Performance enhancing drugs have been around for hundreds of years. The Incas of the South America country Peru used the burned leaves of coca trees to give them great amounts of energy when faced with battles, hunts, ect. Even today they use coca leaves as a way of giving them the energy to do a full days work. Today we know that the ashes of the coca tree's leaves actually contained cocaine. The "first recorded drug related death in sports"{1} was of a European cyclist in 1886. The drug responsible for the cyclist was a "mixture of heroin and cocaine"{2} nicknamed the speedball. Tom Hicks of the U.S. collapsed after winning the marathon in the 1904 Olympics. It was later found that "Hicks had drunk a mixture of brandy and strychnine {Dolan 1986}."{3} As you can see, the use of drugs to try to enhance performance is not a new idea; athletes have been experimenting with drugs for years.

Probably the most recognized performance enhancing drugs are anabolic steroids. Steroids have been used in medical p

A third reason for legalizing steroids is because they would be a safer product because of Gov. regulations. Legalization would ensure a safe product. Physicians would also be able to determine the amount that a person should take and monitor the results. Legalizing steroids would prevent a person from over doing the amount and dying on the spot. Yet, steroids are not legal and consequently a person can take as much as he or she wants. Taking to many steroids causes to many deaths because the steroid user doesn't know what or how much they should take. The U.S. should make steroids legal so people will be educated about steroids by receiving a prescription for them. All steroids are not all toxic, meaning they are not hard on the body.

Less cost is another reason for legalizing steroids. Over 400 million dollars per year is spent on steroids and other sports drugs in the black market. By legalizing steroids, the demand on the black market for steroids would end, and the price of steroids would be competitive. If steroids were legal, law enforcement costs would also decrease. Legalizing steroids, therefore, would reduce costs to both steroid users and taxpayers. Some have called this posture "accepting reality" and say that it would lessen the level of hypocrisy in sports and bodybuildong. You also wouldn't see the number of steroid pusher on our streets, and in our gyms. Instead of pushers trying to make a quick buck you could buy steroids in a store, you know what your buying how much they really are. Legalizing steroids would prevent the selling of fake steroids for 200 dollars more.

There are always opposing viewpoints and here is another way you can look on the performance enhancing drug, steroids. The primary reason that steroids should be legal because steroids are abused. According to an Australian physician steroids should be legal and monitored by doctors because "danger is not a deterrent to use, citing alcohol and hard drugs as example" If steroids were monitored, doctors could prevent abuse. The danger with using steroids is with the abuse of the drug. By preventing the abuse, the danger is minimal. If danger levels could be decreased, steroids should be legalized. It would also stop people wanting the drug so much, because they would have it at their disposal. The reason people want steroids so bad are because they are so hard to find and, people don't know if they are going top find anymore when they want it. That is a reason why when people get the drug they think the more they take at one time the longer it will last, and the bigger they will get. Once again if steroids were le

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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)