by writer with

If you want your paper to be:

Well-researched, fact-checked, and accurate

Original, fresh, based on current data

Eloquently written and immaculately formatted

275 words = 1 page double-spaced

Get your papers done by pros!

Other Pages

Challenges annotated bibliographies, transferase research papers, perineum research papers, cardholder research papers, fatal accident research papers, dead weight research papers, iridium research papers, paracetamol essays, espada essays, personalization essays, occupying essays, duopoly essays, dispensed essays, bovin essays, amniotic essays, anagen essays, cyclic essays, catagen essays, international development essays, cronkhite essays, essay on the most compelling implications of globalization, acquisition of the fresh market by wal mart stores term paper sample, drug control on marijuana essay examples, sociological imagination essay, iran slows its gathering of uranium article review, example of different understanding of language and communication conventional vs critical research paper, research paper on the united states and the use of water drones, example of important aspects of public human resource management essay, good essay about in lets repeal the second amendment, nursing shortage and nurse turnover approach by the nursing leader and manager term paper example, sample case study on telecommunications, good research paper on euthanasia pros and cons, fall food e commerce business and revenue models essay example, should cell phones be allowed in school essay, example of technology in the civil war essay, research paper on do the approvals vary by state credit score is there a pattern to the rejections, free article review on cellular census explorations in urban data collection, good geography final essay example, sample course work on professional career action plan, analyzing impact of a news on a publicly traded company course term paper examples, free research paper about microeconomics, free leadership strategy course work sample.

Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]

Use your new password to log in

You are not register!

By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Now you can download documents directly to your device!

Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.

or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone

The sample is NOT original!

Short on a deadline?

Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED

No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline

Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments

Anabolic Steroids

Blood-Doping and Erythropoietin (EPO)

Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

Techno-Doping

Gene-Doping

Criminalization

Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs)

Baseball Hall of Fame

1. Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids mimic our bodies natural hormones, specifically male sex hormones, and have legitimate medical uses to treat anemia, asthma, bone pain from osteoporosis, muscle loss, and postmenopausal symptoms, among other ailments. Athletes use the drugs illicitly to achieve endurance increases, fat loss, muscle recovery increases, and muscular size and strength increases. However, the drugs carry serious side effects including but not limited to: abnormal menstrual cycles, aggressiveness, brain tissue damage, depression, hypertension, impotence, liver dysfunction, mania, and testicular shrinkage or atrophy

Proponents of allowing athletes to use anabolic steroids argue that athletes are going to dope regardless of the rules so steroids should be allowed, that allowing steroids could reinvigorate boring or languishing sports, and that athletes using steroids doesn’t lessen, but may increase, the entertainment value.

Opponents of allowing athletes to use anabolic steroids argue that anabolic steroid use is dangerous and can cause serious side effects (including addiction and death), that steroid use is not setting a good example for youth sports, and that sports should encourage clean play for the fairness and spirit of the game.

Read More about This Debate:

Should Anabolic Steroid Use Be Accepted in Sports?

Maryville University, “Understanding and Preventing Steroid Abuse in Sports,” online.maryville.edu, Apr. 14, 2021 ProCon.org, “Banned Performance Enhancing Substances & Methods,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, Apr. 9, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should Anabolic Steroid Use Be Accepted in Sports?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021

2. Blood-Doping and Erythropoietin (EPO)

Blood-doping refers to any method, including using the enhancement drug erythropoietin (EPO), to increase red blood cells. EPO can be used medically to treat anemia, among other applications. Athletes use blood-doping illicitly to increase endurance and reduce fatigue. However, blood-doping has been found to “thicken” blood, increasing the chances of hypertension, blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks.

Proponents of allowing athletes to blood-dope argue that blood-doping is already so prevalent that banning it now would lessen the sport, that the methods are safe for athletes, and that the same effects can be achieved by working out at high altitudes.

Opponents of allowing athletes to blood-dope argue that blood doping is dangerous and can lead to athletes’ deaths, that normalizing blood-doping is asking athletes to risk their lives to play a sport, and sport doesn’t need more athletes that break the rules.

Should Blood Doping and Erythropoietin (EPO) Use Be Accepted in Sports?

