Dr. AJ Russo

Date: 25-07-2003 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

Drugs, Testing and Athletes: Use and Abuse: Who Should Take Responsibility?

Steve Bechler, a pitching prospect with the Orioles, died Feb. 17, 2003 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the age of 23.

The cause of death was announced as heatstroke, however later it was suggested that a dietary supplement containing the herbal stimulant Xenadrine RFA-1 or ephedrine, a product available over the counter at nutrition stores, may have contributed. This later was confirmed and now the widow of the Orioles pitcher has filed a $600 million lawsuit against the maker of the ephedra-based diet drug and stimulant.

Ephedrin is a stimulant, speeding metabolism, suppressing appetite and making the user more alert. No doubt, all, or at least a few, of these effects were at the root of Belcher’s decision to use it. He thought he was overweight, slow and out of shape, had even been criticized by Orioles coaches, one practice, for not being able to complete running drills.

The NFL banned ephedrine and ephedra last year after Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer, who used an ephedra product, collapsed during a training camp workout in 2001 and later died. Peter Angelos, Orioles owner, has called for a ban and MLB will no doubt consider it again, especially because Congress has gotten into the act, urging MLB’s management and player’s union to prohibit its use.

Athletes have been using and abusing drugs since they have been available. Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, steroids, have been exploited by athletes about as much as they’ve been misused by the general public.

Stimulants (such as ephedrine), anabolic-androgenic steroids, erythropoietin (EPO), and other performance enhancing substances are being utilized by athletes to give them competitive edge, or so that they can just keep up with the others who are using.

Although quality research data is sketchy at best, some types of doping seem to be effective at enhancing performance. Amphetamines exert a positive effect on high-intensity endurance exercise. Caffeine in high doses increases endurance performance. Androgenic and anabolic steroids elicit an increase in muscle growth and strength. Although growth hormone is used in sports, scientific studies show that compared with placebo no difference in strength and muscle volume is observed, and blood doping and administration of erythropoietin are effective at enhancing endurance performance.

Based on these findings, athletes who use drugs designed to augment performance may very well have a competitive advantage over those who don’t. That’s simply not fair and is justification for outlawing them from professional and amateur sport.

Some pro sports have mandatory drug testing, others don’t—some strict policies, others lenient. Random, unannounced drug testing can be effective at catching users and may even be a successful way of reducing use among athletes.

We need to require random, unannounced testing at all levels of competition—high school, college and professional. Granted, implementation will be expensive and time consuming, but it should be effective over time and become less costly. The bigger problem will probably be deciding which drugs enhance performance, and which don’t (and what to do about the ones that don’t), but that’s for a different column.

However, I contend that prohibiting the use of performance enhancement drugs, regulated by random testing, should not be done to reduce drug use among athletes, or teach young and old about the hazards of using drugs, or try to help prevent tragedies like Steve Belcher’s and Corey Stringer’s deaths (although all these might be secondary results). It should be done to catch those who are competing unfairly—plain and simple.

At some point we have to place the responsibility and consequences of taking drugs back in the hands of the athletes who use them.