Performance Enhancing Drugs


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Are performance enhancing drugs good or bad?

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ginnydog

-chan
Kouhai
We are debating about the use of P.E.Ds in sports, in school I'd like to hear your thoughts and why.
 
To start off the discussion, how about you begin? Either give your argument, or outline some useful information.

When it comes to competitive sports, especially the Olympics and international games, PEDs should not be used. Perhaps it's old fashioned thinking, but it shouldn't be about winning so much as "the spirit of competition" to strengthen good relations.

But I actually know very little about how effective these things are .... or how many athletes use them. Of course, you always hear on the news about the ones who do, but not the ones who don't.
 
normally id say "hey, if you want your inkei to shrivel up, by all means, go for it." but when it's used in competitive sports, just doesn't seem right
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Here's my two cents worth, with my position that performance enhancing drugs are wrong:

Over the years, the line between legal and illegal ways to boost your performance has significantly blurred. Drugs are and have always been illegal, for example, anabolic steroids and EPO (erythropoeitin). The training regimens for international competitors are very very detailed, and I think would be looked upon as cheating 30 years ago. The use of computers and other high tech ways to simulate and calculate the necessary factors for the best performance brings forth the question: What is considered fair competition? A less developed country will have less resources to spend on such advanced technologies and thus would be at a disadvantage. This unfairness has not been addressed effectively. One can argue that to limit the amount of technology that can be used would effectively limit the quest for continuous improvement that is such an integral part of sport.

Which brings us back to the position of performance enhancing drugs. Much of its use is driven by the fear of losing. Not losing to your fellow competitors, because every good athlete knows that at such high levels of competition, any slight hitch (got a runny nose?)can mean the difference between victory and defeat. The fear of losing to your/your coaches'/your team's/your nation's expectations. The fear of not being able to surpass last year's winner in terms of performance. The focused determination to "do better" is admirable, but can quickly turn nasty simply because we do not recognize that there is a limit to human performance. Any and all steps taken are for that extra 0.01 seconds or 0.01 metres. But how far can we go before resorting to legal and illegal boosts? And how do we define what is legal and what is not?

Athletes, when driven hard enough, will do anything to keep up their performance, at least in the eyes of their trainers. If they do deteriorate, it is bye-bye and the next rookie comes on in. So to keep their place, some will take drugs, some will get better staff and better technological tools, and some will even purposely sabotage a fellow teammate to make themselves look better. It's a cruel world. The drugs that athletes use are increasingly complex and hard to detect. First, it was steroids, but that is too easy now. Then came along stuff like erythropoeitin, and human growth hormone. Whenever an athlete gets accused of cheating, there starts a long appeal process, usually with the excuse of "it's medication for my heart/lung/liver/kidney/brain problem" or even "it's in my toothpaste". And once a drug becomes illegal, they move on to the next.

There will always be athletes who take drugs, so the quest should be to draw a clear line on what is legal and what is not. Also, detection should be more vigilant and vigorously enforced. What happens nowadays is a joke in terms of reliability and accountability. Athletes who take drugs to enhance their performance should be banned forever, and not four months or two years. And of course, try to find a feasible way to level the playing field for those who have not access to advanced tools.

There is much more to be said, but I'll stop here as it is way past the "two cents" limit...
 
okay well were doing a debate and class and my group is trying to prove that we should legalize performance enhancing drugs in all sports
 
Good luck then. You'll have a tough time I think. If you want a reference, look up East Germany's institutionalized doping program in the 70's to 80's (I think). Essentially every athlete was pumped full of drugs. Try that for a start and then move on to the specific effects of each drug.

Interestingly, this can be paralleled to the theory that legalizing drugs like marijuana will reduce the use of more dangerous drugs like heroin. A possible point?
 
Performance enhancing drugs always have adverse side effects in the long run. I don't think that it should be used in all sports, not only because it is not fair to the other competitors and what you would call cheating, but also because people who take them are lying to themselves and use drugs instead of trying harder to become what the drugs make them.

In many a sport, I can see where they might come in handy. But if you know the usual "body builder has heart attack" scenario, it can probably happen for anything. I believe that it's definitely not that they "need to win", but the fact that they don't have enough discipline and courage to not deal with PEDs.
 
