The Use of Drugs

Drug Use for Strength

Anabolic Steroids, including Testosterone

Anabolic steroids, including testosterone and human growth hormone, are the illegal performance-enhancing drugs most commonly connected with the development of explosive strength, speed and power in sports such as weightlifting, sprinting, explosive jumping and throwing events, and body-building.

Anabolic means to build or to create - these steroids are designed to enhance the body's ability to build new muscle, repair damaged muscle and increase the amount of adaptation the body does to progressive overloading

Anabolic steroids – also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids – have similar effects to testosterone (male growth hormone) in the human body. Anabolic steroids have both anabolic muscle-building properties, through stimulating protein creation within skeletal muscle, and androgenic properties (related to male hormone production) including the development of male characteristics such as facial and body hair, deepening of the voice and an increase in testosterone levels.

The negative side-effects associated with anabolic steroid use include physiological side-effects such as:

• male-pattern baldness

• acne

• liver damage

• stunted growth when used by teenagers.

• Impotence

• reduced sperm count

• testicular shrinkage

• female breast development (in males)

Females can also develop:

• facial hair

• body hair

• deepening of the voice

• disrupted menstrual cycle

• enlarged clitoris

• loss of breast development

Psychological side-effects include:

• abnormal sexual function

• aggression

• depression (sometimes leading to suicide)

• mood swings

• violence

Peptide Hormones

In recent times, the alleged use of peptide hormones among team sport athletes in Australia has taken up considerable space and time in the media, due to allegations against the Essendon AFL Football Club, the Cronulla Sharks Rugby League Football Club and the admission of Rugby League player Sandor Earl that he had taken the banned peptide CJC-1295.

Until recently, peptide hormones were undetectable, and had not been included in the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances. Peptides work by stimulating protein synthesis within the body, promoting muscle growth and recovery.

Human Growth Hormone

Human growth hormone (HGH or GH) is a naturally occurring peptide hormone found in the human body. It exists in every single cell in the body and is responsible for cell production and cell growth.

Originally developed to assist with the growth of stunted children in the 1960's, it quickly became popular amongst athletes looking to gain lean muscle mass quickly as it was undetectable in urine.

Athletes in power sports such as sprinting, weightlifting, powerlifting, body-building, throwing and jumping events, and contact sports are most likely to consider the use of HGH, due to its perceived benefits in lean muscle mass development, decreased body fat and increased ability to recover.

The negative side-effects of HGH use include:

• gigantism in younger athletes

• acromegaly (abnormal bone growth of the chin, forehead, elbows, hand and feet) in older athletes

• thyroid issues

• heart disease

• high cholesterol

• arthritis

• diabetes

• severe headaches

• osteoporosis

• impotence in men

• menstrual problems in women.

Drug use for Aerobic Performance

Blood Doping (Erythropoietin - EPO)

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a protein hormone responsible for the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow, which get released into the bloodstream. The use of EPO is an effective method of increasing the number of red blood cells in the blood, which allows the body to transport more oxygen to muscle cells during exercise, allowing for increased performance across medium to long-distance aerobic events.

Originally, blood doping described the process of athletes removing some of their own blood weeks before a competition and re-injecting the blood just before competing to increase the volume of blood in their body (thus increasing the amount of red blood cells) and getting that increase in performance. However, due to medical risks associated with these blood transfusions, the use of EPO has become the blood doping method of choice for long-distance athletes such as cyclists, marathon runners and triathletes. EPO produces more red blood cells for their body, allowing increased oxygen uptake and adds more efficient lactic acid recovery, allowing them to push harder for longer before having to endure that burning feeling associated with fatigue.

Famously, cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to the use of EPO and other drugs during his illustrious career, although he maintains that the use of EPO and other drugs in cycling did not begin and end with him - that there are far more drug cheats currently competing than we realise.

The side-effects of EPO use as a performance-enhancing agent far outweigh any benefit to the athlete. They include:

• severe headaches

• nausea

• high fevers

• fits

• anxiety

• heart attacks and strokes due to the fact that the blood becomes too thick to be pumped by the heart around the body.

Drug Use to Mask other Drugs

Diuretics

In sport, diuretics are considered ‘masking agents’, and may be used for two main reasons:

• A rapid loss in body weight. This is achieved by eliminating excess fluid from the body as a result of the increased production of urine caused by taking diuretics. Sports that may benefit from taking a banned diuretic include those that require athletes to ‘make weight’ in order to compete within a set weight division, such as boxing, horse racing, wrestling, judo and weightlifting.

• The rapid excretion of illegal performance-enhancing drugs from the system. This is achieved by ‘masking’ the presence of the illegal performance-enhancing substance in the system by diluting the urine and lowering the concentration of the banned product, making it more difficult to detect.

While athletes may see a benefit in the use of diuretics for assisting in sports performance, the reality is that the negative side-effects of their use far outweigh any possible benefit to the athlete. In fact, diuretics are not a performance-enhancing substance, but cause a variety of negative side-effects that include:

• severe dehydration

• muscle cramps

• electrolyte imbalances within the body

• feeling light-headed and dizzy, and possibly fainting

• general fatigue

• fits and convulsions

• heart and kidney failure

• a rapid drop in blood pressure

• a loss of balance and coordination.

Alcohol

Alcohol is classified as a depressant drug, which means it slows down the messages sent from the central nervous system to the muscles and organs in the body. This makes it a poor choice as a performance-enhancing drug. However, it is diuretic and causes you to go to the toilet more frequently, thus flushing out evidence of drugs in your system. The dangers associated with alcohol are widely-known, and drinking and booze culture is quickly becoming a thing of the past within the world of professional sports due to the impact it can have on performance, public image and metal health.

Benefits and Limitations of Drug-Testing

In order to catch athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, it is necessary to test athletes. This helps to ensure a fair and even playing field within sport by keeping all athletes accountable.

The organisation that oversees all Anti-Doping activity, procedures, rules and guideline development is the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) and the branch of anti-doping organisation in Australia is the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA). ASADA is responsible the conducting tests and handing out punishments in-line with the guidelines set by WADA.

Testing can be conducted at any time (both in-competition and out of competition) at any place and without any prior warning in order to keep athletes from planning their tests ahead of time. Tests can involve the collection of blood, urine or both. There are a number of benefits and limitations of drug-testing

Benefits of Drug-testing

• It is performed by an internationally recognised and accredited testing procedure to ensure adherence to strict protocols.

• It promotes and protects drug-free sports participation.

• It promotes health, fairness and equality for athletes worldwide.

• It ensures equal opportunity for all athletes, based on natural ability, drive and determination rather than artificial means.

• It acts as a deterrent to illegal doping, as testing can be conducted anywhere and at any time. It provides strict sanctions against athletes found to be cheating. It protects the rights of athletes to compete in a drug-free environment.

• It protects the athletes from the harmful side-effects attributed to illegal sports doping.

Limitations of drug-testing

• Testing is limited, due to the fact that the high- resolution mass spectrometer used to detect illegal substances in the laboratory is only capable of detecting drugs it knows how to detect. In other words, new designer drugs will not be detected, as the machine does not know they exist.

• The process of sample collection is invasive – for example, during a routine urine test, athletes must remove all clothing between the waist and mid-thigh and roll up their sleeves in full view of the chaperone (same sex as the athlete), as athletes in the past have attempted to tamper with samples in order to avoid detection.

• The drug cheats are always one step ahead of the drug testers.

• The cost of testing is extremely expensive, amounting to millions of dollars annually throughout the world.