There is an epidemic on our hands. Throughout recent years doping has become a bigger and bigger problem in the sports world and trying to control it almost impossible. With the increased difficulty of restricting controlling these drugs the question becomes should they even be illegal in the first place. The answer to this has the power to change what we've thought about performance enhancing drugs forever. Anabolic steroids, EPO, and HGH are just a few of the drugs that society has deemed harmful and illegal in the realm of sport. These claims as we'll see are not always based on facts. This notion then in tern effects how we view athletes that are caught taking them. Some of the biggest names in sports; Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones ,Ben Johnson who really put these drugs on the map(National Geographic Science of Steroids) all had their careers and reputations forever desecrated at the hand of these drug. But why? Why would someone with so much talent and god given ability risk everything to take these drugs? For many the opportunity to be bigger, faster, stronger, and to gain that edge far outweighs the prospect of being caught, but this isn't just exclusive to the athletic elite. Throughout time man mans quest to be be better has evolved and revolutionized the planet by making things work faster, go farther, and be more efficient. Even now in the 21 century sports medicine and science have come along way in terms of research and the development of these performance enhancing drugs. But what if it was legal? What if doping was seen as nothing worse then taking vitamins or a protein shake? What if everyone took them? I'm my opinion the answer to all these questions should be yes, performance enhancing drugs should be legal to take. With this however other accountability and certain guidelines should be put in place to protect both the people taking them and control access to them. With all this centered around sport, let see where it all began. 

Sport by definition is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment" (sport). Sport is almost as old as human existence. From the early days of ancient Greece, we can trace the origin of many of the worlds organized sports like track and field and gymnastics. The reason we as humans love sport is due to a variety of reasons. For one, sport is competition. If its one thing humans have been doing since our inception is compete, compete to survive, compete for food, compete for territory and every thing else in between. One could say its instinctive, but one can't deny the fact that sport like life is survival of the fittest, in a more civilized manner that is. Another reason why we participate in sport is for health and enjoyment. Its been proven that people who exercise on a regular basis are far less likely to getting numerous diseases and health problems then people who do not. Sport can also be purely for enjoyment, as it should be. Through participating we as people can experience the excitement and joy that comes with scoring a goal or finishing first in a race. These experience are some of which I have been lucky to experience growing up and are memories that I will never forget. Sports at is essence is a celebration of humanity in three distinct parts; spirit, body and mind. By participating in sports, one must utilize all these aspects this creates what is known as the spirit of sport. It is in this unifying spirt that we uphold certain values. Some of these include ethics, fair play and honesty, teamwork, respect for others, and respect for rules and laws. Now as the issue of performance enhancing drugs in sports has become more of a heated topic, the general consensus is that these drugs come to harm the integrity of sport and tarnish the values that we have tried to uphold. As of now these drug have been deemed illegal by numerous sporting organizations across the world including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the Premier League due to reasons of having a unfair advantage over other players and health concerns. The question I would ask as posed by one of my sources also, "Would legal and freely available drugs violate this "spirit of sport?" (Savulescu,1)

Performance enhancing drugs, like steroids, has become synonymous with sport itself and has spurred sporting organizations to fight it at every front. While every league differs on how they punish those caught with these drugs, you don't have to go far to hear another story about an athlete's career and reputation in jeopardy for such offences. The International Amateur Athletic Federation estimates that only 10-15% from each sporting organization are ever tested for drugs. (Savulescu,2) Just to out this in perspective the majority of athletes are never tested but of the ones are reports of positive testing as climbing. Just imagine how many are already and still take these drugs but are never caught or tested, that number is over 85%.  This proves that trying to fight this is not going to work. In fact, it has been "estimated that the anti-doping measures reached six digit figures (US$) per doped athlete caught; a more recent estimate is that the annual bill for fighting drugs in sport is now  pounds 300 million"(Anderson, 7). He also says that " It might be better directed elsewhere to the benefit of the wider development of sport"(Anderson,7) and if theres was a doping rule "The same doping policy should apply equally to all athletes in a certain sport, in all countries, in all contests, etc.; otherwise world records are meaningless."(Shermer,1).

