FREE ESSAY ON ANABOLIC STEROIDS

ANABOLIC STEROIDS

Anabolic Steroid Use in the Olympics
Canadian track star Ben Johnson was denied his gold medal in the 1988 Olympics after he
tested positive for anabolic steroids. This incident sparked worldwide attention to the
extent of anabolic steroid use. To date, the International Olympic Committee has barred
the use of seventeen anabolic steroids. Other organizations, including The National
Football League, National Collegiate Athletic Association's International Amateur
Athletic Federation, and the International Federation of Body Builders have followed
suit. Athletes and non-athletes alike are still abusing anabolic steroids to excel in
sports. 
Anabolic steroids belong to a group of androgenic drugs. They are synthetic derivatives
of testosterone and other male hormones. Most healthy adult males produce 2-10 milligrams
of testosterone per day. Females produce trace amounts of this hormone. The hormone helps
the body retain dietary protein, which aids in the growth of muscles, bones, and skin.
They can also affect aggressiveness and sex drive. Steroids tend to mimic testosterone's
body building traits, while minimizing the masculine effect. The adrenal glands in women
and young boys produce very little testosterone. It is the increase in the production of
testosterone in young males that precipitates puberty. The anabolic effect of
testosterone during puberty includes deepening of the voice, increasing muscle mass and
strength, and decreasing body fat. All of this takes place without exercise or training.
Anabolic steroids can be taken by injection, by mouth, by skin creams, or patches.
Steroids are often taken in six to twelve week cycles. The dosage depends on the sport,
as well as the perceived needs of the athlete. Depending on what they want to achieve,
athletes control how they respond to the drug and the physiological effect it has on
them. Athletes often take far higher doses of anabolic steroids than have been given for
therapeutic use or in clinical studies. Some athletes use 10 to 100 times the amount
their bodies produce.
Anabolic steroids are primarily the result of research to develop drugs that would
separate the tissue building capability of testosterone from its masculinizing
properties. This separation has never been accomplished. By 1935, the basic nature of its
anabolic and androgenic effects had been recognized by Dr. Charles Kochakian, who most
experts consider the "Father of Steroids." He showed that a hormone-like extract from
male urine stimulated a strong positive nitrogen balance in castrated dogs. A positive
nitrogen balance indicated the synthesis of new tissue proteins in dogs and humans. The
anabolic properties of testosterone were established. Further research in rats showed the
positive nitrogen balance was also associated with non-fat body weight.
Through the 1940's, scientists attempted to achieve the tissue-building effects without
the masculinizing effects of testosterone. Dr. Kochakian, concerned with the possible
misuse of anabolic steroids wrote, "All of the modified steroids still remain sufficient
virilizing (masculinizing) activity to make them objectionable as therapeutic, especially
in children and women." (Yesalis 34) The use of anabolic steroids wasn't introduced to
the sporting arena until the 1940's and 1950's. The Russian weight lifting team won
several medals in the 1952 Olympics, partly due to synthetic testosterone use. An
American physician determined that US competitors should have the same advantage.
By 1958, physicians realized the drug had surfaced widely in the sports world. According
to David Katz and Harrison Pope of Harvard University, "There may be a greater number of
cases of anabolic steroid induced psychiatric illness in the country than had been
assumed... These effects may pose a danger not only to the steroid users, but to the
public at large." (Anabolic Steroids: A Threat to Mind and Body 2) Early users were
mainly body builders, weight lifters, and football players, who relied on bulk or
strength. During the 1970's demand grew as athletes in some areas sought the competitive
edge that steroids appeared to give. According to Dr. Charles Yesalis, "When you review
the history of anabolic steroid use in sports and exercise, a number of ironies emerge.
Not only did the medical community develop these drugs, but it played an early role in
'selling' this potential fountain of youth." (Yesalis 37) The American College of Sports
Medicine concluded in 1977 that anabolic steroids did not work. By 1984, the organization
reversed its position when scientific data was made available. Due to the American
College of Sports Medicine's earlier statements, it lost a lot of credibility with
athletes.
The truth is anabolic steroids, when combined with intense training, increase muscle mass
and strength beyond what can be accomplished with training alone. How steroids work is
likely to be explained by the combined mechanisms of and increase in protein synthesis,
prevention of muscle tissue destruction from exercise, the effect on the nervous system
and neuromuscular junctions, and the increased aggressiveness.
The short-term risk of anabolic steroids is well documented. Some risks are temporary;
others could be a threat to long term health. Especially when risk factors such as low
HDL level are sustained for a long time. Prolonged use of steroids increases the risk for
diseases. The long term health problems are currently unclear. But taking everything we
do know into account, anyone, male or female, would be foolish to think there are no
consequences involved in the use of anabolic steroids.
