Should Steroids be banned in Bodybuilding?

Over the past several years there has been a heated debate as to whether or not anabolic steroids should be banned from the sport of bodybuilding. Here is a list of pros and cons as to why steroids should and should not be banned from the sport.

Cons (Why the drug should be banned)
- Steroids are illegal and should not be abused by anyone

- The health of the athletes. There are numerous adverse health side effects associated with taking steroids and the use of steroids in bodybuilding could be harmful to the health of the athletes.

- It could make the sport fairer for every athlete. There are some athletes that do not wish to take the substance, however, there is no way they can compete with athletes that are. Therefore, a ban of steroids could bring the sport back down to more of a level playing field.

Pros (Why the drug should not be banned)
- The sport could drastically lose fans. Bodybuilding for fans is about seeing huge freakish athletes on the stage. Without the use of steroids the physique of these athletes would not be near what they are in the sport today. Therefore, the sport could suffer drastically.

- By taking steroids out of the sport it could cost the fans more money to get into the events, therefore could make the sport less popular. If steroids are taken out of the sport then strenuous drug testing would have to be administered to each athlete on a regular basis. This would cost a lot of money. The cost would probably be passed down to the fans in terms in ticket prices, etc.

As there are many more arguments for and against the ban of steroid use in the sport of bodybuilding these are probably the most subjective. It is a very hard decision to make because the well-being of the sport could be in great jeopardy if steroids were banned.