Argument on drug testing
From workplace to school, from professional sports to the armed forces, the advent of drug-testing procedures has stirred debate and controversy. The issue of drug testing in athletics seems to be the most prevalent debate. An incident that really brought drug testing into the spotlight is the track and field event in the 1988 Summer World Olympic Games. The two competitors in the limelight were Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson, both excellent and very emulating runners who have beaten each other in past competitions. This was the opportunity for the whole world to see who the true champion was after the 100 meter dash. In a quick ten seconds, Ben Johnson crossed the finish line as a champion, and from then on he was known as the fastest man alive. A week later a drug test was administered to Ben Johnson, and he then confessed to being a user of an illegal drug, anabolic steroids. Since the use of any kind of illegal drugs, including steroids, was and still is against Olympic regulations, Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal, that was then awarded to Carl Lewis (Galas,1997). Due to this incident and many others, drug testing should be enforced because it provides drug using athletes an unfair advantage, can eliminat
Another opposition to drug testing is that the results from drug tests are not always 100 percent accurate due to non-certified laboratories, not carefully watched specimens, and no follow up tests being administered. Opposers feel, "a false-positive is the finding by a drug test of a drug that is not, in fact, present in the tested sample" (Levine, 1998, p. 102). This can occur when specimens get mixed up. Also tests can pick up substances that are contained in simple over-the-counter products or food that can make the test come back positive (Levine, 1998). "All some test show is a person came into contact with some type of drug at one time. Tests may not give sufficient information to indicate the way the drug got into a person's body" (Levine, 1998, p.103). Due to these uncertainties and suspicions, athletes can be wrongfully accused of being a drug abuser and therefore might possibly be wrongfully punished. Although designed to protect and thereby curtail the use of illegal drugs, the well-intended procedure of testing athletes involves many difficult issues, such as the issue of privacy. Those against drug testing feel that it should be banned because it violates the Fourth Amendment which defends and protects the rights of the American citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. The amendment states that "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized" (Cornell.edu). Many feel that the act of testing a person for illegal drugs is an invasion of one's privacy. What an athlete wishes to do with his/her own body, whether being good or bad, is that athlete's prerogative and cannot be infringed. No matter how strenuous the circumstances may be, every one deserves that right of privacy and no individual should be permitted to partake in the invasion of it. Another unfair advantage is that those who take steroids have a physical edge over the athletes who do not. The drug using athletes are stronger than most of the athletes who do not use steroids, because..."as a performance-enhancing drug, anabolic steroids have been shown to produce increases in body weight and muscle mass" (Nardo, 1990, p.20). A prime example is Bam Morris, a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mo
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Approximate Word count = 1686
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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