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Chris Jutt Research Paper Should Steroids Be Banned From Society? It’s amazing what athletes will do to achieve higher levels of performance and to get an edge on the rivaled competition. Often people do not realize the long-term effects that result from the decisions they make early in life. This resembles the obvious phenomenon with steroids. Steroids became a spreading exposure to athletes in the Olympics and other major sporting events during the 1950’s. This use of steroids among athletes became apparent when Canadian sprint runner Ben Johnson tested positive for steroid use after winning the gold medal for the 100-meter dash during the 1988 Olympics. Today, a thin fifteen-year-old can just walk down to the local gym and find sellers to obtain the drug that will make him the idol of all his classmates. Being such an attractive drug, as shown in the analogy above, and seeming harmless to the unaware user, steroids can have a potentially jeopardous effect. Consistently, users, new and experienced, have no knowledge as to the dangerous consequences that steroids can have on their minds and bodies. Although steroids have low death tolls in our society, banning it is purely justified because of the extremely perilous side effects it inflicts on the unsuspecting user. Though steroids are known as a somewhat dangerous substance, they are legal to possess and consume. There has not yet been a true clinical study that proves such possible side effects are linked to the use of steroids. Sure, there has been several cases in which someone has died and an autopsy has shown that the person was using steroids, but this does not mean they are a lethal drug as some medical professionals have stated. Some advocates believe that because steroids are legal, and since it’s the decision of the user to take the drug, steroids are not causing a problem in society. Millions, causing deteriorating effects on their bodies, consume alcohol and cigarettes every day, but there has never been a protest to put a ban on these items because of their harmful nature. So how are steroids any different? Some people may state that the wide spread use of steroids among professional athletes is forcing young upcoming athletes to use steroids, even though it’s against their morals. This is because they know they can not compete adequately against their opponents who are using steroids to achieve higher levels of performance. One might say this is how competition works though. Race car drivers and gymnasts are out there every day, pushing themselves harder and harder, going just a little faster, or doing a new, more difficult trick. Many believe they are forced by their own desire to win, and the hazardous risks they take, be it taking a corner a little faster or pulling an extra flip in a routine, are no different than the risks a football player, wrestler, or weight lifter takes when they choose to use steroids to increase their skills.
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