Ephedra

Ephedra

Almost everyone loves professional sports. People love to watch awesome athletes competing fiercely against each other. But now, more than ever, to make it in this world you have to be the best of the best. And people will go to many extreme lengths to be this way. The use of steroids in professional sports is becoming more and more popular. The latest way to lose weight, boost energy, and gain a more competitive edge is by using nutritional supplements like the newest one; ephedra. Ephedra causes decreased appetite and burns calories, which results in weight loss. Ephedra exploded onto the scene in February of 2003 after a Baltimore Oriole's pitcher died of heat stroke from using ephedra. It is not only used by athletes but now usage is particularly high because younger athletes want to be bigger, stronger, and faster and older athletes need to remain in shape and competitive. Anything that occurs naturally is considered a food, as is ephedra. This means that ephedra does not have to be proven safe of efficient before being put on the market. The NFL, the NCAA and the Olympics have all decided to ban ephedra. But supporters of ephedra say that when used properly is safe and effective in weight loss and energy gain. They think it should be kept on the market for people who want to use it safely. On the other hand people against ephedra feel that since ephedra increases heart rate, speeds up the metabolism and reduces the body's ability to cool itself that it is very dangerous and should be classified under the category of amphetamines, which are illegal drugs, and therefore should be banned.

I think that ephedra should not be banned. Since they are illegal in sports I feel that before you are able to try out for a team you should have to have a drug test and each week they should require everyone in high school, college, and professional sports to have to take a test too. But they should not be made illegal to everyone because studies have shown that ephedra is the most powerful and cost-effective in weight loss and energy gain. It is not fair to the people that this works for that it be illegal just because some people abuse the substance. These people are adults who are capable of making their own decisions about what substances to take.