Steroids and Drug Use in Sports
International Olympic Committee and Major League Baseball seeking to clamp down on steroids and other drug use and addiction by revising drug testing policies
(PRWEB) December 12, 2004 -- The driving force behind competition has led
individuals within various athletic arenas to tarnish themselves, their sport
and their country by using performance-enhancing drugs. With the ongoing BALCO
scandal and the naming of specific athletes, including an Olympic Gold Medalist
Marion Jones and the Major League single-season homerun record holder Barry
Bonds.
The ongoing controversy over drug use in athletics has also led to
Senator John McCain offering help from a Legislative level. Major League
Baseball and the International Olympic Committee are continuing investigations
and seeking out possible reform to current policies regarding steroid and other
drug use.
Since the 1950s, some athletes have been taking anabolic
steroids to build muscle and boost their athletic performance. Increasingly,
other segments of the population also have been taking these compounds.
Regardless of whether it is considered right or wrong in athletics,
there are plenty of documented health risks and side effects associated with
steroids. In addition to this there is the abuse potential and the possibility
of leading to addiction to other drugs as well.
Seeing role models
artificially enhancing themselves for increased performance, condoning use of
drugs such as marijuana or even simply saying that they have a right to not be
tested for using illicit drugs represents a bad example for our children. It can
act as a built-in justifier, “So and so does it, and look where he (or she) is.”
For the sake of our future, the last thing we need is to make it look okay for
our children to do drugs.
While recent studies indicate that 90% of high
school students view steroid use as dangerous, there has been a 50% increase in
the number of teens who have tried steroids since 1991. Overall, the prevalence
of lifetime illegal steroid use among students in grades 9-12 is higher among
males (6.8%) than females (5.3%).
Teens that use steroids are more likely
to engage in other risky behaviors as well. For example, one study found that
teen steroid users were more likely to use alcohol and illicit drugs, practice
risky sex and engage in suicidal behavior.
When dealing with addiction,
to steroids or any other drugs, it is important to handle the situation without
using more chemicals that alter the body. Though it sounds simple, too many
treatment programs assign addiction the label of being a brain disease and
therefore attempt to treat the problem with more drugs to “restore balance.”
There is one program that is currently operating in 40 countries and
rapidly expanding due to its effectiveness. It is a treatment and education
organization called Narconon which utilizes the successful drug-free
rehabilitation methodology researched and developed by American author and
humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.
Narconon Arrowhead is the largest center in
the international Narconon network, and according to an Arrowhead
representative, “We do see a number of people that have become addicted to
stimulants such as cocaine, crack and methamphetamine as a result of their
steroid use.”
To find out more information about drugs or to get help for
a loved one in need, contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933 or log
on to www.stopaddiction.com.
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb187942.htm