Drugs and Sports »

From the performance-enhancement methods of ancient Greek Olympic competitors to recent incidents of drug use among U.S. professional athletes, the use of drugs in sports transcends time and geography. Although performance-enhancing drug use is often associated with high-profile professional athletes, the behavior affects all segments of society. Scandals have publicized a problem that extends even to young boys and girls attempting to mimic their athletic heroes by using drugs as a way to achieve what they believe is an athletic physique-often causing extensive damage to their physical and emotional health-or to gain competitive advantage. Many amateur athletes and Olympians have also relied on illegal performance-enhancing drugs in the past, and now their accomplishments are overshadowed by questions and controversy surrounding their personal or professional ethics. Drugs and Sports provides readers with concise information that addresses the questions surrounding this timely issue.

About the Author:
Fred C. Pampel is currently a professor at the University of Colorado and has also taught at the University of North Carolina, the University of Iowa, and Florida State University

Kelli Perkins - Library Journal

The "Library in a Book" series provides an introductory compendium of facts and resources for high school students and researchers. Brevity is its hallmark, but this comprehensive outline of issues swirling around drugs and sports, another hot topic often chosen for school reports, creates an ideal launching point for study. Within various sports, a list of allowable drugs is a moving target, and Pampel (sociology, Univ. of Colorado), who has authored other entries in the series (e.g., Threats to Food Safetyand Racial Profiling) manages to convey the complexity of segregating "natural" drugs from synthetic ones. He traces the history of enhancement drugs from ancient Greek times to today, provides case studies, and discusses legislation, scandals, testing, and international rules. Specific topics include the role of sports leagues and the government in controlling drug use and whether or not teens are encouraged by professional athletes to experiment with performance-enhancing drugs. Alongside mainstream thinking, Pampel offers reasoned minority views. Overall, his treatment is balanced, and the court cases and medical information he appends allow researchers to come to their own conclusions about the effects of doping on athletes and the athletic establishment. A chronology of major events, a glossary, and an annotated bibliography make convenient additions.

Overview of the Topic
Introduction to Drugs and Sports     3
The Law and Drugs and Sports     78
Chronology     110
Biographical Listing     128
Glossary     140
Guide to Further Research
How to Research Drugs and Sports     147
Annotated Bibliography     158
Organizations and Agencies     218
Appendices
The Anabolic Steroid Control Acts of 1990 and 2004     233
Vernonia School District 47J, Petitioner v. Wayne Acton, et ux., etc., 1995     240
Research Report Series-Anabolic Steroids, 2000     255
Index     269