Monday was the gp mock test…the comprehension passages were about drugs in sport...suddenly I got a bit too excited because it was the first time that a gp test of any sort was of a topic that I was at least more fluent in…that’s not to say I am very knowledgeable at it though…anyway…the first passage was against the use of drugs…and the second was…for the use of drugs?!...very absurd right…

Actually his main line of argument was that since the use of performance enhancing drugs is so hard to stop now…why not legalise the use of it altogether?...after all…”if we cant beat them, join them” right?...however personally I can never accept that point…and the more I read the passage the more angry I got…its nothing to get angry over actually…but guess I was just letting emotions get the better of me…and I think getting emotional is a big no-no in gp…because you have always got to stay objective and argue coherently…

Anyway…firstly this author said that certain chemicals are difficult to distinguish as to whether they were ingested deliberately, a by-product of the body’s operation, or just taken in accidentally through other drugs…he cited nandrolone as an example that can be taken accidentally or produced under stress by the body…now I am afraid this is taking a very narrow view of the topic…firstly…modern tests are now able to detect whether this particular chemical is artificial or now…for example…the doping case shrouding Floyd landis, the (supposed) maillot jaune winner of this years tour de france…his testosterone count was abnormally high…and the test was immediately able to state that it was due to synthetic and not natural-occurring testosterone…this shows that tests now have advanced to a stage that can distinguish between the two…as such the author’s viewpoint that artificial and natural-occurring chemicals detected in the body can be possibly mixed up cant stand at all…

And even if new chemicals are able to elude this artificial-natural distinguishing of the tests…any abnormally high counts of a chemical in the body should be able to indicate that performance enhancing drugs had been taken…for example if the athlete takes the red blood cell-boosting hormone EPO or Erythropoietin…tests will detect a red blood cell density that is way too high…it is only absurd to suggest that this was due to metabolic reactions or accidental ingestion…there is obviously a benchmark or a certain minimum count above which can prove the using of banned substances…

Even if athletes have really taken drugs with no intention of cheating…they only have themselves to blame…in todays sporting arena where doping carries such high stakes…its part and parcel of the athletes life to be particularly careful to what he eats…especially in the aspect of medicines and drugs…personally I feel it’s a burden that comes along with the job…after all, every job in this world carries with it one or more difficulty right?

He also argued that some winners of grammys, Oscars or even Pulitzer prizes have expressed that drugs helped them in their creativity... as such drugs should be allowed in sport as it is allowed in other areas of competition…however this argument has a loophole in that…in sport…any use of drugs has a direct impact on your performance such as increased stamina or higher level of reaction…in other areas such as the arts and such…drugs only have an indirect effect on the thoughts of the users…it may only be sheer luck that their award-winning ideas come during the time which they were taking drugs…

The author also lamented that drugs will always be a step ahead of the tests available to test them…however the point is that…who has more resources?...obviously it has got to be the enforcement agencies which have more backing right? It is therefore reasonable to say that we will be the ones who are a step ahead if we are organized in our efforts…

He also commented that certain athletes have athletic genes in them and some even live in higher altitudes which result in their higher levels of stamina…it is true that this is unfair…however things such as genetic heritage are not within our control…whereas things such as drugs are actions that we can choose to carry out or not…moreover there have been athletes who subject themselves to altitude training…wont that be evening out the advantage of others?...

Sport is primarily a competition of physical strength and tactical astuteness…if drugs come into the picture it will indeed be a blasphemy of the basic values of sport…and which will topple the true meaning of competition itself…