DOPING SHOULD BE LEGALIZED .

The use of performance-enhancing drugs, or doping, is hardly news. It has certainly

occurred since the first Olympic Games took place in 776 B.C. Ancient Olympic
champions used hallucinogens and stimulants, as well as herb mixtures in order to
improve their fights and stave off fatigue and injuries during their game battles. But
unlike before when the use of drugs was perfectly acceptable, it has now been banned in
all sports competitions. The reasons for the ban are mainly due to the alleged adverse
health effects of the use of them and the belief that it creates inequality and unfair
opportunities for players.
Yet, despite being banned in sports, the use of illegal substances is still widespread and
growing worldwide. Today, it is not only common among professional athletes, like Lance
Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez, but also seen to be rife in schools and gyms across the
U.S. Many people, particularly who are in the sports field, are now relying on
performances-enhancing drugs to better their performance, improve their bodies, and
keep their careers going. Advocates of PEDs argue that rather than banning, we should
regulate the use of them. And here are the reasons why:
If PEDS Are Regulated, They Will Be Safer.

(Performance enhancing drugs should be legalized because they can be safely regulated )

One of the very reasons why performance-enhancing drugs, such as steroids,

stimulants, erythropoietin, and creatine, are banned in sports is because they are
believed to cause long-term health effects. While its true that these drugs have
potential side effects, they may only occur if taken improperly or excessively. Most
athletes, who take PEDs, suffer adverse side effects because they use them with
little knowledge and guide from their doctors. Remember that just like other drugs,
there is a correct dosage of how much PEDs should be taken by every individual. In
the book entitled, Performance-Enhancing Drugs, the Council for Responsible
Nutrition (CRN) states that PEDs, such as creatine and ephedra, are safe when
used within the recommended dosage.

Performance-enhancing drugs have tremendous benefits thats why they are created and made
available in the market. However, the current ban for using these substances prevents athletes from
realizing those benefits; worse, it restricts them from accessing the help and supervision they need.
Without proper regulation, athletes will never know exactly how these substances work and affect
their bodies. Most people dont know that most of the dangers that come from these substances lie in
not knowing the safe dosage and what they do to your body. Allowing performance-enhancing drugs
in sports would make our athletes safer because it will make them aware of what amounts of dosage
provide maximum benefits and harmful effects. Proper regulation will also allow athletes to go and
seek for qualified physicians than rely to backroom hucksters with no medical background. And if
legal, more research can be done to make PEDs a lot safer and effective.

9.

Peds Make The Games More Interesting And Entertaining.

Performancing enhancing drugs improve sports

Another reason why it makes sense to allow the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports is
because they make the game more exciting. Lets be honest, sports fans! Who wouldnt want to see
their teams best player throwing a fastball over 100mph or another guy equaling or breaking a
national record?

Unlike television shows or movies, sports competitions become more entertaining when you see
people perform at the extreme edge of what humans are capable of. We, the sports fans, dont want
to see normal things, hear normal stories, or witness normal events we want to watch extraordinary
athletes do extraordinary physical feats because that what makes us entertained. In fact, people dont
really care about if athletes use PEDs or not; people dont care about how athletes do the impossible;
people dont care about how they accomplish those efforts of greatness. All they want is to see them
do those things, if possible, over and over again.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson once wrote we, the paying customers, dont want
normal-size athletes with normal abilities. We want to see supermen and superwomen performing
super feats, and were willing to pay these gladiators a fortune.

8.

It Would Be Beneficial To The Business.

Legalizing Performance Enhancing Drugs would be great for business. Make it rain!

As what Robinson said, people are willing to pay good money just to see the best athletes play. No
matter how expensive the tickets get and how tough the economy becomes, people will continue to
watch sports because they are yearning to see something unusual. And because of performanceenhancing drugs, those yearnings are achieved. PEDs make the players stronger, faster, and better
in their performance. They make the games worth watching.

Remember the 1998 baseball season when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa raced towards the 61
home runs? According to reports, it was one of the greatest seasons ever in the history of baseball. In
fact, it is believed to be the game that saved the Americas favorite pastime.

