Should drugs and steroids be legalized in professional sports Research Paper

Should drugs and steroids be legalized in professional sports - Research Paper Example III. Negative Effects of Steroid Use. (i) Risks for the human body (ii) Risks for Men (iii) Risks for Women IV. Steroids in College Athletics and Professional Sports (i) Reasons for steroids use (ii) Testing for Steroid Use (iii) Incidents in the lives of Professional Athletes as a result of Steroid Use V. Steroid Use in the Adolescent Population (i) The "Hero Factor" (ii) Peer Pressure (iii) Risks for Teenagers who abuse steroids VI. Conclusion Ways of discouraging steroid use Name Professor Module Date Should Drugs and Steroids be legalized in Professional Sports? INTRODUCTION Eitzen, Stanley, & George, Sage. Sociology of North American Sport 7th Edition. California: McGraw Hill, 2003. Anabolic steroids refer to group molecules that contain synthetic analogs of testosterone as well as the authentic male sex hormone, testosterone. In the present sports scene, many athletes use anabolic steroids in order to build up on muscle mass. The history of the use of steroids goes back to the 1930s. Steroids first appeared in World War 2 when they were developed for the German army and legalized so that German soldiers could use them to be more destructive in war. After the war, American as well as European doctors often used steroids to take care of blood disorders such as anemia. Today, most steroids are utilized in veterinary medicine in the production of meat. Steroids help in building more muscle in lean beef cattle. Steroids are also used to generate muscle mass in race dogs and horses. According to this Sage and Fitzen, there is evidence to suggest that there are more than 3,000,000 standard anabolic steroid users in America even though they have not been legalized. Most of these users procure anabolic steroids through illegal means. ... Most of these users procure anabolic steroids through illegal means. According to these authors, who have comprehensively addressed different issues concerning the use of anabolic steroids, it is mainly the healthy athletes who turn to steroids in order to improve their already amazing performances in sports. The colloquial name for steroids, by which it is commonly referred in the streets, is ‘juice’ or ‘roids’. Benefits of Steroid Usage Assael, Shaun. Steroid Nation: Juiced Home Run Totals, Anti-aging Miracles and a Hercules in Every High School: The Secret History of America's True Drug Addiction. New York: ESPN, 2007. According to Assael, who has given a graphic account of the extent of steroid abuse among teenagers as well as professional athletes, steroids are not just the preference of athletes in sports that value a ragged physique (Assael 93). Some male and female athletes in different sports fields such as weightlifters, body builders, football pla yers, baseball players, runners, tennis players, basket ballers and swimmers have in the past used steroids to enhance their performances. In the present sports culture where many sport’s body’s have began to institute regulations that call for regular testing of athletes in order to counter steroid use, there are many tests that athletes in competitions like the Olympics have to undergo. This has not been successful in lessening steroid use, but has simply served to cause athletes to come up with more ingenious ways of ingesting steroids. By imitating the anabolic impact of testosterone, athletes believe that steroids help in generating additional tissues, contributes towards muscle recovery when they experience injuries in the field and