ProCon.org, “Banned Performance Enhancing Substances & Methods,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, Apr. 9, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should Doping and Erythropoietin (EPO) Use Be Accepted in Sports?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021 Elizabeth Quinn, “Erythropoietin (EPO) and Blood Doping in Sports,” verywellfit.com, Mar. 26, 2020

3. Stimulants

Stimulants are drugs that speed up parts of the body and brain, directly affect the central nervous system, and increase heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, and body temperature. Medical uses include the treatment of allergies, asthma, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), common colds, headaches, and nasal congestion. Athletes use the drugs illicitly to increase alertness, competitiveness, responsiveness, and weight loss. However, side-effects of the drugs include addiction, aggression, anxiety, hypertension, brain hemorrhage, coma, convulsions, dehydration, heart attacks, insomnia, stroke, tremors, and even death.

Proponents of allowing athletes to use stimulants argue that Air Force pilots, long haul truckers, and others use stimulants without stigma, and that their use does not lessen the integrity of the game.

Opponents of allowing athletes to use stimulants argue stimulants are dangerous, can result in death, and do nothing to promote the health of the athlete, and that the cultural acceptance of stimulant use should change.

Should Stimulants Use Be Accepted in Sports?

Australian Academy of Science “Stimulants in Sport,” science.org.au (accessed on Apr. 19, 2021) ProCon.org, “Banned Performance Enhancing Substances & Methods,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, Apr. 9, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should Stimulants Use Be Accepted in Sports?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021

4. Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

Human growth hormone (HGH) is naturally produced by humans to control how the body grows into adulthood. Medical uses for children include growth hormone deficiency, Prader-Willi syndrome, Turner syndrome, idiopathic short stature, and growth deficiency. Medical uses for adults include hormone deficiency, radiation therapy, or trauma. Off-label uses on HGH are illegal and can result in felony convictions in the United States, but athletes use the drug illicitly to improve muscle mass and performance. However, side effects of HGH include joint pain, muscle weakness, diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome, enlarged heart, and hypertension.

Proponents of allowing athletes to use HGH argue that HGH can be used safely by athletes to repair injuries and that adult athletes should be able to make their own choices about their bodies.

Opponents of allowing athletes to use HGH argue that any doping is cheating and doping allows a culture of coercion, bribery, unsafe medical practice, and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Should Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Use Be Accepted in Sports?

Mayo Clinic, “Performance-Enhancing Drugs: Know the Risks,” mayoclinic.org, Dec. 4, 2020 ProCon.org, “Banned Performance Enhancing Substances & Methods,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, Apr. 9, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Use Be Accepted in Sports?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021 USADA, “Growth Hormone in Sport: What Athletes Should Know,” usada.org, Feb. 13, 2019

5. Techno-Doping

Techno-Doping as a technological augmentation that confers an advantage to the athlete, be it a specially designed shoe, a bike motor, or limb protheses that specifically offers an advantage over other athletes in the same competition. While the issue currently revolves around athletes who are otherwise impaired (including Oscar Pistorius who wears “cheetah” prosthetic legs, future iterations of the debate could involved able-bodied athletes who otherwise augment their bodies and athletes who improve their equipment, such as bicycles.

Proponents of allowing athletes to techo-dope argue that the advancements could push the sports and athletes in interesting ways, and that audiences not only don’t oppose new technology, but will be excited to see sports and athletes play a reinvigorated game.

Opponents of allowing athletes to techno-dope argue that doping is doping and all doping is unfair, that the advancements disadvantage athletes who refuse to dope, and that tech moves sport too far away from the accomplishments of the human body.

Should Techno-Doping Be Accepted in Sports?

ProCon.org, “Should Techno-Doping Be Accepted in Sports?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021

6. Gene-Doping

Gene-doping is a still-experimental manipulation of cells or genes to improve athletic performance. Gene therapy came about in the 1990s and entered popular culture via “Schwarzenegger mice,” which had been treated for muscle wasting conditions and ended up with twice the normal amount of muscle after gene manipulation. While currently more science fiction than reality, WADA has already banned the practice in athletes. The benefits and drawbacks medically are still hypothetical.

Proponents of allowing athletes to gene-dope argue that the enhancements could breathe new life into boring sports, could allow more categories of participation, and could be finely tuned to help athletes with specific issues such as muscle twitches.

