What I Learned

Throughout my research in this project I finally came to a conclusion. At first I could not decide if i thought it was necessary or not to have random drug tests for athletes. Now i have decided that i think it should be allowed. Performance Enhancing drugs are cheating. If someone can build muscle without them then everyone else should be able to. If your not willing to work to be the best then you don’t deserve to be the best. Random drug testing would also make it so that athletes are scarred to get caught so they wouldn’t use the drugs. This would prevent their bodies from being harmed and there to be less cheating. So yes I do think random drug testing is acceptable.

Drugs in Sports Jake Turner

Jake Turner sits down and talks with Charles Barkley. Barkley gives his view on performance enhancing drugs and the athletes using them.

Creatine

What is Creatine? Creatine is a compound that helps your muscles releases energy. Creatine is found to help make more ATP which helps store energy in cells to give you quick bursts of activity. It helps sprinters and weightlifters. There is no evidence that Creatine helps in aerobic activity or endurance sports. Using Creatine you could face stomach cramps, muscle cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and weight gain.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105/NSECTIONGROUP=2

Side Effects of Steroid use

Short term effects-

Acne, Shrunken Testicles, Gynecomastia, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Liver Malfunction, Enlarged Prostate, Balding, Male Characteristics in Women, and aggression.

Long term effects-

HIV, Liver Failure, Cardiovascular Problems, Stunted Growth, Ligament and Joint Injury, Weight Problems, and Neurological Issues.

First Use of Steroids

Steroid use goes back to the first Olympics, with attempts to increase testosterone in 776 BC. Ancient athletes would ingest sheep testicles because they new it was a source of testosterone. The sheep testicles were very cheap to buy and did what they needed them to do.The athletes didn’t compete to receive a medal or because they loved the game, they competed for the money. Unfortunately athletes didn’t learn anything from these ancient athletes and are still using performance enhancing drugs.

Perscription Painkiller Abuse

Many athletes use Percocet, Vicodin, Lortab, and Oxycontin to take away the pain so that they are able to play. The painkillers work to block the pain from the brain and then make the player feel invincible. The problem with these painkillers is that athletes are taking them very often and in sometimes large amounts. After taking these painkillers for a long enough time period your body will start to be immune so you will have to bump up the dosage, which can lead to the possibility of overdose and death.

Drug Tests Used in Sports

The 7 drug tests are being used for sports right now

1. Liquid Chromatography -Hair Detects -Multiple illegal substances

2. Gas Chromatography -Urine Detects -Multiple illegal substances

3. Testosterone -Urine Detects -Testosterone

4. Carbon Isotope Ratio -Urine Detects -Testosterone

5. Human Growth Hormone -Blood Detects -HGH

6. Isoelecteric Erythropoietin Focusing -Urine Detects -EPO

7. Continuous Erythropoiesis  Receptor  Activator -Blood Detects -CERA EPO

http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=2063

Drug Testing in the NCAA

Drug Testing in the NCAA

On this website you can find the NCAA’s drug testing policy. The NCAA pushes hard for a fair competitive environment for their athletes. They also promote a very drug free atmosphere. 90% of D1 schools, 65% of D2 schools, and 21% of D3 schools conduct their own drug testing in addition to the NCAA’s testing. Drug testing is a very expensive process, the NCAA invests appropriately $4.5 million a year in it.

How Performance Enhancing Drugs Work

In this picture from How Stuff Works it shows and explains how Performance enhancing drugs work. You can see in very detail how different things enhance your performance.

Drug Testing in UFC

Drug Testing in UFC

Victor Belfort and Dan Henderson are UFC fighters who need TRT (Testosterone-treatment therapy). They talk about how they would like to see more drug testing being done with MMA and UFC fighters. The UFC President Dana White responded with saying that additional testing was on its way. I agree with Victor and Dan in saying that UFC and MMA fighters need to be more frequently tested for drug use.