Drug Abuse In The Olympics

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The Olympics is a way for many countries to show the world the abilities of their native upcoming athletes. It is a prestigious event in which many people compete for a medal in a respective athletic area. However, the integrity of the Olympics and its competitors is being threatened by a predominant issue regarding steroids and performance enhancing drugs. Due to the inherent competitivity of the Olympics, many athletes are using performance enhancing drugs to obtain an absolute advantage. Drug abuse in the Olympics must be stopped for the good of everyone and the olympics. The first and seemingly the most established issue would be the health of the drug abuser. According to Michael Maloney, doctor of medicine, and the director of University Sports Medicine, misuse of anabolic steroid and other performance enhancing drugs can lead to serious long-term health issues. Male drug abusers can experience effects such as Gynecomastia. Steroid use has also been …show more content…
The Olympics should be considered a prestigious and legitimate event where natural athletes show the fruits of their labors and compete skillfully for first place. By doping, the physical ability required to get first place is raised dramatically, and to be competitively viable, one must dope to have a chance at winning. Furthermore, the doping problem has its roots ingrained in the Olympics. The issue can be prevented by drug awareness and stricter regulation of competing athletes. Currently, there is a colossal incentive to use steroids to gain an edge. The best way to prevent someone from doing something in general is to add repercussions. For example, the reason people don’t murder is because of the severe repercussions of long jail times or death sentences. Although these punishments are extreme for a crime like doping, there should be more punishments established for those who