Opponents of allowing athletes to gene-dope argue that doping is doping and all doping is unfair, and that gene-doping is basically science fiction that has numerous and serious ethical concerns such as parents altering fetuses in vitro to produce super athletes.

Should Gene-Doping Be Accepted in Sports?

Nick Busca, “Should Athletes Be Allowed to Enhance Their Genes?,” onezero.medium.com, Apr. 29, 2019 ProCon.org, “Banned Performance Enhancing Substances & Methods,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, Apr. 9, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should Gene-Doping Be Accepted in Sports?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021

7. Marijuana

Marijuana is frequently banned by sports organizations, yet the drug’s status as performance-enhancing is questioned. Further complicating the issue is that marijuana, as a medical or recreational drug is legal in most US states. Athletes take the drug illicitly to reduce anxiety, pain, and reliance on opioids. Side effects include appetite increase, balance and coordination impairment, concentration loss, drowsiness, motivation loss, panic attacks, and weight gain. If smoked (rather than consumed via edible), side effects can include bronchitis and cancer of the lung, throat, mouth, and tongue.

Proponents of allowing athletes to consume marijuana argue that the benefits for athletes are well-documented, that the drug is better than opioids, and that the ban is a continuation of an unjust drug war.

Opponents of allowing athletes to consume marijuana argue that all athletes should not play under the influence of any drug, that marijuana is not legal everywhere the players play, and the benefits are questionable.

Should Marijuana Use Be Accepted in Sports? Is Marijuana a Performance-Enhancing Drug?

ProCon.org, “Banned Performance Enhancing Substances & Methods,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, Apr. 9, 2021 ProCon.org, “Legal Recreational Marijuana States and DC,” marijuana.procon.org, Apr. 12, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should Marijuana Use Be Accepted in Sports?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021

8. Criminalization

Doping was partially criminalized in the United States by the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019. The Act penalizes participants in international sports (in which at least one American athlete and three athletes from other countries are participants) who engage in a doping scheme. The Act does not penalize athletes who have been caught doping. The Act also does not apply to American sports such as the NFL or NBA.

Proponents of criminalizing doping argue that doping is generally linked to other crimes such as money laundering and corruption, and clean athletes are being literally robbed of endorsement deals and other financial gains when doped athletes win.

Opponents of criminalizing doping argue that the governing bodies of sports (such as WADA and USADA) should be all the enforcement needed for doping, and criminalization could cause major political and diplomatic rifts between countries.

Should Doping Be Criminalized?

ProCon.org, “Should Doping Be Criminalized?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021 US Congress, “H.R.835 – Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019,” congress.gov, Mar. 11, 2020

9. Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs)

A therapeutic use exemption (TUE) is a waiver for an athlete to use a banned drug when that drug is medically necessary, such an athlete with ADHD taking Ritalin, which is a banned stimulant.

Proponents of therapeutic use exemptions argue that athletes need medical attention just like everyone else and the TUE is approved by the governing body, lessening the risk of illegitimate TUEs.

Opponents of therapeutic use exemptions argue that the athletes with TUEs are abusing the system and only taking the drugs to gain an advantage, and that clean play must be the same clean play for everyone.

Should Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE) Be Allowed for Injured or Ill Athletes?

ProCon.org, “Should Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE) Be Allowed for Injured or Ill Athletes?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021 USADA, “Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs),” usada.org, Apr. 26, 2021

10. Baseball Hall of Fame

As of May 12, 2021, no baseball player who has been publicly accused of using PEDs has been allowed entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The debate over whether to allow such players into the Hall of Fame has raged since the “Steroid Era” of baseball, from the late 1980s through the late 2000s, when a number of players were caught and accused of using steroids.

Proponents of allowing players accused of steroid use into the hall of fame argue that it’s impossible to determine who used and who did not use steroids, that even with steroid use the players being excluded are some of the greatest to ever play the game, and the morality argument is hollow when known abusers and other law-breakers are in the hall of fame.

Opponents of allowing players accused of steroid use into the hall of fame argue that cheaters should not be honored with the sport’s highest award available, the accused players’ statistics are overblown and dishonor the clean players’ performances, and a standard should be set for clean play not only for current players but for generations of baseball players to come.

