I choose to research the topic of performance enhancing drugs. Throughout the following paper I will focus on the different types of drugs along with the ages and different sports affected by this problem.
             Performance drugs have an ancient history dating back to the Greek Olympians who used hallucinogenic mushrooms to psych up for an event. In 1886 a French cyclist was the first known athlete to die from performance drugs, he died from a mixture of cocaine and heroin called "speedballs" (Schrof, 1992). In 1904, marathon runner Thomas Hicks nearly died after gulping down what he called a "stimulating strychnine and courage-inspiring brandy (Strychnine is often used as a rat poison)." (Current Events, 2000). In the 1920s, physicians inserted slices of monkey testicles into male athletes to boost vitality and in the '30s; Hitler allegedly administered the hormone testosterone to himself and his troops to increase aggressiveness (Schrof, 1992).
             There are many different types of performance enhancing drugs. Right now two are dominating the market creatine and androstenedione. Baseball players Mark Mc-Gwire and Sammy Sosa have admitted consuming creatine and Mark McGwire also admits to taking androstenedione. Both substances are readily available over the counter. Because they are labeled as dietary supplements they are not subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (Josefson, 1998). Creatine is a protein that primes muscles to recover quickly from workouts, thus Users can pump iron more often and bulk up faster. The major known side effects are dizziness, diarrhea and cramping (Lemonick & Park, 1998). Androstenedione ("andro", as it is called by users) is a steroid precursor produced in the gonads and adrenals of both males and females, and is convened to testosterone or to estrogen (Pediatric Alert, 2000). Erythropoietin (EPO) is the drug under investigation at the Tour de France...