 But as the days of amateur sport far behind us, elite athletes see a 6 month or a year suspension as a small price to pay for more years of earning million dollar contracts, so can we really blame them for taking these drugs? Nowadays sport has become just as commercialized and profitable as any fortune 500 company where the stakes are as high as ever. As an "employee" where your performance deviating from a fraction of second to fast or to slow could be the difference between getting cut or earning potentially millions of dollars in salary, what would you do? Studies have shown that even small doses of anabolic steroids, can increase muscular strength by 5-20%. Sadly, however, for some being found guilty or testing positive of such drugs has ended career and achievements taking a lifetime to acquire suddenly snatched away. One notable athlete found in this situation was Lance Armstrong. Arguably one of the best cyclist that has ever lived, Lance Armstrong won over seven Tour de France titles and bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in his illustrious career. It all came crashing down when he publicly admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, after being ratted out by his friends and then teammates Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie when similar charges were brought against them. As a result, he was stripped of all seven title and asked by the Olympic committee to return this bronze medal. Also affected was his very popular charitable organization Live Strong that raised money for cancer research and victims. People stopped donating and he was forced to cut ties with the organization soon after his story broke.  When asked in his interview why he took theses drugs he said, "Because I really wanted to win" (Lance Armstrong on Oprah Part 1). For athletes like these, no matter how much good they did "Cheater" will be all they are remembered by and wrongfully so.  Contrary to popular belief, taking PED's isn't the only "advantage" that can be obtained in the world of sport. 

As people we are all born unique. Short or tall, slender or muscular, we can all be characterized by the physical traits and talents that we all uniquely poses. So just as certain traits and physical qualities makes us more or less suited for certain jobs, so it is in the world of sport. While there are certain rules that govern each respective sport the idea of ultimate fairness is something that can never be possible. For example, in a sport like basketball being taller has its advantages over someone shorter. Your able to shot over them, and defend their shots more easily. In football, the naturally faster and stronger player will have an advantage over the lesser in kind. This gives the dominant player more power to break tackles, and speed to run away from other defenders.  I good point made by one of my sources says, "There is no coherent argument to support the view that enhancing performance is unfair; if it were, we would ban coaching and training. Competition can be unfair if there is unequal access to particular enhancements, but equal access can be achieved more predictably by deregulation than by prohibition" (Drug Use in Sports ProCon.org). In both these scenarios something is at play which I have dubbed the genetic lottery. Genetically some people are superior to others due to there natural God given attributes. Are we to say that elite athletes like Bo Jackson, LeBron James, or Serena Williams are "cheating" because of their superior gifts? One would laugh at that idea and rightfully so, but on the flip side of that what about the rest of us or the average athlete. This is the case I make for performance enhancing drugs. While most of us will never be able to fly through the air like Michael Jordan or run as fast as Usain Bolt, what if we could take our intellect and develop things that can enhance what we were given. Its in this simple thought that I believe performance enhancing drugs should not be seen as cheating or taking a short cut but rather as a way to level the playing field.  While some elite athletes are given above normal talent, the average athlete could take performance enhancing drugs which would raise the level of play across the board. No more would one athlete be better then another simply because they won the genetic lottery that had given them special tools. While the use of these PED's wouldn't entirely level the playing field among athletes it would defiantly heighten the level of play. Instead of seeing two or three dunks a game you might be able to witness 6 or 7, it's a win win for both the athlete and the spectator. Some would argue that using these types of drugs goes against there moral code. To this I would say that like other things in history for example prohibition, moral code is something that is a relative and unreliable as anything. As I brought up the point of prohibition. Back in those days when it was illegal to buy alcohol, the issue of alcohol consumption just didn't go away, it went underground starting a whole new set of problems that saw rise to more organized crime fighting for control and a black market that supplied people with what they wanted. Similarly, with PED's we are in the underground stages and is time for the prohibition to be lifted. Being underground has allowed a culture and a perception around these drugs that is very misunderstood and as the saying goes what people fear what they don't understand, which is normal but understanding the facts about the situation is what people should make there judgment call on not morals of what was taught to them to be correct. But if history has taught us anything as a society is that things need to be able to adapt and change, and that includes sports to. 