Now, we all know that both players used PEDs in order to achieve those performances. But people
didnt care. In fact, people continue to talk about it to this day and still feel the excitement of what
happened more than 15 years ago. Just like what Prof. Max Mehlman said on an article in
cleveland.com, There is nothing fundamentally wrong or ethically objectionable to PEDs. In fact, it
makes the competition more fun. And this benefits all the involved the fans, the athletes, and the
sports industry.

7.

Banning The Use Of Peds Is A Waste Of Time And Money.

Failing to legalize PEDs is waste of time, energy and most of all money.

One of the biggest reasons why PEDs should finally be allowed in sports is because the government
is already wasting enormous amount of money and time on sports testing that doesnt even work. The
cost of a basic steroid test is $200 per individual. Multiply this by the number of athletes we have in
the U.S. plus the number of times a player undergoes testing each year, and the government is
looking at spending millions of dollars per year on drug testing alone. Whats worse is that these tests
couldnt even catch doping athletes. Lance Armstrong, who was an avid PEDs user, never tested
positive for doping but rather was only caught or admitted using illegal substances. In 2012 Olympic
Games, only one out of 6,000 players was tested positive for drug use.
The thing is athletes are not stupid. They know how to use various techniques in order to avoid
detection. And no matter what the government does to effectively catch users (even spend billions of
dollars in advance research), athletes will always find a way to evade it. So its time for the
government to allow athletes use PEDs. It would save the country billions of dollars. And we could
use the money to fund important programs, such as helping the poor, improving our school systems,
paying off our debts, and making the sports competitions a lot safer.

6.

The Use Of Drugs In Sports Is Not Unfair; In Fact, It Promotes Equality.

Legalizing PEDs fosters equality

In terms of sports, the perception that everyone has the same chance at winning is totally ridiculous.
The playing field isnt level, it has never been. Athletes in developed communities have a greater
advantage over athletes in less developed communities because they have more funding, sports
institutions, and easy access to healthcare. Is that fair?

And lets not forget that there are some people who are born with genetic advantages. Take for
instance Eero Mantyranta, a Finish skier and a multiple Olympic champion. In 1960-1972 Winter
Olympics, Mantyranta won seven medals in total, making him one of the best in the field of skiing. But
later, scientists found he had a gene mutation that he naturally had more red blood cells than
others, which measured at up to 65 percent above the average. Imagine that? Mantyrantas niece
and nephew, Elli and Pertti, have also found to have gene mutation, which gave them an advantage
to win in relays at Olympics.
The ability to perform well in competition is connected with the ability of the body to deliver oxygen to
muscles. As we know, oxygen is carried by red bloods cells. Therefore, the more red blood cells the
body has, the more oxygen is delivered to muscles. This in turn, improves an athletes performance.

Well, there are various legal ways in order to improve your red blood cell count, such as undergoing
blood transfusion and surgery, exercising, eating iron-rich food, and taking vitamins and iron-rich
supplements. But all these sometimes produce low results and sometimes dont work well, so
athletes turn to other options, such as doping, to increase their red blood cell production easily. But as
well all know, doping is illegal. Lawmakers and sports organizers make doping illegal because they
think it makes the playing field uneven. But some athletes have high red blood cells by luck. Some
competitors can afford to buy training equipment. Is that fair? Of course, it is not. Therefore, it is
nonsensical to say that using drugs in sports is unfair. By allowing athletes to take PEDs, were giving
all athletes an equal playing field.

5.

It Would Reduce Crime.

Legalizing Performance Enhancing Drugs will reduce crime

Allowing the use of drugs in sports would reduce crime in the sense that less people would be
breaking the law for taking them and less drug lords would be able to remain in business.

Illegal drug trade is highly profitable the very reason why drug dealers are so motivated to keep
distributing them in the market. The value of illegal drug trade around the globe is worth a
fortune estimated at $322 billion a year, according to United Nations. And the value is continuously
rising. Worse, more and more people are found to be involved in the distribution of these illegal
substances. In a 2013 report from Australian Crime Commission (ACC), it was revealed that the use
of performance-enhancing drugs has been widespread in professional sports. Even worse, it has
been found that organized criminals are involved in distributing illegal substances not just to athletes,
but even to their doctors and coaches.
If all countries would allow the use of PEDs in sports, it would substantially reduce the involvement of
organized criminals in the doping market. If legal, athletes and sports staff will be able to easily
purchase them from licensed distributors, which will eventually put the drug dealers out of business.

