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Garrett Smith
Professor Jizi
UWRT
October 26, 2015

Double Entry Journal

Worsnop, Richard. "Athletes and Drugs." CQ Researcher. SAGE Publications, 26 July 1991.
Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)

For every professional athlete caught using

Responses
It is sad that young teenagers are risking harm

drugswhether recreational drugs such as

to themselves just to improve for a sport that

cocaine or performance-enhancing drugs such

they may not even go very far playing.

as steroidsthere are hundreds of college and

high school athletes who are risking the same
fate. (paragraph 1)
Concerned about the effects of drug use on

I think they help some, but they definitely

athletes' health and on the integrity of sports

dont solve the problem.

competition, sports officials have instituted

testing programs and severe penalties in an
effort to bring the problem under control.
(paragraph 1)
One of the highlights of the 1988 Summer

How did it feel to put in all that hard work

Olympics at Seoul was the disqualification of

and harm himself with drugs just to get his

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Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson after he won

gold medal taken away anyway?

the 100-meter dash in world-record time.

Johnson was forced to surrender his gold
medal after tests determined he had taken a
prohibited anabolic steroid prior to the race.
(paragraph 4)
The monetary stakes are higher today than

I can see why they feel so compelled to get

ever before. Many star baseball, basketball

that extra edge over their competition.

and football players earn more than $1

million annually, and a select few command
huge additional sums from product
endorsements. (paragraph 8)
Drug use for the purpose of pain relief also is

It is sad that they have so much pressure on

widespread among athletes, virtually all of

them to work through pain or else they could

whom suffer injuries of some sort during their

lose their jobs.

careers. The ability to play hurt, much

prized by coaches and fans, is often
reinforced by painkillers and tranquilizers.
(paragraph 13)
To a large extent, their attitude has been

What could society do to stop relying on

shaped by society. Drugs are used to soothe

drugs for so much?

pain, relieve anxiety, help us to sleep, keep us

awake, lose or gain weight, noted the British
authors of a book on drug abuse in sports.
For many problems, people rely on drugs

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rather than seeking alternative coping
strategies. It is not surprising that athletes
should adopt similar attitudes. (paragraph
16)
Although precise information is hard to come

It is scary that athletes use such dangerous

by, it is believed that athletes generally take

dosages.

the drugs in dosages 10 to 100 times greater

than would be prescribed for therapeutic
purposes. Furthermore, athletes often take
more than one type of steroid at a timea
practice known as stacking. (paragraph 25)