Implications of the Use of Illicit Drugs in Sports

IMPLICATIONS OF THE USE OF ILLICIT DRUGS IN SPORTS Ibechi MATHEW*

Sporting activities are designed to be for fun, competition or to enhance the general wellbeing of the human body. In all institutions students are encouraged to participate in sports to reduce stress and for the general well-being of the human body. For student athletes, combining studies with sports and the expectation of high performance from sponsors put them under undue pressure leading to the temptation of using illicit drugs and the attendant negative consequences.

This Article will assist readers understand the negative effect of performance-enhancing drugs in sports so that athletes and their handlers appreciate the preventive rather than the curative use of drugs; the former being relatively less expensive than the latter. It is hoped that this knowledge will dissuade all parties from doping in the first instance.

A drug is a medicine or substance that has a physiological effect when ingested or introduced into the body. It is any substance other than food that alters the chemistry of the body when ingested. Drugs can have negative or positive effects on the brain and the body. It is the reason why drugs are used under the prescription or management of a qualified medical professional. Doping in sports is the administration of drugs on an athlete to inhibit or enhance their sporting performance.

Illicit use of drugs means a person takes drugs illegally or unlawfully without a doctor’s prescription. Illicit use of drugs compromises judgment and physical abilities and makes a person less able to perform a variety of tasks in simple contexts. In sports the pressure to excel, injuries, physical pain, fear of losing put undue pressure on the mental health of athletes and this may lead them to the use of performanceenhancing drugs. Drug abuse occurs in all sports and at most levels of competition. Illicit use of drugs has no place in sports because sportsmen are held to a minimum operating standard.

The use of performance-enhancing drugs is detrimental to the health and well-being of athletes. Anabolic steroids are common performance-enhancement drugs in sports and a long period of use has been associated to several health-related problems. Scientific studies show that illicit drugs impair coordination and mental abilities. Here are some examples: a basketball player under the influence of drugs is more likely to miss a game-winning free throw while a football receiver under the influence of marijuana is less likely to outrun a defender. Heartbeat, lung capacity, muscle strength and stamina will drop with marijuana use. If a player’s performance is diminished because of the use of drugs, he disappoints his team mates, the coach and others in a few minutes of a false sense of high.

Drugs negatively affect Team’s performance, morale, concentration, commitment, energy, trust and cohesion. Depressant drugs such as cannabis, alcohol and opiates slow down breathing, reduces the capacity of the lungs, so it is harder to get the oxygen the muscles need during sports. Opiates, such as heroin and codeine, slow down the breathing and narrow the airways and make it harder to breathe during sporting activity when the body needs all the extra oxygen. Depressants such as cannabis reduce psychomotor capacity so when used, it becomes hard to coordinate body movements during sport. Depressants such as alcohol slow down heart rate, meaning less oxygen-rich blood reaches your muscles. The last thing you want during sports is to disrupt the normal circulation of blood or coordination of the muscles. Alcohol is also high in calories, so if you indulge in that, the body starts piling up needless body weight which slows down performance.

Stimulants increase movements so a person on illicit drugs over stretches the natural capacity of the body and is more likely to get injured during sports. Stimulant drugs, such as Cocaine and Ecstasy increase the heart beat and put undue stress on the heart. Cocaine can cause heart attacks and abnormal heart rhythms. Cocaine at high doses acts as anaesthetic, so after injury one may not feel the pain and continue playing, causing even more damage. When you use Speed, the lack of blood in your heart can cause severe chest pain. Stimulants, such as Cocaine and Speed, keep you awake and when your body does not get the needed rest it affects sports performance. Stimulants also decrease the appetite for food, so instead of replacing calories after using so much energy in sports you will only be depleting your stock. Other side effects of stimulants include confusion, delirium, paranoia, etc. At higher doses stimulants can make you become irritable and aggressive, and may also cause blood vessels in the brain to rupture leading to convulsions. In a nutshell, in Sports, we maintain a strict policy on the use of drugs because of its dangerous effects on the players and the sports community as a whole. Athletes must therefore understand that there are negative consequences and repercussions on the use of illicit drugs. Sports will become meaningless and the general public will lose interest if athletes are simply doping to enhance their performance.

*Ibechi MATHEW is the Principal Coach of Baze University