Why Are Steroids Illegal? Why Do We Care About PEDs in Sports?

[MrPrena]

There are other forms of PEDs besides steroids. Epeotin Alpha or darbepoetin alfa can be used for PED.
That is what people initially thought Lance was on 6-7 years ago.

Physicians or Anti-doping agency employees can correct me if I am wrong, but I guess some athlete can be on those anemia medications or Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs when they are not competing?

[Jer]

Lets make all pro sports live or die with lotsa blood just like the fuckin Roman Empire did with gladiators just before it collapsed like this country is heading.

Uhmm... no.

I don't think anything one can do to one's self should be illegal. I do think in professional, competitive sports it equates to cheating, as it creates a disadvantage for those who choose not to use PEDs. Cheating of any kind should not be allowed in professional sports, but if you aren't getting paid for it, knock yourself out.

So is someone who naturally has a MUCH higher testosterone level than the average cheating? Why not? They have a CLEAR advantage over their fellow competitors. What about those who manage to do well enough to make the pros with a much lower testosterone level than average? Wouldn't it be fair if theirs could be elevated to what a normal man has, whatever that is? If a high/low threshold were created wouldn't it be fair for those who didn't meet the low to increase their levels to remain on par with where everyone else is at? I mean, we ARE talking about fair... right? Now, what if I told you that these evil drugs helped IMMENSELY in the time down from injury and recovering from a workout/game/performance that would make the next game less dangerous for competitors? This isn't a fairy tail.. it's what steroids can do.

We already know it can aid in healing and recovery but what if (and I know this is a stretch here, but go with me) it's found that steroids can be used to lessen the severity of a concussion? What if it can make repeat occurrences of concussions less severe? What if it's found that steroids can lessen the long-term effects of concussions (if you subscribe to this w/o medical proof) suffered by athletes? Now, I'm not saying this is indeed the case but w/o the proper research how can we know? Just as professional sports has paved the way for advancing procedures for previous injuries it will do the same for the study of concussions and closed head injuries. Why? Because that's where the money is in this economy. Like it or not. Protecting the shield (NFL) from injury related lawsuits and helping to get them back on the field as soon as safely possible. There have been some amazing advancements in medicine due to professional sports and I want this kind of motivation applied to a medicine that possesses such potential. If we continue to make it an illegal taboo then nobody is going to touch it other than to waste money and man hours to prove someone is taking it.

There are other forms of PEDs besides steroids. Epeotin Alpha or darbepoetin alfa can be used for PED.
That is what people initially thought Lance was on 6-7 years ago.

Physicians or Anti-doping agency employees can correct me if I am wrong, but I guess some athlete can be on those anemia medications or Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs when they are not competing?

Exactly. People want to focus on steroids of various types and recently HGH was the media buzzword but the amount of PEDs out there are more numerous than the average citizen can even contemplate. There are just so many different ways to chemically produce it and other related hormones that it's endless. People are testing positive for stupid things that aren't even PEDs because the tests are so crappy but all they have and meanwhile most users will never be caught. Ignorant people scream for 'justice' and knee-jerk fixes are introduced while the real problem remains untouched because that's just too difficult but we'll spend enough and do enough so that the average person feels better about the topic. Sounds familiar? *cough*TSA*cough*

Is caffeine or energy drinks a PED? It gives you energy and alertness and some people can't consume them due to religion or chose not to consume them due to health reasons so wouldn't someone who does gain an unfair advantage? Isn't Gatorade a PED? What about Neosporin? Silly I know but what about Cortisone shots? Those are steroids after all and are VERY widely used to treat inflammation and pain. Those aren't considering PEDs but they not only are in the same family of medicine they're injected, have potential side effects which are increased if abused and some people choose not to use them for these reasons. Why are these legal? There was a time when they were considered quite dangerous but thanks to professional sports we now know better and they're used properly because of the information gained from professional sports on a daily basis.

The point is if we wasted time banning ALL PEDs from professional sports athletes would be eating bread and drinking water just to make it fair for everyone. All this aside don't we live in the freest society in the world? Shouldn't WE be the ones who decide what we choose to consume and at what rate?

[Teufelhund]

You make some decent points, but I don't think the negative side effects of certain PEDs like steroids are worth the potential they may hold for reduction of injury or improving recovery times. This is my own, non-medical opinion though, so just thinking out loud for the sake of discussion.