Should Baseball Players Who Have Used Banned Substances Be Voted into the Hall of Fame?

ProCon.org, “Should Baseball Players Who Have Used Banned Substances Be Voted into the Hall of Fame?,” sportsanddrugs.procon.org, May 10, 2021

People who view this page may also like:

• Is Golf a Sport?
• Hosting the Olympic Games – Top 3 Pros and Cons
• Doping Cases at the Olympics

ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA

Natalie Leppard Managing Editor [email protected]

© 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved

• Drug Use in Sports Pros & Cons
• History of Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Technologies in Sports
• Top Pro & Con Quotes
• Historical Timeline
• Did You Know?
• Banned Performance Enhancing Substances & Methods

Cite This Page

• Artificial Intelligence
• Private Prisons
• Space Colonization
• Social Media
• Death Penalty
• School Uniforms
• Video Games
• Animal Testing
• Gun Control
• Banned Books
• Teachers’ Corner

ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order):

[Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries.]

[Editor’s Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries.]

• No category

Drugs In Sports Essay

Related documents.

Add this document to collection(s)

You can add this document to your study collection(s)

Add this document to saved

You can add this document to your saved list

Suggest us how to improve StudyLib

(For complaints, use another form )

Input it if you want to receive answer

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Doping — The Rise of Using Performance Enhancing Drugs in Today’s Sports

The Rise of Using Performance Enhancing Drugs in Today's Sports

• Categories: Dietary Supplements Doping Steroids in Sports

About this sample

Words: 1445 |

Published: May 24, 2022

Words: 1445 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr Jacklynne

Verified writer

• Expert in: Life

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

4 pages / 2125 words

2 pages / 1014 words

6 pages / 3253 words

2 pages / 774 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Doping

Doping has been the most controversial topic during sports; doping has created and destroyed many athletes careers. Notorious athletes such as Lance Armstrong, Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and many more. These [...]

Recently, doping in sports has become a huge problem. Doping is being used in sports in order to cheat the system and gain an unfair advantage against other competitors. Various careers were ruined in multiple sports as well as [...]

Steroids has been one of the main performance enhancing drugs that everyone has heard of. However, there are many, many growth hormones and performance enhancing drugs that are being introduced every year to try and stay one [...]

Pharmaceutical enhancement in sport is a widely discussed topic with arguments both for and against. Pharmaceutical enhancement is a specific form of enhancement in sport and what I will narrow my focus down to due to a [...]

I look back at tennis as a very memorable and important part of my life. Being on a team is something that everyone should experience at least once; you will not get far in life if you cannot manage to work on a team. Working [...]

Example of a short literature review in sports medicine is available here. An example of a student literature review in psychology and lecturer's comments is here. A literature review in a proposal to investigate how [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Doping is defined as the infringement of the World Anti Doping Agency regulations. 1 It is said that most sportsmen and women have been using steroids and even stars like former American sprinter Marion Jones pleaded guilty of using these drugs. Some stars who do not use steroids claim that those who use them break the rules in the sporting industry.

They create unfair advantage. These athletes are putting their lives and health at risk and they are encouraging youngsters to do the same in a bid to be stars. It would be wrong to think that it is good to let players use steroids. This does not portray a sensible message to the American youth who look up to these sports figures as their role models or icons.

Steroids are harmful to the health as they cause bodily harm; probably not early enough but during the late stages of life, one tends to feel the effects of these drugs. An example is Arnold Schwarzenegger who had a heart operation at his later age and this was as an effect of the steroids he took when he was in the sporting industry as a professional body builder. Steroids are also said to be a major cause of a wide range of emotions; the most common being depression which has led to many users of these steroids committing suicide.

Steroids when used correctly are not bad or harmful to the health. The only problem is that they are highly addictive. Thinking that one can use these drugs to enhance performance is in itself a shallow decision and lack of self-discipline.

Clearly, this shows that the person does not believe in himself or herself. All forms of sports need to be regulated and it is the respective governing bodies’ responsibility to decide what should be regulated and the substances that should be used as well as those that should not be used at all in the sporting fraternity.

Some people argue that performance enhancement drugs and steroids will forever be around because of the demand there is for the drugs by the users who are already addicted. By banning these performance enhancement drugs, criminal lines are opened up and thus regulating them becomes even more difficult.

