Drug Testing Athletes

A common topic in high schools of late has been the use of drugs and steroid use among athletes. High schools have the ability to test athletes for the safety of the students. Although some parents and students believe that drug testing students in high school causes problems that can be avoided by not testing them. In high school athletics, people have proposed to drug test athletes for the safety of the athletes; however, other people believe that they should not be drug tested because it affects the school in negative ways.
In more recent years the issue of testing high school athletes has started to become popular as more studies develop; however, drugs have been a problem in schools for years. Stated in “Teen Health and Wellness”, “In …show more content…
By providing student athletes with dietary supplements and protein supplements schools could prevent some drug use and limit the costs of the drug tests. Mitton says “it generally is permissible for athletes to ingest non muscle building dietary supplements that facilitate athletic performance such as carbohydrates, electrolyte drinks, energy bars, vitamins, and minerals--and they often are encouraged to do so. Even the use of creatine as a muscle-building substance currently is not considered to be "doping" or an improper means of athletic performance enhancement”(Mathew Mitton). By providing athletes with supplements healthy for their body, not only will it make their body healthier, but should also help with their ability to play sports. Supplements are just one resolution to solve the dispute over drug testing. With the increase technology and the rise in modern medicine other ideas have been brought about letting athletes use steroids, but have them be supervised. Mitton again talks about “if steroids effectively enhance performance, what is wrong with allowing athletes to take advantage of modern medicine and pharmacology? After all, athletes frequently are given painkillers and are fitted with artificial devices designed to enable continued participation in a sport despite an injury, and these generally are considered to be acceptable practices”(Mathew Mitton). Athletes could be allowed to take steroids as long as they are being monitored and not overdosing on them. This would also limit possible problems with the illegal selling of steroids. Making steroids legal can decrease the amount of health risks because people legally taking the steroids could be monitored. Legalizing steroids could change sports in general traumatically. Finally, the last resolution that ties together the accuracy of tests and how athletes beat a