A controversial issue brought forth to a legislative body brings many perspectives to how it affects society as a whole. Those on either side of the issue cite precedents and argue for how specific facets of the issue are affected by the judgment made on the legality of it. Usually, the side deciding the final verdict on the issue, side for whatever is best for the majority or if it is unlawful to go against it. One of those issues is the use of performance enhancing drugs, specifically anabolic steroids, in professional sports. Many people believe that the issue of steroid use only has an effect on the athletes who use them, but would be surprised to know that they affect much more. A debate rages on between people who believe the drug should be illegal versus people who believe it should be permissible in sports. Those who argue for legalization support their arguments with a defense that an it is not being fair to the athletes and that athletes should be able to choose if they want to push their bodies to the farthest possible limit. Those against the use state that the issue goes beyond the sport involving the use of steroids. The issue of legality affects children, families of steroid users, as well as the health of any who use steroids. While the opposition may have points about legalization being a logical idea, their perspectives are different considering their priorities do not align with the priorities of society. The priorities of a good, moral society puts the priorities of health and those who are vulnerable and need protection before almost every issue. The use of steroids should stay banned because it affects the health of those who use it, the general welfare of children who are impressionable, and has little effect on the viewership and fairness of the game, and even if they did they would have much less of a priority in this situation. 

Steroids have been known to have effects on the health of those who use them. Most users of the performance enhancing drugs come from professional sports. Athletes take these drugs in pursuit of a stronger, more muscular body. (Birzniece 240) Injection of the drug brings in high concentrations of testosterone, a hormone produced naturally in the human body. Anabolic steroids are not the only performance-enhancing drug used by athletes, they receive other drugs as well including growth hormone and insulin since they enhance the loss of fat and water, gaining a leaner muscle tone. Athletes are such a large part of steroids that they even have their own classification called "designer steroids" which are according to Mayo Clinic Staff "A particularly dangerous class of anabolic steroids are the so-called designer drugs  --  synthetic steroids that have been illicitly created to be undetectable by current drug tests. They are made specifically for athletes and have no approved medical use. Because of this, they haven't been tested or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and represent a particular health threat to athletes." This is extremely dangerous already considering they are involving themselves not just in drugs, but also drug dealers who have control over a product and can possibly kill a user by just a wrong measurement of a chemical. There are obviously other health effects through the use of performance enhancing drugs. While there are positive effects, similar to any drug taken, like gaining muscle, the amount of concerns with using the drug are overwhelming, since larger muscle is not as vital to survival as the heart, the brain, or reproductive organs. Among many of the side effects, some of the primary effects include psychiatric disorders like depression or aggressive behaviors, shrunken testicles and infertility, and complications with the heart like high blood pressure and circulatory problems. There is even a chance of growing a tumor as a result of use. (Mayo Clinic Staff) As if the problems that Americans face regarding diet and environmental issues were not enough to endanger health, the effects that come from that are stacked on top of the effects steroids poses, making users extremely vulnerable to diseases and complications with health that could lead to depression later in life from having so many complications or even death. There is a common belief among users and those who are unaware with the statistics that side effects would not affect them for some reason in a type of denial. Many who use are aware of a few of the side effects of using steroids, but disregard the warnings issued anyway. However, just less than half of users are not aware of all side effects that come with use. In the study conducted by Hassan Bin Usman, 37% of users knew about hair loss, 21% knew about acne, 14% with hyper aggression, and infertility was known by 15%. (284) One may argue that even if the side effects were true, that it is probable that a minority of users actually experience them. This is a completely wrong assumption because Usman's study reported that among users about 61% experienced mood swings. (284) Mood swings have an effect on the user since it wills them to act irrationally based off irregular moods given off by the brain. This endangers families as well considering professional athletes who use most likely have families and mood swings can possibly cause them to become violent and angry. Combine that with the strength they have just acquired through use, it is a likely situation that someone could be seriously hurt should the athletes decide to become violent and results in what is referred to as "'roid rage." It is not just apparent that steroids have some effect on health, but is almost inevitable that they will be affected. The people who are at risk of health issues, both physiologically and psychologically, are all who have a close relationship with someone involved with steroids. The most vulnerable people in any situation are children, but in the case of steroids they are vulnerable in more ways than one.