Some experts argue that it is not wise to ban them as this only aggravates the situation. They say that what needs to be done is coming up with rules and regulations that show which drugs can be used in the sporting industry and those that cannot be used. This is because ambiguous and complex leagues govern their sports and create an organizational decisional making structure 2 . Using steroids is in itself a moral dilemma.

We are also asked as sports lovers, by the sporting management, to be realistic in what we expect of our athletes because the human body can do just as much. Steroids are also used in suppressing some diseases and thus banning them or declaring them illegal will just cause more harm to those who use them out of good will.

Some diseases like asthma are suppressed using some forms of steroid drugs. Prohibiting steroids and performance enhancing drugs really does not necessarily work; they make the activity in question more dangerous by pushing this habit underground, creating room for formation of cartels.

A drug like valium is normally prescribed to athletes so that they can get some sleep. It was used awhile back as a drug to calm nerves before a shooting sport. The drive to win in sports is competitively fierce.

This has increased the use of performance enhancing drugs due to the pressure that athletes feel in terms of accomplishing personal goals, winning their countries medals and making it to the first teams in a country or sports club. This usage of these drugs comes with its high prices because the health of the user is greatly affected. The human growth hormones are also affected as one may end up having uneven muscle growth.

The reason most sportsmen and women take these performance enhancement drugs is that they make the muscles bigger. These drugs are also preferred by athletes due to their ability to enhance fast recovery by minimizing chances of damage on muscles. This enables athletes endure hard training without wearing out. Hair analysis is used mostly in the doping detection test in a bid to make sure that both sportsmen and women stay clean and free of any stimulating substances 3 .

At this rate, it would be safe to conclude that taking these performance enhancement drugs is clearly not the way to go despite the minimal advantages that they posses. The disadvantages that they tag along clearly outweigh the advantages and thus using the drugs is not worth the risk.

Upon being discovered that one is using these performance enhancing drugs in the professional sporting industry, athletes risk being suspended by the authorized governing body. They also stand a chance of being prosecuted in a court of law and losing credit to what they had achieved, whether they achieved on a clean record or not.

Bibliography

Conrad, Mark. The business of sports: A primer for journalists. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006.

Wilson, Wayne, and Derse Edward (eds). Doping in elite sport: The politics of drugs in the Olympic movement . Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Inc., 2001.

Verner, Moller. The ethics of doping and anti-doping: redeeming the soul of sport? York, NY: Routledge Conrad Publishers, 2010.

1 Moller Verner. The ethics of doping and anti-doping: redeeming the soul of sport? (York, NY: Routledge Publishers, 2010), 12.

2 Mark Conrad. The business of sports: A primer for journalists. (New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006), 12

3 Wayne Wilson, Derse Edward (eds). Doping in elite sport: The politics of drugs in the Olympic movement . (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Inc, 2001), 19

• Steroids in Baseball
• 2011 NBA Lockout: Public Relations Failure
• Geert Leinders's Lifetime Ban for Doping Violations
• Why Athletes Are Not Good Role Models
• Sociological Imagination in Drugs in Sport Debates
• Ethical Issues With Performance Enhancing Drugs in Professional Sports
• Drugs in sports
• Sport Drugs and Its Ethic and Morality Impacts
• Sports and Steroids: Society’s Acceptance or Rejection of Steroids in Sports
• Violence in Sports: When Life Is Dangerously Threatened
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, March 27). Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sports/

"Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports." IvyPanda , 27 Mar. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sports/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports'. 27 March.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports." March 27, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sports/.

1. IvyPanda . "Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports." March 27, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sports/.

IvyPanda . "Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports." March 27, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sports/.

The Ethical Use Of Performance Enhancing Drugs In Sports

By increasing these factors, it allows athletes to recover quicker, train harder, and improve their stamina. The long term effects of some performance enhancing drugs is that they allow athletes to have a longer career because it is helping protect their bodies. For all of these reasons, performance enhancing drugs are illegal in the world of sports to keep the game fair. The first act against the use of drugs in sports was in 1976 when the International Olympic Committee banned the use of steroids (Cable News Network [CNN], 2016).

