Sports and drugs

Introduction
Pros
- Pro 1: PED use is so prevalent that banning it only disadvantages those not doping and hinders the progress of sports.
- Pro 2: PEDs help athletes to recover from injuries and to endure the rigors of sports.
- Pro 3: PEDs should be a personal choice—they can be safely used—and are a natural extension of an elite athlete’s innate competitiveness.
Cons
- Con 1: PEDs and smart technology violate the spirit and integrity of sport.
- Con 2: Despite any benefit in injury recovery, PEDs are dangerous and can still yield an unfair competitive advantage.
- Con 3: Allowing PEDs will increase youth drug use and other unhealthy activities.
Sports drug policies
Banned performance-enhancing substances and methods
- Alcohol
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  - Effects on athletes:
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  - Examples:
- Anabolic steroids and agents
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- Beta-2 agonists
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- Beta-blockers
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- Cannabinoids (marijuana)
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- Diuretics and other masking agents
  - Medical uses:
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  - Examples:
- Glucocorticosteroids
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- Hormone antagonists and modulators
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- Hormones and related substances
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- Narcotics
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- Stimulants
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- Banned methods
  - Blood doping
    - Effects on athletes:
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  - Chemical and physical manipulation of samples
    - Effects on athletes:
    - Side effects:
  - Gene doping
  - Techno-doping
Doping cases at the Olympics
- Olympics doping cases by games
- Olympics doping cases by country
- Olympics doping cases by sport
- Olympics doping cases by drug(s) or drug offense
Historical timeline
- 776 bce–1959
  - 776–393 bce - Ancient Greeks use performance-enhancing drugs
  - 100 ce - Roman gladiators use stimulants and hallucinogens to prevent fatigue and injury
  - Late 19th century – French cyclists and lacrosse players drink wine and coca leaves to fight fatigue and hunger
  - 1904–20 - Performance enhancing drugs used in the modern Olympic Games
  - 1928 - First rule against doping in sports
  - 1940–45 - Nazis test steroids on prisoners and Adolf Hitler
  - 1940–45 - Soldiers use amphetamines during WWII
  - 1950s - Athletes begin taking amphetamines used by soldiers in WWII
  - 1958 - FDA approves first anabolic steroid for sale in U.S.
- 1960–89
  - August 26, 1960 - First athlete to die in Olympic competition due to doping
  - July 13, 1967 - Cyclist on amphetamines is first Tour de France doping death
  - 1967 - International Olympic Committee (IOC) establishes medical commission to fight doping
  - February 1968 - First drug testing at Olympic Games
  - May 4, 1968 - First horse disqualified from Kentucky Derby for banned substance
  - October 1968 - First Olympic athlete disqualified for doping violation
  - 1972 - First full-scale drug testing of Olympic athletes for narcotics and stimulants
  - 1975 - Anabolic steroids added to the IOC’s banned substances list
  - 1976 - Steroid testing conducted for the first time at the Montreal Olympics
  - 1983 - Surprise drug testing at Pan Am Games leads many athletes to withdraw from competition
  - September 27, 1988 - Ben Johnson stripped of gold medal after positive drug test
  - November 18, 1988 - President Ronald Reagan signs act outlawing nonmedical steroid sales
- 1990–99
  - October 5, 1990 - Congress passes Anabolic Steroids Control Act
  - June 7, 1991 - Major League Baseball bans steroids
  - December 2, 1991 - Former East German swimming coaches admit to two decades of doping
  - May 14, 1992 - Former NFL player dies of brain cancer after using steroids and human growth hormone for two decades
  - September–October 1994 - Chinese swimmers fail drug tests three times more than any other nation
  - December 15, 1994 - First British female athlete to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs receives four-year ban
  - May 15, 1997 - Bud Selig issues memo repeating the MLB ban on steroids
  - 1998 - Irish swimmer suspended for pouring whiskey into urine sample to mask doping
  - 1998 - Mark McGwire admits to using a steroid precursor
  - February 1998 - Snowboarder who tests positive for marijuana has gold medal taken then returned
  - November 10, 1999 - World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is established
- 2000-2009
  - October 1, 2000 - U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) begins operations
  - 2002 - Anti-doping pioneer identifies first designer steroid
  - May 28, 2002 - Former baseball player says 50 percent of MLB players use steroids
  - August 30, 2002 - Steroid testing included in MLB labor agreement
  - April 21, 2003 - Wade Exum report alleges cover-up of doping by over 100 American athletes
  - September 3, 2003 - BALCO is raided by federal investigators
  - November 7, 2003 - British sprinter Dwain Chambers banned from Olympics for life for positive THG test
  - November 13, 2003 - High number of positive tests leads MLB to institute penalties for doping
  - December 2003 - 10 baseball players, including Barry Bonds, called to testify about BALCO
  - October 22, 2004 - President Bush signs the Anabolic Steroid Control Act
  - 2004 - World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) takes control of the prohibited list
  - 2004 - WADA removes caffeine from the list of banned substances
  - January 13, 2005 - Penalties for positive drug tests implemented by Major League Baseball
  - January 19, 2006 - First NHL player to test positive for banned substance suspended from international competition but not from NHL
  - February 9, 2006 - U.S. skeleton racer banned for use of hair growth medicine on the eve of the Winter Olympics
  - December 29, 2006 - President Bush signs a law banning gene doping in sports
  - July 23, 2006 - September 20, 2007 - Floyd Landis wins the Tour de France, but loses title when he tests positive for elevated testosterone levels
  - January 24, 2007 - NFL Announces Stricter Anti-Doping PoliciesNFL announces stricter anti-doping policies
