Performance-Enhancing Drugs, various substances, chemical agents, or procedures designed to provide an advantage in athletic performance. Performance-enhancing drugs affect the body in different ways, such as enlarging muscles or increasing the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity. Despite these apparent benefits, the use of such drugs is considered both competitively unethical and medically dangerous. Most performance-enhancing drugs are outlawed by organizations that govern major amateur and professional sports.
A wide variety of performance-enhancing drugs is in use today. Many of them, such as steroids and amphetamines, are controlled substances—that is, drugs whose manufacture, distribution, and use are subject to strict governmental regulation because of a high potential for abuse and medical complications.
Some athletes use stimulants to increase their energy and endurance. Caffeine and cocaine are two well-known stimulants, although caffeine is a legal drug while cocaine is a controlled substance. Stimulants affect the nervous system, causing a temporary increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Athletes use the drugs to provide a boost in energy and alertness, often to help overcome the effects of everyday fatigue or strenuous training.The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances, used for the Olympic Games and other major sports competitions, includes more than 40 different stimulants.
One stimulant commonly used by athletes is amphetamine. This controlled substance has been widely used for decades by professional baseball players, who often refer to the colorful pills as 'greenies' or 'speed.'...........Although baseball introduced testing for steroids among major league players in 2003, it did not implement a ban on amphetamines and other stimulants until November 2005.