I think healthy competition is about a combination of genetics, training, and commitment; the point being they are all naturally occurring. If one guy can inject a drug into himself that replaces the months of cardio/weight-lifting/whatever that his competitor has been subjecting himself to through sheer dedication, the competition becomes more about who can make/take a better drug, and less about who is the better athlete.

[hollohas]

I think congress should spend a few more years questioning Roger. That is a good use of time and tax payer money.

The leagues should make the rules on drug use, not the government.

[Jer]

You make some decent points, but I don't think the negative side effects of certain PEDs like steroids are worth the potential they may hold for reduction of injury or improving recovery times. This is my own, non-medical opinion though, so just thinking out loud for the sake of discussion.

That was one of my points though. What if research perfected (or at least got a lot closer) the dosage to where you could just bump someone's levels slightly to the point where the side-effects were pretty much non-existent? These horrible side-effects you often read about are from some juice-head who knows just enough about the subject to be dangerous to himself. Like most things the media reports on if done so in moderation most things aren't as deadly as they would have you believe. I think a lot of your stance is coming from misinformation. You would be amazed by how many 'regular' people use steroids and most of them you wouldn't be able to pick them out at the gym since they do so in moderation and are just a better and more healthy version of themselves.

I think healthy competition is about a combination of genetics, training, and commitment; the point being they are all naturally occurring. If one guy can inject a drug into himself that replaces the months of cardio/weight-lifting/whatever that his competitor has been subjecting himself to through sheer dedication, the competition becomes more about who can make/take a better drug, and less about who is the better athlete.

So let's examine a scenario where one guy's body naturally produces substantially more testosterone than the average man. Another guy's body naturally produces less than the average man who takes a small dosage of synthetic testosterone that brings him up to where an average man is. One person has substantially less testosterone even though it's synthetic yet HE is the cheater. I don't understand this. You go on to make it sound like someone who uses synthetic testosterone doesn't work hard. If anything, those who use testosterone do so so that they can work even HARDER than someone who doesn't. That's another thing most people don't understand. They think that you juice up and you sit on the couch and before you know it your huge, ripped and setting professional sports records. That's hardly the case.

I think congress should spend a few more years questioning Roger. That is a good use of time and tax payer money.

That's exactly what we need. So sick of that whole fiasco and not sure what we have to show for the investment if time and money.

The leagues should make the rules on drug use, not the government.

That way our government wouldn't have to make any decisions that could upset the voters.

[Irving]

Maybe give them a way to earn their freedom for the very select few that win. Something along the lines of the movie 'death race'.

Giving someone freedom in exchange for killing as many people as possible sounds like a super idea!

[Irving]

Jer, you make a lot of good points, but when it comes to sports, there would have to be an "open" class of each sport that allowed steroid use. Just the same a shooting competitions. If you shoot a stock pistol, and want to compete against other guys with stock pistols, you should have a stock pistol class available in which to do so. If you are such a badass with your stock pistol (or extra testosterone) that you want to voluntarily move up to the Open, or Outlaw class, then go right ahead. Guys with modified pistols should not be allowed to move down a class though.

[Jer]

Jer, you make a lot of good points, but when it comes to sports, there would have to be an "open" class of each sport that allowed steroid use. Just the same a shooting competitions. If you shoot a stock pistol, and want to compete against other guys with stock pistols, you should have a stock pistol class available in which to do so. If you are such a badass with your stock pistol (or extra testosterone) that you want to voluntarily move up to the Open, or Outlaw class, then go right ahead. Guys with modified pistols should not be allowed to move down a class though.

Anytime you create different classes there is incentive to cheat. Unlike shooting sports it's not so easy to spot a cheater. Pretty easy to spot someone running an open class Saiga 12 in a lower class. Not so easy to spot someone using an exotic boutique PED in different 'class' sports. In fact, various classes would make it even more difficult to try to track.

Here's another thing to think about: When you make something illegal you create a black market and criminals. Prices of product go up and quality of product is completely unknown for the most part. As I've said with other drugs, people who want to do something will find a way. By attempting to make them illegal all you're doing is giving drug dealers and criminals more work and taking up space in jail cells that should be reserved for people who actually commit crimes.