I would say bad, they take away the challenge and motivation of a sport. Getting to the top on your own would be alot more self gratifying.
 
ok well my debate team, the affirmative (for performance drugs) which consisted of two people agaisnt two other people on the negative team (against performance drugs) won!!
i didnt think we would being for steroids and such but we did so ok yeah......
 
ginny dog....... why didnt you state why you are for the use of drugs. You only said that you are not against it, but may I ask why? Coz I somehow cannot fanthom any positive aspects for it.
 
Well for starters, these PED's cause health problems...all types and serious ones.....and secondly where is the fun of doing a sport when, if you win, it wasn't because of your own effort if not because of some drug. Where's the "spirit" of doing your best in that?

^^ Well that's what i think....
 
QUOTE (warita200 @ May 28 2007, 02:11 AM) ginny dog....... why didnt you state why you are for the use of drugs. You only said that you are not against it, but may I ask why? Coz I somehow cannot fanthom any positive aspects for it.
Perhaps his team was for it and not himself individually, or he's just excited that his team won. Lastly, if he's not against it, and quite possibly not for it, then he's neutral?
 
But if his team won, that means that his team had to support their point of view somehow, right? Surely they didnt say: "We want to win, therefore we are right, end of the discussion."

Its just that I cannot imagine what positive aspect PED could have.
 
QUOTE (warita200 @ May 28 2007, 04:39 AM) But if his team won, that means that his team had to support their point of view somehow, right? Surely they didnt say: "We want to win, therefore we are right, end of the discussion."

Its just that I cannot imagine what positive aspect PED could have.
Well either way, if their team wanted to just win the argument, they had to come up with good examples and a lot of research, and for the people who use PEDs, it DOES just come down to "We want to win" because apparently that's just what the drugs are for, right? At that moment atleast, they all eventually lose in the end, even his team if they didn't even support it.
 
QUOTE (warita200 @ May 28 2007, 04:11 AM) ginny dog....... why didnt you state why you are for the use of drugs. You only said that you are not against it, but may I ask why? Coz I somehow cannot fanthom any positive aspects for it.
sorry bout that i was for it because of the free choice athletes should make, expensive and sometimes useless drug tests that carry over into high schools, why athletes can drink and smoke (cigarrettes) but cant better themselves by taking steroids, and the new interests from fans in watching "the perfect athletes" and the new interests that former drug users have sparked in sports such as baseball. Oh and I didnt choose to be in the affirmative team we were selected to be in certian teams
 
QUOTE (ginnydog @ May 28 2007, 07:24 AM) ]why athletes can drink and smoke (cigarrettes) but cant better themselves by taking steroids
Well i think if a person is gonna become an athlete, they should stop drinking or smoking cuz they know that doesn't help them at all. ON the contrary it worsens their performance. Also it can affect their health.

As for cigarettes and alcohol...that is just the way corporate mass works., they let you consume what is in their best interest. Cuz if drugs payed contributions, ppl would have the right to use them. For drugs and alcohol have the same obective....alter your mind and if abused even death.

And just to know if a coach catches an athlete drinking or smoking he/she has the right to punish them. For the same goes for smoking or drinking as taking these PED's they both put your health in peril and alter your performance which is not fair.
 
I do athletics at quite a high national standard and i've heard of people taking drugs and i disagree with it heavily
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Hows it fair to see who's the best when you're cheating!?!?!?!

Although people may think steroids are good for your body, make you faster and better are the actually aware of the negative effects it has on their internals if overdosed? If people are so determined to win then you should do it by the rules.
 
