Stimulants

A stimulant is defined as: A substance that raises levels of physiological or nervous activity in the body.
 
People tend to not know a lot about the performance enhancing drugs of Stimulants. Stimulants have most commonly been used illegally by runners, cyclists, and other such athletes since the 1930s. They use these drugs because they can increase aggression and competitiveness as well as reduce tiredness and fatigue.

Some negatives associated with stimulants are they may cause harmful health effects such as high blood pressure, changes in heart rhythm, anxiety, and they can be addicting.


A few stimulants banned by the International Olympic Committee are; amphetamines and ephedrine. Caffeine used to be a banned stimulant, however it was removed in 2004. Many substances often found in cold medications are also banned.

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Athletes and Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Performance-enhancing drugs are defined as: chemicals that can improve a person‘s strength, endurance, or recovery from vigorous exercise.

Some Performance-enhancing drugs

These drugs are in several categories, including stimulants, anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and other peptides, erythropoietin (EPO), etc.


In 1999, international sports organizations formally outlawed the use of performance-enhancing drugs for their respective athletes in their respective leagues. These organizations created an "anti-doping" code that requires a two-year suspension of athletes caught using these drugs. The code is enforced by the WADA and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Barry Bonds Cartoon

Major League Baseball (MLB) has had a bad history with performance-enhancing drugs. The MLB conducted a supposedly anonymous drug test of MLB players in 2003. These tests revealed extensive illegal and performance-enhancing drug use. Because of these results, in 2005, U.S. Congress investigated the use of these drugs in the MLB. The actual league also investigated. In 2007, the MLB released an detailed report of performance-enhancing drugs used by some of baseball’s most famous players. The list included Barry Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron’s career home run record in 2007. Also, in 2010, Mark McGwire confessed that he was using steroids when he broke the single-season home-run record in 1998.

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Athletes and Recreational Drugs

A recreational drug is defined as: A drug used non-medically for personal enjoyment.

Recreational drugs include: marijuana, cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, opium, LSD, ecstasy, etc. These are used again for personal pleasure and not to enhance performance.

Recreational Drugs

These drugs are illegal and can cause health problems. Also their users may become addicted to them.



Recreational drugs are among the substances that are banned in the Olympics and other international sporting events by the World Anti-Doping  Agency (WADA). In America, most professional sport leagues frown upon the use of recreational drugs. These athletes are subject to drug tests, and if they test positive for recreational drugs they can be suspended or baned from games.



Some people support the WADA in their role against athletes and recreational drugs. Others argue that the WADA and other agencies shouldn't monitor recreational drug use in athletes. These people say that these agencies should focus exclusively on performance-enhancing drugs.

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