He won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 and he won an Olympic bronze metal in 2000. To many he was considered one of the greatest of his time, but his reputation was shaken when the news broke that he had used performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. It was rumored that Armstrong had used performance enhancing drugs during his career but it was not until 2012 that an investigation was conducted which resulted in him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life (Cable News Network [CNN], 2016).

Armstrong was also required to return the Olympic bronze metal he won in 2000 (Wilson, 2013). In 2013, he admitted to using multiple types of performance enhancing drugs including erythropoietin, corticosteroids, and testosterone (Wilson, 2013). Erythropoietin is a drug that is used to increase red blood cell count in the body which leads to increased endurance and better recovery (Wilson, 2013). Corticosteroids are taken to increase strength and reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain (Wilson, 2013).

To export a reference to this essay please select a referencing style below:

Related essays:

Small amounts of drugs are now illegal again in Oregon

In 2021, Oregon stopped making it a crime to possess small amounts of drugs meant for personal use. It was called Measure 110 , and the hope was that instead of getting arrested, people using drugs would get a $100 ticket or a health assessment that could lead to counseling.

But with the rise in fentanyl use and the pandemic, overdose deaths increased in the state, the system was overwhelmed and the resources for treatment were sorely lacking. On the street, people saw open drug use.

As of this month drugs in Oregon are now recriminalized, but there's a new emphasis on "deflection." It's an ultimatum for people caught with personal-use amounts of drugs: Get arrested or get matched with services, like detox.

"This work is part of our larger strategy to improve community health, well-being, and safety," said Jessica Vega Pederson, Multnomah County chair, during a Zoom call for reporters to explain how deflection works in Oregon's most populous county.

"We've already learned so much about this. We've learned that there are indeed community members who are eligible for deflection who otherwise would be arrested under the new law," she said.

Each county in the state has the option of setting up a system of deflection.

"The idea is to deflect those individuals before they get into the criminal justice system, connect them with the services that they need. And hopefully that would prevent them from having any more criminal justice system involvement in the future," said Ken Sanchagrin, executive director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission.

RELATED STORY | New study shows the rising prevalence of fentanyl pills

The commission gives out grants for counties to set up their own deflection program. From a state pot of money of about $20 million, counties choose how to carry out this new idea, paired with the new recriminalization laws.

"The legislature wrote the statutory portions of the grant program very, very broadly, and that was with an eye toward letting locals determine what their needs were and also to hopefully spur some innovation," said Sanchagrin.

The program is inspired by LEAD , or law enforcement assisted diversion — a model that's been around since 2011. It's already being used in dozens of cities and towns in 23 states.

Oregon's northern neighbor Washington was a source of inspiration for its deflection program. Seattle has had its own LEAD initiative for years and in 2021, Washington enacted one statewide that officials say has helped to reduce red tape to help people quickly.

" Having it not be tied to other funding streams, which might require certain steps to be taken prior to engaging with somebody, we're able to engage with somebody right away," said Tony Walton, a section manager for Washington's Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery.

However, the idea is so new in Oregon that the current system does not have all the pieces in place to fit the need — a problem officials in Multnomah County are well aware of.

For example, at the very start of the rollout, some people in Multnomah County who qualified for deflection couldn't start because there wasn't the personnel or space available.

"We know that the entire state is facing a shortage of treatment beds. The entire state is facing a shortage of public defenders, but we still have to respond to the law change," said Vega Pederson.

David Hertzberg is a professor who specializes in the history of drugs and drug policies. He says the idea of centering on the needs of drug users is a novel one in a country that has waged a "war on drugs" for decades.

"Whether that can last or not, it's actually hard to say because it's so new, and I find it pretty inspiring," said Hertzberg.

Hertzberg believes for this to be successful, it needs a buy-in from everyone involved, from those experiencing addiction, to police, to community members, which means giving it grace as it works out its problems.

"There is no solution that is perfect, and that we're really looking for the least-worst outcome. And one of the things that happens here is that you have a reformist policy come into play and things still aren't perfect. And then that becomes a reason to snap back," he said.

RELATED STORY | There's a new animal sedative being linked to overdoses across the country, officials say

Sign up for the South Florida Sports Headlines Newsletter and receive up to date information.

Now signed up to receive the south florida sports headlines newsletter..