  - June 25, 2007 - WWE wrestler commits murder-suicide after injecting steroids
  - August 7, 2007 - Barry Bonds hits record 756th home run amid speculation of steroid use
  - September 24, 2007 - DEA announces largest steroid bust in U.S. history
  - October 5, 2007 - Track star Marion Jones admits to steroid use during 2000 Olympics
  - November 1, 2007 - German athletes and their children suffer health problems 40 years after non-consensual doping
  - November 1, 2007 - Tennis player Martina Hingis retires from tennis after testing positive for cocaine
  - November 15, 2007 - Barry Bonds indicted by grand jury for lying about steroid use
  - December 13, 2007 - Former Senator George Mitchell reports widespread use of steroids in baseball
  - January 11, 2008 - Track star Marion Jones sentenced to six months in prison
  - January 26, 2008 - All Russian rowing officials banned from competition for one year
  - February 12, 2008 - World Series winning pitcher Roger Clemens denies allegations that he took HGH and testosterone
  - April 10, 2008 - IOC rules teammates of Marion Jones must return Olympic medals
  - July 31, 2008 - Seven Russians caught doping prior to Beijing Olympics
  - September 5, 2008 - Steroids banned at the Kentucky Derby
  - October 16, 2008 - First doping suspensions in history of Major League Soccer
  - December 2, 2008 - Six NFL players suspended for taking steroid masking agent
  - December 8, 2008 - NASCAR announces stricter anti-doping policy
  - January 31, 2009 - U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps caught smoking marijuana and suspended for three months
  - February 7, 2009 - New York Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for steroids in 2003
  - March 24, 2009 - Soccer federations reject WADA’s stricter drug testing policies
  - March 28, 2009 - August 6, 2009 - French tennis player blames positive cocaine test on a girl he kissed at a night club
  - April 17, 2009 - U.S. cyclist Tyler Hamilton announces his retirement after testing positive for steroid DHEA
  - May 2, 2009 - Winner of the Kentucky Derby is tested for steroids for the first time
  - May 4, 2009 - U.S. swimmer’s two-year doping suspension cut to one year due to circumstances
  - May 7, 2009 - Los Angeles Dodger Manny Ramirez suspended for 50 games
  - May 17, 2009 - Bodybuilders flee testers
  - July 30, 2009 - Two players from the Red Sox 2004 and 2007 World Series teams tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003
  - August 6, 2009 - NBA player Rashard Lewis receives 10 game suspension for banned substance
- 2010-2019
  - January 7, 2010 - Boxers walk away from $25 million each in disagreement over drug testing procedures
  - January 11, 2010 - Mark McGwire admits to using steroids during his baseball career
  - May 19, 2010 - Floyd Landis admits to doping for most of his career
  - August 19, 2010 - Roger Clemens indicted on charges of lying to Congress about using performance enhancing drugs
  - March 21, 2011 - Barry Bonds found guilty on one count of obstruction of justice in steroids and HGH case
  - April 8, 2011 - Manny Ramirez retires after failing another drug test
  - July 16, 2011 - North Korean soccer players reportedly struck by lightning, treated with deer musk, and tested positive for steroids
  - August 4, 2011 - NFL to become first major American sports league to conduct blood tests
  - August 18, 2011 - First professional athlete in the U.S. to test positive for HGH is suspended for 50 games
  - February 3, 2012 - Two-year doping investigation of cyclist Lance Armstrong ends with no charges
  - February 6, 2012 - 2010 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador found guilty of doping and stripped of title
  - February 23, 2012 - Ryan Braun becomes first professional baseball player to successfully appeal a positive drug test
  - August 23, 2012 - Lance Armstrong stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after declining to fight doping charges
  - August 5, 2013 - Alex Rodriguez suspended through 2014; 12 players suspended 50 games for violating MLB drug policy
  - April 22, 2015 - Barry Bonds obstruction of justice conviction overturned
  - August 2, 2015 - Leaked doping tests indicate widespread doping in track and field, Olympics, and marathons
  - November 9, 2015 - Report alleges widespread doping by Russian track and field athletes
  - June 8, 2016 - Maria Sharapova banned from tennis for two years
  - July 21, 2016 - 2016 Olympics ban for Russian track and field athletes upheld
  - March 1, 2019 - Top-ranked bridge player suspended for doping
  - December 9, 2019 - WADA bans Russia from global competition
- 2020-present
  - March 10, 2020 - 27 people indicted in horse racing doping scandal
  - March 15, 2020 - NFL loosens rules on players’ marijuana use
  - April 2020 - United States Anti-Doping Agency trials virtual drug testing
  - October 26, 2020 - Doping tests dramatically limited by COVID-19
  - December 4, 2020 - Trump signs anti-doping Law
  - December 17, 2020 - Russia’s doping ban cut in half
  - June 15, 2021 - American runner Shelby Houlihan banned for four years for positive anabolic steroids test
  - July 1, 2021 - American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson tests positive for marijuana
  - September 14, 2021 - WADA to review status of marijuana as prohibited drug
  - February 7, 2022 - MLB steroid testing paused for first time in 20 years
  - September 23, 2022 - Teen Russian tennis player banned for nine months for doping violation
  - Oct 21, 2022 - Former tennis #1 Simona Halep suspended for doping
  - January 23, 2024 - NBA suspends Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson for positive PED test
  - January 29, 2024 - Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva banned for four years
  - April 20, 2024 - Chinese doping scandal ignites
  - January 8, 2025 - Biden administration withholds funds from WADA
  - February 15, 2025 - Jannik Sinner banned from tennis for three months
  - June 4, 2025 - World Aquatics will ban enhanced games participants
  - January 15, 2026 - Three suspended for illegal stitches in ski jumping suits
  - January 22, 2026 - Seven 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympians caught doping
  - January 23, 2026 - Croatian tennis player provisionally suspended for doping
  - January 24, 2026 - Ota Zaremba, anti-doping advocate and Olympian, dies
  - May 24, 2026 - Inagural Enhanced Games
Assessment quiz
1-minute survey
Discussion questions
Sources

