Steroid Use example essay topic

Anabolic and androgenic steroids come in many different forms. The most popular form is a pill and is easy to take. The draw back of the pill is it is hard on the liver and kidneys because it passes through the system in a couple of hours. Another popular form is cream. The cream's advantage is it is easy to apply and is less harmful to the body. The draw back is it is very ineffective.

The last form is injection. Injecting straight into the muscle gives the best results. Most serious athletes that use enhancement drugs take pills every day of their cycle and inject three times a week. Some of the short-term affects of steroid use include mild to severe acne.

Another side affect is called, this is when the skin's pores get larger. Steroids increase the risk of heart disease because they raise the cholesterol in the system, which causes thickening of the arterial walls. (Anonymous, 2003, p. 1) Long term affects from steroid use can cause damage to the heart, kidney, or liver. There have been documented cases where an individual has died because they did not cycle properly. Steroids are not physically addictive, but they can be very mentally addictive. When a person sees large gains in strength or performance it can be hard for them to stop their cycle (Stocker, 2004, p. 3) When a person cycles their doses they typically start with small doses.

As they progress in their cycle the dose get larger. In the middle of the cycle the doses are the highest and then they become less as the cycle ends. One of the affects of high testosterone levels is aggression. Some pro athletes use this extra aggression as a tool and it can be an advantage along with the increase in strength and stamina. Many people don't believe steroids can make a mild manner person flip out in rage, but it will make a person that is borderline psychotic cross that line. If a family member wrote an autobiography according to his personal life and decided to include the family's dirty laundry, how would you feel?

Well this is exactly how Todd Jones, a reliever for the Marlins felt when he read, "The Juice", an autobiography written by former major league player Jose Canseco. Jose admits using illegal steroids during his career. "I would never been a major league caliber player without steroids... over the years I've been diagnosed by my doctors with arthritis, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease... I believe I would be in a wheel chair today if wasn't for steroids, I needed steroids and growth hormone just to live". ( : //web 5... gale group. com) "Juice" is the tell-all book because it breaks the clubhouse code of silence and violates an unwritten rule of the game. Speaking out on what was known but never publicized. Jose also says baseball black-balled him when he was 38 home runs short of 500 for his career and a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame.

If he had reached 500 home runs would have still written his book? The MLB regulations consist of testing once during the season. First time offenders are placed in treatment programs and suspended for 10 days. Even the fourth positive test is penalized by only a year. "Human growth hormone can be detected only in blood tests, not in the urine samples used by MLB... Insulin-like growth factor, another muscle builder, is undetectable". (web) Major league officials say the threat of a ten-day suspension for a first time offender will deter potential users who will not want to risk exposure.

A problem is the testing will be controlled by MLB, not an outside agency. In comparing the MLB testing procedures with other sports, baseball throws out a curve ball. The National Football League implements the players to lose a quarter of their season for the first offense, while Olympic athletes are banned for two years. Sprinter Kelli is an example; she was stripped of track-and-field titles after she admitted to using steroids.

As a result of the new testing procedures, baseball may no longer have the luxury of such defiance. For example, "Congress William Lacy Clay urged the Missouri State Legislature to remove Mark McGwire's name from a five-mile stretch of I-70 that now honors him". (web) Let's assume the new testing indeed leads to a reduction in the use of performance enhancers. Would pitchers and hitters have the same capacity in meeting the average fastball that has increased from 90 to 93 mph? No one knows if the number of pitchers "juiced" compared to hitters benefited to the same extent. But it is clear, hitters weren't alone in seeking an edge.

One could assume it was all done for the "Love of the Game". There is a connection that both Anabolic steroids and the more commonly use of illegal drugs are being used as a defense of out of control violent rages. There is now a reasonable recognition of steroids being the cause of depression (M. Occhipinti, MS, Ph. D., ND). The observations of cycles are noted with most drugs requiring continual use, and for steroids it is being termed "off-cycle" or "road-rage". Anabolic and androgenic steroids are a manipulation of testosterone (article published on the Internet by The Medical Journal of Australia.