At WPTV, It Starts with Listening

Health | New treatment could be “game-changing tool” in…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Digital Replica Edition

• Latest Headlines
• Environment
• Transportation
• News Obituaries

Health | New treatment could be “game-changing tool” in fight against Alzheimer’s, CSU research finds

Combination of drugs targets two brain proteins critical in neuroinflammation involved in brain aging and alzheimer’s.

The combination of drugs targets two brain proteins critical in neuroinflammation, which is involved in brain aging and Alzheimer’s, according to a study published in July in the Journal of Neuroinflammation featuring CSU researchers.

Results from the study show this medicine could become “a game-changing tool” against Alzheimer’s, researchers said.

“There are no effective treatments right now,” said Devin Wahl, a CSU postdoctoral fellow, who co-authored the study. “We have treatments that can manage symptoms, but we don’t have any that can stop the disease. We want to try to identify novel treatments that may be effective to slow, or even reduce, the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.”

This cocktail of medicines could also improve memory in aging adults, the study found, and, potentially, reverse cognitive decline.

The research came out of a partnership between CSU faculty member Tom LaRocca’s Healthspan Biology Lab and Colorado-based biotech company Sachi Bio.

“This is a novel and effective treatment to improve memory in mice,” said Prashant Nagpal, who co-founded Sachi Bio with his wife, Anushree Chatterjee. “A very important finding that we saw in this study is that you can reverse some cognitive decline. We are hoping to take this to human clinical trials next year.”

The mice behavioral tests measured memory and grip strength because grip strength and muscle function are closely linked to brain function, researchers said.

“If we can target what comes before Alzheimer’s disease, which is what this drug is meant to do, that will give people more treatment options, especially earlier in life,” Wahl said.

By next year or 2026, Nagpal hopes there will be a more conclusive data set including human trials.

“We’ve all been touched by seeing older parents and family members just being a shadow of themselves,” Nagpal said. “It’s just heartbreaking. It may seem like just a glimmer of hope, but can you latch onto it and just, you know, go for it?”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get health news sent straight to your inbox.

• Report an Error
• Submit a News Tip

More in Health

WHO and Africa CDC launch a response plan to the mpox outbreak

Environment | Colorado gets $225,000 from CDC to measure lead, PFA exposure

Environment | Adams 14 district, parents at Dupont Elementary plan to fight gasoline storage expansion near school

Health | Coloradans using food assistance to buy produce can receive bonus matching funds

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Newsletters
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides
• Labor Day sales

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Balance transfer cards
• Cash back cards
• Rewards cards
• Travel cards
• Online checking
• High-yield savings
• Money market
• Home equity loan
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Options pit
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

Forced to choose how to die, South Carolina inmate lets lawyer pick lethal injection

South carolina execution.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A condemned inmate forced to choose how he'll be put to death ended weeks of suspense by leaving the decision to his lawyer, who reluctantly told South Carolina prison officials on Friday to prepare for a lethal injection, rather than the electric chair or a firing squad .

Freddie Owens said in court papers that deciding the execution method would be taking an active role in his own death, and his Muslim faith teaches him that suicide is a sin.

Attorney Emily Paavola sent in the form to prison officials and released a statement saying she is still unsure prison officials have released enough information about the drug to assure it will kill him without causing unbearable pain or agony that could be cruel and unusual punishment.

“I have known Mr. Owens for 15 years. Under the circumstances, and in light of the information currently available to me, I made the best decision I felt I could make on his behalf. I sincerely hope that the South Carolina Department of Corrections’ assurances will hold true,” she wrote.

If his lawyer didn't make a decision, state law would have sent Owens to the electric chair . Owens had said he doesn’t want to die like that.

Owens' death is now set for Sept. 20, as South Carolina uses a new lethal injection procedure after a 13-year pause in executions.

South Carolina's executions have been postponed since 2011 over struggles to get the lethal injection drug. The death chamber was reopened after lawmakers voted last year to keep the supplier of the sedative pentobarbital secret and the state Supreme Court ruled that the electric chair and firing squad also were legal execution methods.

The state has used three drugs for executions in the past, but moved to one dose of pentobarbital — similar to the federal government's execution method — to make obtaining it easier.