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Sports and drugs

Infographic about the ancient Olympic Games featuring stylized illustrations of athletes competing in discus, long jump, javelin, equestrian events, running events, boxing, wrestling, and pankration. Each sport is labeled with a brief description, and a central text box explains the origins and evolution of the Games in Olympia, Greece.

Oscar Pistorius of South Africa runs on blade prosthetics during the Men's 200m T44 Final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, wearing a yellow and green uniform.

The Olympic flag.

Sports and drugs: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

The Editors of ProCon
ProCon's editors write and verify new content and update existing content. ProCon presents the pro and con arguments to debatable issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way.

Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Discussion questions standardized.	The Editors of ProCon	Jul 23, 2026
	Quiz added.	The Editors of ProCon	Apr 01, 2026
	Link added.	The Editors of ProCon	Mar 17, 2026
	Links added.	The Editors of ProCon	Mar 16, 2026
	Capitalization corrected.	The Editors of ProCon	Mar 16, 2026
	Spacing issue fixed.	The Editors of ProCon	Mar 16, 2026
	Photo fixed.	The Editors of ProCon	Feb 05, 2026
	Photo added.	The Editors of ProCon	Feb 04, 2026
	Overall update.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 27, 2026
	Survey added.	The Editors of ProCon	May 07, 2025
	Jannik Sinner timeline entry added.	The Editors of ProCon	Mar 03, 2025
	Links added.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 13, 2025
	Chinese doping scandal added to timeline.	The Editors of ProCon	Jan 09, 2025
	New article added.	The Editors of ProCon	Nov 08, 2024