You... Just.. don't understand... There are people who are naturally gifted with athletic ability's, you could not Imagen busting you but in the gym eating strictly and taking every supplement there is around... while the other guys slack off, and eat whatever they want to.. while you are about totally drained... iceing down your muscles to the point of risking frost bite in hope they don't tear... using every method to speed up recovery... while every one else gone out with there girls or what ever... your asleep trying to get your body to heal faster... It takes 30min just to get out of bed..Joints hurting popping cracking, and, its He** when you stretch, but its a must as everything else done is.. pain all the time and refuse to take OTC pain medication because it reduces protein turnover rate.. by Sunday there is some relief but Monday its starts again.. you see changes.. but.. despite all your effort its still not enough... you still cannot catch up to or surpass him.. you see this, after all the hard work and the frustration mounts... you stand in front of the board looking at everyone else's numbers... from last season to this one... You just keep pushing, you go to the 3 or 4 doctors nothing is wrong, and, most try to take you off supplements.. You push so hard you no longer are social you let your grades drop so you can sleep more but keep them high enough to stay on the team... Start getting people to do your home work... You start popping stimulates before a game/match/race attempting to raise your performance... Then you combined them with others your blood pressure gose into a dangerous level... Then you show a sudden burst of massive force, the everyone is shocked.. but only for a moment... then something gives out... and you get crushed... The odd thing is you broke 2 of the guys ribs and his collar bone he dose not feel it till after... Your shaking and confused... and in pain.. pain you didn't know existed... afterwards the coach is in your face yelling what happened saying you gave up didn't work hard enough and was garbage and he was stupid for allowing you to be on the team even as a bench warmer... After all your effort time and money... He kicks you off the team... and not a person confronts him the very people who watched you bust you but and live threw the pain... just so you could get some time in a activity you loved.. something snaps... you don't notice it yet... you take a brake from school just lie in the bed running threw the past few years... Things slowly start to go numb... you return to school and try to talk to people... but there attitude toward you has changed... you find it harder to show emotions or even identify them... Then you no longer feel alive.. you start doing risky things to feel so you can feel something... Things happen and you go to an alternative school... and start seeing a "Head doctor" and seem never to respond to anything they give you..

The stimulates were not what i call performance enhancers.. because... well... they do not help much...

I think Anabolic Steroids are FINE! Dangerous if abused and improperly used tho...

If you think you favorite athlete at is not on steroids you are wrong... there are plenty of steroids that can pass tests...

For some ITS NOT CHEATING!!! It's leveling the playing field... And other its cheating ... This is there job... You don't think they do what they can to keep that multi million dollar contract?

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If you think there so bad you should see the damage i did to myself from trying so hard natural.. Funny thing is the doctor was aware of everything i was doing taking and how i was eating and how much i sleep.. saw him quiet frequently, to make sure i was not over training...

None of my damage came from the stimulate usage.. it was like 4 dosages over a month...

If you thing doing it natural is so grate you should see my scans and blood work...
 
QUOTE (TrueGaara06 @ Jun 10 2007, 05:38 AM)I think Anabolic Steroids are FINE! Dangerous if abused and improperly used tho...
Most sports are supposed to reward talent and hard work. Using drugs gives you an advantage that wasn't obtained through hard work or talent. So it defeats the purpose of the sport. Admittedly it's a dying quality but there's a thing called sportsmanship. If someone is better than you one should applaud their talent. They won because they are either more talented or they worked harder both, admiral qualities.


QUOTE (TrueGaara06)For some ITS NOT CHEATING!!! It's leveling the playing field... And other its cheating ... This is there job... You don't think they do what they can to keep that multi million dollar contract?
If I'm less qualified than my colleague would it be ethical to lie on my CV? After all I am levelling the playing field. In a way using performance enhancing drugs is similar on a ethical level. Ultimately it's a act of dishonesty as your gaining an advantage by breaking the rules.


QUOTE (REYOMA @ Jun 13 2007, 02:47 PM)I agree with u guy's using drugs to compete in a sport is just wrong But using it for something like building up ur muscles then it's ur choice not sure about the side affects of it but I am sure there is
Thing is in most places anabolic steroids are illegal. Steroids may improve muscle size but they have a list of side effects that are pretty bad. If it's going to be made legal then it needs to prescribed by a doctor. The main problem with steroids is they increase the amount of testosterone enormously. Which can lead to infertility in men and women developing man like features.

You wouldn't think more testosterone would make men infertile but its because of the bodies negative feedback system. When a large amount of testosterone enters the body the body compensates by reducing the amount of testosterone it produces (hence you often see body builders with small testes). If it goes on long enough the man will no longer produce enough testosterone to produce sperm and they become infertile. By the way there are other side effects I only highlighted one.

Problem nowadays are drugs are becoming more sophisticated and it's harder to detect. Example can be seen in the tour de France. Many cyclists have blood transfusions to increase their red blood cell count. This will improve stamina so they can cycle for longer without tiring. How do you regulate stuff like that?
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Then again I can almost sympathise with the cyclists! You gotta be on drugs to complete the tour de France.
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Another problem is when drug use becomes extensive and systematic. People who don't take drugs will become marginalised or coaxed into taking them. I remember reading about a British cyclist saying he was almost bullied to take drugs as he would become a outcast if he didn't take them.

Best excuse for an athlete to take drugs:
I took them cause my mother told me to - Shane Warne
 
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