Featured Resources
| Should performance enhancing drugs (such as steroids) be accepted in sports? |
| Top 10 Pros and Cons |
| Did You Know? |
| Historical Timeline |
| Comments |
Projects
| 192 Banned Performance Enhancing Substances and Methods |
| Drug Tests Used in Sports |
| Doping Cases at the Olympics, 1968-2010 |
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| Source Biographies |
| Glossary |
| Notices Archive |
| Site Map |
Pros and Cons by Issue
Issue: CORE QUESTION
| Q: | Should performance enhancing drugs (such as steroids) be accepted in sports? |
Issue: Performance Enhancing Drugs
| Q: | What are performance enhancing drugs? |
| Q: | Why are some performance enhancing drugs legal while others are banned? |
| Q: | What are some examples of legal performance enhancing substances that athletes are allowed to use? |
| Q: | Is a potential negative impact on the athlete's health a valid reason to ban performance enhancing drugs in sports? |
Issue: "Blood Doping" and Erythropoietin (EPO)
| Q: | What are "blood doping" and erythropoietin (EPO)? |
| Q: | Should "blood doping" and erythropoietin (EPO) use be accepted in sports? |
Issue: Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
| Q: | What is human growth hormone (HGH)? |
| Q: | Should human growth hormone (HGH) use be accepted in sports? |
Issue: Hall of Fame
| Q: | Should baseball players who have used banned substances be voted into the Hall of Fame? |
Issue: Drug Testing
| Q: | Drug Tests Used in Sports |
| Q: | Are the laboratories used to test athletes for performance enhancing drugs credible and reliable? |
| Q: | Are existing testing efforts effective in detecting the use of performance enhancing drugs? |
| Q: | What are some known methods of cheating to pass performance enhancing drug tests? |
| Q: | Is the 2009 WADA "whereabouts" rule (requiring professional athletes to report three months in advance where they will be for one hour every day) an unfair invasion of athletes' privacy? |
Issue: Moral and Ethical Issues
| Q: | Does the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs by some athletes coerce other athletes to also use them to remain competitive? |
| Q: | Does the use of performance enhancing drugs violate the "spirit of sport"? |
| Q: | Is there an ethical difference between using performance enhancing drugs and using performing enhancing technologies in nutrition, training, and equipment? |
| Q: | Do athletes gain an unfair advantage by using performance enhancing drugs? |
Issue: Olympics
| Q: | How many athletes have committed doping violations at the Olympics? |
| Q: | Is there widespread systemic use of banned performance-enhancing drugs by Olympic athletes? |
| Q: | What performance enhancing drugs have been or are banned in the Olympics? |
| Q: | Should the teammates of athletes who are found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs in the Olympics also return their medals? |
Issue: Public Policy
| Q: | Should the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports be legalized? |
| Q: | Should the US Congress be involved in setting drug policies for professional sports? |
| Q: | Would allowing performance enhancing drugs in sports decrease fan turnout, revenue, and corporate sponsorship? |