ve only if taken shortly before the beginning of the athletic contest. Other performance-enhancers serve mainly as training aids. By helping muscles to recuperate more quickly from exhaustion or injury, these substances enable users to train for longer periods of time at high intensity. Nearly all drugs used in organized sports have potentially serious side-effects, and some athletes decline to use them for that reason. But other athletes take these drugs with little or no hesitation. To a large extent, their attitude has been shaped by society. "Drugs are used to soothe pain, relieve anxiety, help us to sleep, keep us awake, lose or gain weight," For many problems, people rely on drugs rather than seeking alternative coping methods. It is not surprising that athletes should adopt similar attitudes. (Athletes and Drugs) Athletes may also turn to drugs to relieve stress generated by the conflicting demands of sports competition and ordinary life. People boosting their egos surround athletes and tell Them they are invulnerable to the ordinary pressures we all face. An athlete has to deal with the disjunction between the outside world, which says they are exceptional, and what they feel inside, which is they are just as human as the rest of us. Still, the nature of sports competition provides the main reason for athletes to turn to drugs. Professional athletes are ideal targets for drug use. They fall within the susceptible age group, 20 to 35. They receive large salaries. They have free time due to short length of professional seasons. (Athletes and Drugs) In order to solve the complex problem of drug abuse in sports, we need a comprehensive drug policy developed by all those concerned. Under such a policy, athletes would make a concentrated effort not to use any drugs in sports. These policies have to be straightforward. If the problem of drug abuse in sport is not avoided, more and more athletes will not only ...