4.

Drugs Dont Play As Big A Role In The Match As Many People Like To Think.
Performance Enhancing Drugs dont make all the difference skill, technique and talent still matter

Contrary to popular belief, using performance-enhancing drugs doesnt make you win. Sure, drugs
can help you better your performance and improve your body, but using them doesnt guarantee
winning. Many sports rely on skills as well as physical ability. Even if you take higher dosages, if you
dont have the right skill or dont train, youre not going to be able to compete in battles. Have you
already seen a fat, drunk truck driver dope and go win a car race?

One more thing is that performance-enhancing drugs were not made to work like a magic that
anyone who take them will surely become faster, better, and stronger. Every person is different, and

reacts in a unique way to drugs. A drug that works for one person may not work for another. And
when it works, it doesnt mean it will work all the time.

Take for instance the British track sprinter, Dwain Chambers. We all know how great he was. After his
first athletic success in 1994, Dwain started to collect medals and beat international records, which
made him one of the fastest sprinters in his generation. But he eventually faced one the most difficult
times in his life when he competed at a Commonwealth Games in 2002. He actually did well with wins
in the preliminary rounds in his bid for 100m gold, but in the finals, he pulled up with cramps and
finished last. He later admitted that one of the reasons his muscles cramped up was because of the
side effects of steroids he was taking at that time. Occasionally, it worked for him, but there were also
times that it worked against him. See? Theres no reason to ban drugs as drugs dont make you a
better athlete, hard work does.

3.

Banning Peds Doesnt Make Sense.

Banning Performance Enhancing Drugs is Nonsense

One of the reasons why PEDs are banned in sports is due to the safety of athletes. Okay, assuming
that PEDs are unhealthy, would it keep the players safe if they avoid taking them? Of course, not. We
all know that many sports carry their own physical and health risks. Even while youre just walking
onto the playing field or standing at one side of it, you could still suffer serious consequences
because theres no such thing as guaranteed safety in life.
And theres this fact that athletes do so many things that are bad for their health, such as smoking
and alcohol drinking, so it doesnt make sense to ban PEDs because of safety purposes.
One more thing is that I dont understand why performance-enhancing drugs are such a big deal? We
all know that all medicines have side effects. Painkillers, caffeine, and other substances that are used
to treat ailments can be as harmful as steroids, cocaine, and heroin when abused, yet no one seem
to care if you take too much of them. Even if you drink 10 cups of coffee in a day, no one would
certainly care. So if painkillers and caffeine are legal, why PEDs are not?

2.

Athletes Are Going To Use Peds Regardless Of Rules.

Athletes will always find a way to get an edge

In the book entitled Ethics of Performance Enhancement in Sport: Drugs and Gene Doping, the
authors said, It would be much easier to eliminate the anti-doping rules than to eliminate doping.
And thats true. Whether its legal or not, people will continue to take performance-enhancing drugs.
Even the top players in sports will keep on using them because thats the easiest way to boost their
confidence, improve their skills, and combat pain during game play.
The only way to fix this long-standing issue is to finally legalize them. After all, legalization would be
beneficial, not only to the athletes, but to the entire nation. As mentioned, it could help the country

save cost, help law officials reduce their burdens, help the sports industry improve revenue, make the
sports fairer, and make the athletes a lot safer.

1.

My Body, My Choice.
Performance enhancing drugs should be legalized because athletes should be able to make the decision to use or not

And finally, we should legalize PEDs because all of us, including athletes, have the right to do what
we want with our own body. People are not stupid; of course they know that drugs, if abused, can be
dangerous in their health. But some people still choose to use them because they know that they can
benefit from them. And even if drugs dont provide any benefit, its still up to them to decide whether
to take them or not because its their own body. Of course, it is understandable why the government
enforce laws regarding the use of substances, especially if it harms others. Theres actually nothing
wrong about that. However, taking drugs for personal use shouldnt be anyone elses business. Its
our right to do whatever we want with our own body. After all, isnt this a free country?

As what the American journalist Radley Balko said, a free society isnt really free at all if it doesnt
include the freedom to make what some may believe are bad decisions.