Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Major League Baseball getting tough on steroid use

Major League Baseball will look into allegations of past steroid use by San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds and other players.

The CBC reports.

This season, the major leagues will test for amphetamines and institute tougher penalties for steroid use. Is it enough?

The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Combating high school steroid use

Sports Illustrated donated $1 million Wednesday to Oregon Health & Science University to combat the growing use of steroids by high school athletes. 

CNN reports.

Baseball gets tough about doping

Major League Baseball players and owners yesterday reacted to months of embarrassing scandals and congressional pressure by reaching a landmark agreement aimed at purging the game of anabolic steroids and amphetamines. Boston. com reports.

The joke's on everyone wearing a yellow "Live Strong" bracelet

L'Equipe, the French sports newspaper, claims to have proof that Lance Armstrong used a performance-enhancing drug to win his first Tour de France in 1999. The world's greatest cyclist and winner of seven Tour de France titles immediately denied the allegation in a statement on his website, saying "the witch hunt continues." According to L'Equipe, six samples of Armstrong's urine, taken from various stages of the 1999 tour, have tested positive for the drug Erythropoietin (EPO), which could not be detected by anti-doping authorities until 2001. L'Equipe says that the tests were carried out in 2004. Read the full story at The Times here.

Stimulants surpasses steroid problem in baseball

South Carolina's The State reports (16 May 2005) that hidden beneath the cocaine controversy of the 1980s and the current steroid war, amphetamines - known as "greenies" to ballplayers, speed to the public and synthetic adrenaline to doctors - have been baseball's longest-lasting addiction. One former player says amphetamine use dwarfs steroid use in today's game. Players have taken greenies dating to the 1940s, openly until they were deemed a controlled substance in 1970 and clandestinely ever since. Even though amphetamines are legal only with a prescription in the United States, baseball does not test for the stimulants. Only with the increased scrutiny on performance-enhancing drug use in the sport has commissioner Bud Selig expressed baseball's desire to eradicate them. Find the full story here.

Steroids? Alcohol is real problem

The San Francisco Chronicle reports (17 March 2005) that if the motive for the recent steroids hearing in Washington is about protecting America's kids from the harmful influence of sports leagues that care only about boosting ticket sales and TV ratings, then how about a hearing soon on the substance that is most glorified by sports leagues and kills more kids every year than every other drug combined: alcohol. No single industry promotes the consumption of alcohol among teenagers as much as college and professional sports. Find the full story here.

The Inside Dope: Drugs and Sport

CBC Sports' website devoted to drugs and sport can be found here.

MLB commissioner predicts end to steroid use

CBC Sports reports (5 March 2005) that Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said that he believes the use of steroids will be all but eliminated from the sport in the upcoming season. Find the full story here.

History of Anabolic Steroids

A brief history of anabolic steroids, 1930s-1990s, can be found here. Another history, which focuses on the use of steroids for competitive purposes, can be found here.

Baseball bans THG

BBC Sports reported on 17 March 2004 that Major League Baseball had decided to ban the newly-discovered steroid THG. The drug has been placed on the list of banned substances following an agreement between management and the players' association. Find the full story here.