A lot of times when deciding where to side with regarding a certain issue, the welfare of children are a topic that is can be the emotional decider for people. Children are dependent on us as adults to be protective of them and educate them so that they may one day be able to be independent and do the same for their offspring. Regarding drug use, society does their best to educate children so they may be knowledgeable about their effects, be able to avoid them, and make sure that have role models to follow who condone the use of drugs. This is no different for steroid use in sports. It is best to start teaching children about the effects of steroids early or they could be making a decision regarding whether to use before they have even learned about the effects yet. Even in non-athletic use, steroids lead to complications for children. In the video "Side Effects of Treating Your Child's IBD With Steroids" a pediatrician discusses how steroids used in medicine are harmful to kids through their ability to cause depression, moodiness, higher blood pressure, and higher blood sugar. (SeattleChildrens) If steroid use when beneficial to a child's health regarding irritable bowel syndrome, an actual disease, can be harmful to them and controversial, then it should not even be a question that steroids in sports can be harmful. Teenagers are the most vulnerable to steroid use considering the peer pressure they receive. They are pressured to be fit, good-looking, and be athletic. This pressure can lead to irrational actions by them. They may want to turn to steroids to achieve this actual self-image they desire, to have athleticism, be fit, and good-looking. In the video "15 and Injecting Steroids - Bignattydaddy | EXCLUSIVE," a 15 year old boy is shown using steroids and exercising at the gym. The video goes on to explain that he uses them simply to get attention from numerous people including those on social media, friends, and especially girls. He reveals that he no longer cares about school anymore and only wishes to improve his body. By allowing use of steroids in any way, it is setting a bad example for children who could eventually become like this boy, uncaring regarding education and only caring about physical appearances. This is a terrible situation considering if more teens did what this teenage has done, reproduction rates would be much lower and early mortality rates would rise. High School athletes are prone to using them because they are always trying to reach the next level. Athletes are well respected in this country because they can inspire change, they make significantly more money than the average adult does, and they are especially popular with members of the opposite sex. There is nothing more a high school athlete could want than all three of those elements, so they have to turn to steroids if they cannot get to the potential to achieve their dreams. Keeping steroids banned would force them to keep working hard, but education would make them realize the true wrongs of doing them. An increase had occurred in steroid use among teenagers inn 2005 in Buffalo, New York so schools have decided that education about the illegal drug is the best path since schools cannot afford to spend unnecessary money on drug tests that would also cause a divide in trust between authority figures and children. (McShea) Steroids have obviously affected children, so their ban is not only important for the present of sports, but for the future athletes who will either play in the major league or just aspire to play, either way they may both turn to steroids, a poor solution that could lead to worse consequences. The two elements of health being in danger and children is the most important and even though economic profit and excitement in sports may be arguments for the support of use, they are easily proven to be insignificant or simply wrong.

There are obviously issues involving if the rules will be broken anyway, allowing fairness, or a feeling of nostalgia in almost every argument. There are arguments stating that since the rules will be broken anyway there is no point in regulating or protecting against it like teenage drinking which is debated as well. Nothing is fair in life because someone will always have an advantage since no two people are the same as a result of having different genetics. Regarding nostalgia, some things just need to be left in the past. All three of these arguments involve the return of steroids and all three can be proven to be inaccurate or broad in their statements. One of the arguments regarding allowing steroid use is the fact that banning it restricts players from being allowed to make decisions whether they can use drugs is silly because they will break the rules anyway. Chris Smith states "Athletes are going to take steroids and turn to doping regardless of the rules." (Smith) With that logic, however, they might as well make drunk driving legal considering people will still do it and risk the chance of getting caught that could lead to short jail time and a fine. Drunk driving, like steroids, may continue to be done by people, but the law makes sure that less people do it so that we do not live in a society where intoxicated while driving accidents become a natural occurrence. There is an argument for fairness and that by legalizing steroids all players will be on an even level with each other. Frank Frisch says that we are all composed of different chemistries as a result of our genetics and that we produce different levels of testosterone, so legalization of steroids would allow those with lower testosterone to catch up with the higher testosterone. (TEDxTalks) If two players took the same amount of steroids and had two different amounts of testosterone levels, then they would still be on completely different testosterone levels as a result. If we somehow made leg extensions possible in the NBA for the shorter players benefit, but allowed all players to use it, there would be no even playing field if they all took different lengths. Making steroids legal does not create an open playing field, just a tougher one to play in. An argument posed by critics of illegalization of steroids is that they are unnatural, but so are supplements. Lewis Kurlantzick states that one of the reasons that steroids are illegal is because they are considered unnatural, but goes on to say that supplements are unnatural as well. (Kurlantzick 6) Steroids are natural, as well as supplements according to Birzniece since they contain hormones and elements that come from this Earth so they are definitely natural. Even if they were both unnatural, supplements have nowhere near the same side effects that steroids have been proven to give to users. The last opposition that advocates steroids is one that states that hitters were better and that there were more homeruns during that time. This is untrue since in the study "The Effect of the Steroid Era on Major League Baseball Hitters: Did It Enhance Hitting?" the experimenter found no significant evidence in batting average differential and only about a couple hundred difference between homeruns in the post steroid and steroid era. (Erickson) The game may be changing in how it is played, but the production certainly is not affected by the presence of steroids. Baseball is about as exciting as it has ever been, it just lacks the notable characters present in the steroid era like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and others. All the arguments against steroid use have some kind of baseless logic behind them and since there is not a single irrefutable argument on why steroids should be legal with all of the ones against use based in fact, steroids should remain illegal.

Steroid use may continue to go on as of today, but their state of being illegal should remain that way. The drugs have effects on health, affect the growth of future generations, and have refutable arguments on the side that wants to see them become legal. Steroids, while beneficial to muscle growth, are detrimental to almost every other functioning organ in our bodies. Their use is unjustified since it would not just hurt the people using them but also people related to those who use especially children. Children look up to athletes including baseball players, so allowing players to use steroids would impress upon children that use of them would be acceptable considering their favorite player uses them. Youth can also become obsessed with a body image, while disregarding education and destroy certain parts of their brains with the use. The logic behind the legalization is refutable considering the arguments they choose. Allowing players to use since they already do would be ridiculous considering it opens the door to state that all drugs are acceptable to use since people use them anyway. There is no possibility of an open playing field considering humans vary in their genetics and there is no possible way to be even. Supplements are natural and so are steroids but that does not mean that the two should be compared considering almost everything is derived from something in nature and they both carry two different effects. Baseball has had no statistical change in the past, so the argument of there being a change as a result of banning steroids is based in opinion, not fact. The ban on steroids is one that should hold and any legalization of the drug could have harmful effects, not just on the athletes who use them, but also on the rest of society.

