Stimulants are the second most common drug found in testing. Stimulants are commonly called "uppers" or "speed". The more widely abused stimulants are amphetamines and cocaine. It speeds up parts of the body and the brain to improve reactions and stop you getting tired. Several sports people have died as a result of stimulants being used. The body can build up tolerance quite easily which means that increased doses have to be used to achieve the same effect. People who abruptly stop using stimulants often experience the physical signs of addiction, such as fatigue, long periods of sleep, irritability and depression. Stimulants are potentially attractive to athletes in many different sports. Cyclists use them to keep going on long rides, while runners feel stimulants help them run faster as they can tolerate pain much better.
The most famous court case in history of drugs being used in sport is that involving a westerner, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson. In 1988 he won the 100 metres at the Seoul Olympics in a world record time but was later stripped of his gold medal and banned for two years after testing positive for anabolic steroid.
This resulted in a life ban from the track and in March 1993 he gave another positive test. Since then he has made an unsuccessful attempt to get back into the Canadian Team for the 2000 Olympics.
Many athletes genuinely make a mistake by taking drugs for medical purposes. Many common remedies for colds and flu contain stimulants. Athletes must never use such products, without first checking with a doctor. If they do not check with a doctor then they will not know if it has any sort of drug that could harm their career.
Some athlete’s misuse medicine by getting addicted to it, as they feel it can help them train better. There are all sorts of medicines that are prone to addiction such as antibiotics, which are proscribed but similar medicines, which have the same effect but may take longer as it is not as powerful, which can be bought at the pharmacy. This is what the tests are for, the people that misuse the medicine. Athletes should not be taking drugs as the truth will come out eventually and it will then damage their career like Ben Johnson, Tommy Simpson and Dennis Mitchell, the US 100m champion who was banned for two years. They were all caught for taking steroids.
At all sporting events and in every league, there is random drug testing. This is usually a urine sample, but this does not detect all drugs very effectively, so some people are trying to get blood testing for illegal drugs. If a drug is found in someone's body, it doesn't mean they will be punished. Some drugs, like Nandrolone, are made naturally in the body, but in very small amounts. This makes it very hard to tell if the sportsperson has been cheating. If they have, then they are usually banned
I feel that drugs should not be used in sport, as it could be the end of your career and spoil your reputation and the sport’s reputation. The only way drugs should be allowed is for medical reasons only and even then you should go to the doctor first. But taking medicine could also lead to becoming an addict, which can then end your career.