Owens and five other inmates have exhausted their appeals and the justices have have set a schedule of possible execution dates every fifth Friday well into 2025.

Attorneys for Owens, 46, have filed several legal motions since his execution date was set two weeks ago, but so far there have been no delays.

Still undecided by the state Supreme Court is a request by Owens to postpone his death so his lawyers can argue his co-defendant lied about having a deal to avoid the death penalty or a life sentence in exchange for testifying that Owens pulled the trigger to kill clerk Irene Graves after she struggled to open the safe in a store they were robbing in 1997.

The store's video didn't clearly show who killed Graves and scientific evidence wasn't presented at trial. Prosecutors said the co-defendant's testimony was bolstered by Owens confessing the killing to his mother, girlfriend and investigators.

State attorneys said that issue, and whether a juror could have been biased against Owens after seeing a bulge and correctly assuming it was a stun belt under Owens' clothes, has been dealt with in a half-dozen appeals and two additional sentencing hearings that also ended with a recommendation of death after other judges overturned his initial punishment.

“Owens has had ample opportunity to litigate claims regarding his conviction and sentence. He is due no more," the South Carolina Attorney General's Office wrote in a court filing.

Owens' lawyers are also asking his death sentence be set aside at least temporarily because he was 19 when the clerk was killed and scans of his brain show it wasn't fully developed. They also said a jury was never asked to determine if Owens alone killed Graves and said his sentence is too harsh because less than 1% of murder convictions during an armed robbery lead to death sentences.

Owens also tried to delay his execution by saying the state didn't release enough information about the drug.

When they upheld the new shield law, the state Supreme Court said prison officials had to give a sworn statement that the pentobarbital to be used under the state's new lethal injection procedure is stable, pure and — based on similar methods in other jurisdictions — potent enough to kill.

Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said technicians at the State Law Enforcement Division laboratory tested two vials of the sedative and assured him the drugs fit the criteria. He released no other details, under the guidelines of the shield law ,

Owens' lawyers wanted more, like the full report from the lab, the expiration date of the likely compounded drug and how it would be stored. They included in their court papers a photo of a syringe of a execution drug from 2015 in Georgia that crystalized because it was stored too cold.

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that prison officials had released enough information, siding with their lawyers who said any additional information could be “puzzle pieces” that allow death penalty opponents to determine who provided the drug and pressure them into not selling it to the prison system again.

No matter what happens in court, Owens has one more avenue to try to save his life. In South Carolina, the governor has the lone ability to grant clemency and reduce a death sentence to life in prison.

However no governor has done that in the state’s 43 executions since the death penalty was restarted in the U.S. in 1976.

Gov. Henry McMaster has said he will follow longtime tradition and not announce his decision until prison officials make a call from the death chamber minutes before the execution.

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election results
• Google trends
• AP & Elections
• U.S. Open Tennis
• Paralympic Games
• College football
• Auto Racing
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Mexican drug cartel leader will be transferred from Texas to New York

FILE - This undated image provided by the U.S. Department of State shows Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. (U.S. Department of State via AP)

• Copy Link copied

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Friday said that a powerful Mexican drug cartel leader who was arrested over the summer in the U.S. can be transferred from Texas to New York to face charges there.

The order from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso came after the attorneys for Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada , co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, said a day earlier that they no longer opposed the transfer that had been being requested by federal prosecutors.

Zambada, 76, was arrested in July along with Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of notorious drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán,” after they landed in a private plane at an airport near El Paso. They are charged in the U.S. with various drug crimes and remain jailed.

Zambada, who faces charges in multiple locales, has appeared in U.S. federal court in El Paso , where he pleaded not guilty to various drug trafficking charges.

Cardone said in her order that he would complete the proceedings in New York before any further proceedings were held in Texas.

The elder Guzmán was convicted in 2019 of drug and conspiracy charges in New York and sentenced to life in prison.

In New York, Zambada is charged with running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder conspiracy, drug offenses and other crimes.

Zambada has said he ended up in the U.S. after he was kidnapped in his home country en route to what he thought was a meeting with a Mexican official.

Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of notorious drug kingpin “El Chapo,” pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges Tuesday, days after an astonishing capture in the U.S.

Guzmán López has appeared in federal court in Chicago, where he has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges.