ABSTRACT
Although we cannot be sure of the precise level of drug use in modern sport (the relevant data are reviewed in some detail in Chapter 11) there are nevertheless grounds for suggesting that the illicit use of drugs by athletes has increased very markedly in the post-war period and more particularly since the 1960s. This is certainly the view of Michele Verroken, the former head of the Ethics and Anti-Doping Directorate of the UK Sports Council. Verroken (2005: 30) writes:
Around the time of the Second World War, the development of amphetamine-like substances reached a peak … Not surprisingly, in the 1940s and 1950s, amphetamines became the drugs of choice for athletes, particularly in sports such as cycling, where the stimulant effects were perceived to be beneficial to enhancing sporting performance.