Women are finally getting some of the same recognition in sports as men. Unfortunately,
they also have the same problems, including drug use. According to Rene Portland, head
basketball coach at Pennsylvania, "Women are headed down the same bad path as the men,
The 'winning at all costs' mentality, cutting corners, kids not making their own choices
and decisions -- women's sports has it all." (Yesalis 64) When the most important thing
is winning, women are just as vulnerable to using anabolic steroids as men are. Some
women may see anabolic steroids as a way to relieve the pressure. Women who take steroids
are taking an even greater risk than men. They are ingesting a male hormone that will
change their bodies. These changes include becoming masculine, loss of scalp hair, growth
of facial hair, spread of pubic hair, deepening of the voice, and enlargement of the
clitoris. These effects are predominantly permanent. It is not conclusive whether
anabolic steroids are addictive or not. Most users are unwilling to stop taking the drug.
Dr. Yesalis concludes that, "Athletes would rather confess to cocaine use than to steroid
use." (Anabolic Steroids: A Threat to Mind and Body 3) The non-medical use of anabolic
steroids is illegal. Users usually acquire the drugs through expensive, illegal means.
The drug is often illegally manufactured and may be contaminated, therefore it is unknown
what chemicals are being injected into your body.
Erythropoitin or EPO regulates red blood cell production. These cells deliver oxygen to
the body. Medically, it is used to treat anemia in patients with kidney disease. Long
distance runners, swimmers, and cyclists use this endurance-boosting hormone to increase
the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the cells. Due to the increased oxygen, it can
improve the athlete's time in a twenty-minute race by 30 seconds. In a marathon race,
their time can be increased by as much as four minutes. Overdose of EPO can thicken the
blood. The blood becomes too thick for the heart to pump. Since 1987, there have been 25
mysterious deaths among world class cyclists. EPO is believed to be the cause. In a 1995
poll, US athletes were asked, "Would you take a drug that made you a champion knowing
that it would kill you in five years?" More than 50 per cent said yes. (Breaking the
Olympic Habit 2)
There is still no institutional test for EPO. The prospect for cheaters is good. The
International Olympic Committee has set its dirty bar very high. The usual amount of
testosterone/epitestosterone is a 1:1 ratio in urine. Very few people four or five. The
cut off in Sydney is six. Any athlete monitoring his or her intake carefully could take
the banned drugs and still pass the test. These drugs are hard to detect. You could stop
your intake well before being tested and still test negative. Frank Shorter, former gold
medallist, now Chairman of the US Anti-Doping Agency says, "Knowing a test is looming
will knock cheaters off stride." (Breaking the Olympic Habit 3) The only way to catch a
cheater is random, out of competition drug testing. A third of the twenty-eight
federations do not agree with out of competition testing.
Michelle Smith, an Irish swimmer married a former discus thrower from the Netherlands. He
was kicked out of his own sport for drug use. Michelle Smith won four medals in Atlanta,
three of them gold. She never failed a drug screen. She managed not to be randomly tested
for two years. She was confronted at her Country Kilkenny home and gave a urine sample.
Her urine contained enough alcohol to kill her. It was suspected she added the alcohol to
cover up the other drugs. She was and is still banned from sports.
It is known that East German athletes were given steroids in 1978. Yet, in 1976 and 1980,
not even one East German tested positive for drugs in the summer games. They took home
216 medals, which included 87 gold medals. Canadian coach Charlie Francis stated, "It
isn't cheating if everybody is doing it." (Are Drugs Winning the Games? 1) But of the
8,465 competitor's at Seoul, only 10, including Ben Johnson, tested positive for drugs.
Frank Shorter stated, "I think right now every performance in an endurance event is
suspect." (Breaking the Olympic Habit 3) Not so, according to Craig Masback, Chief
Executive Officer of the USA Track and Field, "The Olympics are the most tested sports
movement in the world. I believe that the vast majority of athletes aren't on drugs."
(Are Drugs Winning the Game? 1) International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio
Samaranch said, "The message is very clear. This is a new fight against doping." (Are
Drugs Winning the Games? 2) He also admitted that some banned substances were not being
tested for. The I.O.C. bans six classes of drugs and three methods of performance
enhancement. Still the athletes in Sidney will be affected. 
Education has been a key point in controlling and eliminating drug use. Many school
districts include steroid education in their drug use and abuse curriculum. Most colleges
and sports organizations have formal drug education programs.
Young people, who use cocaine, heroine, alcohol, and other illegal chemicals, know they
are using drugs that are a risk to their health. They know they could get into trouble
with the police and their parents. While young people who use steroids would not even
consider using recreational drugs. They don't consider steroids a drug. Athletes who
achieve muscle and strength gains with hard work and proper diet, without steroids, have
health benefits that last a lifetime. On the other hand, cosmetic changes,
musculoskeletal injuries, infertility, heart disease, stroke, prostate problems, and
liver toxicity have been associated with the abuse of steroids.
Bibliography
Works Cited
"Anabolic Steroids: A Threat to Mind and Body" National Institutes of Health/National
Institute on 
Drug Abuse, .
Sullivan, Robert, and Sora Song. "Are Drugs Winning the Games?" Time 11 Sept. 2000:
43-44
Sullivan, Robert. "Breaking the Olympic Habit." Time 31 July 2000: 1-3.
Yesalis, Charles E., and Virginia S. Cowart. The Steroids Game. Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics, 1988.