Our society and world has evolved into what it is today. Inventions and conveniences that we enjoy couldn't have even been imagined back then. Cars, the internet, the personal computer and the wonders of modern medicine are all things that have shaped our world and changed our lives forever. No longer do you have to write letters that take days for the recipient to receive. Now in the digital age we can send emails and text messages that arrive within seconds. In the same way cars have dramatically cut down our travel times and personal computer and the internet has been used to improve efficiency in the workplace and services like google that can search thousands of pages of information for us in seconds. Like all of these other things that have come along modern medicine has come along way too with performance enhancing drugs being part of that evolution. Today drugs are much more potent and safer then the drugs of old. Like everything else these drugs have evolved making it possible for athletes to run faster, jump higher, and be stronger then ever before, but unlike other sector of society these innovations have been deemed illegal. People would find it quite absurd to be required use a typewriter nowadays when we have computers or be asked to write handwritten letters when a simple email would suffice. Using this logic and perspective with PED's, its becomes harder to think why these drugs are outlawed. Basically what is being said to the athlete is that why there are things that will make you better and help you to perform at your maximum potential, we wont let you use them. While all other parts of society enjoy the efficiency and convenience that comes with innovation, athletes do not. Instead the are   metaphorically told to walk when the could drive, to draw a picture when they could just take one. I believe that the use of performance enhancing drugs is just a part of the evolution that is sport. If we were to use this "work harder but not smarter" mentality with everything else where would we be. 

When it comes to opponents of my belief, they can be found far and wide. While everyone has something to say about it, most articles that I've read hammer home the same arguing points with the first and most important being health. While most steroids and other Performance enhancing drugs are synthetic versions of naturally occurring chemical already in the body, the consensus is that these drugs are harmful that's why they are banned. "There can be a whole panoply of side effects, even with prescribed doses" says Dr. Walder, "Some are visible to the naked eye and some are internal" (Walder, 1). Some effects in men include reduce sperm count, development of breast, shrinking testicles, and difficulty or pain while urinating. In women liver damage, weakened tendons, and rapid weight gain have all been attributed to taking theses drugs (Drug Facts: Anabolic Steroids). To these claims I say this. Health and safety should always be a number one priority when it comes to those participating in athletics but like many other things that we consume, anything taken in excess even good things can cause problems. Instead of testing and banning the drug itself we could instead try to find a safe dosage amount that could mitigate these risks. With the overall health of the athlete being the goal and not just the presence or absence of certain drugs. In this case legalization of these drugs would actually help them to become safer as more and more athletes would be taking them, thus requiring more funding to be put into further developing these drugs. Another reason that is given by opponents is that these drugs come to seek and destroy the integrity of the game. As said by law professor April Ashby, "Sport is not about simply winning. The saying "It's not about whether you win or lose, it's how you played the game," although cliche, is absolutely correct. The Olympic Movement identifies the Olympic spirit as a mutual understanding, spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play  --  as fundamental to sport." She also goes on to say, "doping jeopardizes the moral and ethical basis of sport and the health of those involved in it" (Ashby,1). As I touched on earlier, the moral aspect of the game is something that we as a collective society decide. The standard by which we perceive and ultimate judge these athletes by is something that can change and evolve with time. These drugs will not take the place of teamwork, courage, dedication and commitment or any of the other characteristics that describe the spirit of sport. These drugs will not make or break any athlete but rather will be as the name suggest just an enhancement of what one already possess. As the same time I do believe there should be a system in place to govern these drugs.

First off, taking performance enhancing drugs should be something that is prescribed and monitored by a certified physician. A lot of the trouble people run into taking them now is the lack of knowledge of how much to take, when to take it , and what's it safe to take to take it with and like alcohol there should be an age requirement to take these drugs. Around the age of 18 or 19 would be my proposed age requirement due to the fact that the body is at its prime and the that's the age most athletes start their more serious athletic endeavors in both college and professional ranks. Keeping these drugs at these levels of competition will ensure the people taking it will have some level of athletic competence naturally with these drugs just acting as an enhancer. There should be no misconception that just any and anyone taking PED's can expect to fly like Jordan or swim like Michael Phelps, there has to be something there to work with.  

So in conclusion, the problem of PED's in sports shouldn't even be a problem at all. As the defining spirit of sport being our guideline to follow, PED's in no way tarnishes these values. If anything, it levels the playing field for all and heightens the level of play which benefits both the athlete and the spectators. While some argue about certain health and moral risk associated with legalizing these drugs, I have shown its possible to mitigates the risk by having a solid plan in place that works. PED's wont be the end of sport as we know it, it will only be the beginning. 

