Illegal drug use has a detrimental effect on the economy and overall health of our nation, but in the sporting arena the question is being raised as to who is responsible for regulating the drug use and whether professional leagues have a responsibility to help regulate drug use among participating athletes. Why drug use has harmful side effects, why using performance-enhancing drugs is unfair, and why professional athletes have the potential to influence the decisions of young people. Professional sports leagues should better regulate drug use among athletes representing their league. Although banned from professional sports. championships, anabolic steroid use may be the most common drug used by professional athletes. Anabolic steroids are used to enhance performance, but have serious and sometimes life-threatening side effects. Common side effects of anabolic steroid use are male feminization and female masculinization, bleeding disorders, liver damage, heart attacks, and strokes. When taken by adolescents, steroid use causes stunting. Steroid use also has psychological side effects, including depression, anxiety, and severe aggression, sometimes called “steroid rage.” Steroid use is not the only drug-related concern in professional sports. Lomas Brown, a former offensive lineman who spent 18 seasons in the National Football League, says at least fifty percent of professional athletes smoke marijuana. Side effects of marijuana use include memory problems, anxiety, loss of muscle activity, increased heart rate, breathing problems, and an increased risk of cancer. Professional leagues have a responsibility to promote good health among their athletes and should adopt practices that lead athletes to lead a...... middle of paper ...... their current athletes to high standards and not tolerate drug use. Recently, Major League Baseball began a crackdown on the use of performance-enhancing drugs. This led to new rules in the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, run by MLB and the MLB players union. The program requires the most drug testing of any professional sport, more than doubling the number of tests this year compared to previous years. The new rules increase the duration of suspensions for the use of doping drugs. I believe that increased testing and longer suspensions will cause more athletes to avoid drug use, which will help protect athletes from the harmful effects of drugs, help maintain the integrity of professional athletics, and help deter young athletes from drug testing. MLB has set a good example for other professional leagues to follow.