ABSTRACT
The use, misuse, and abuse of drugs has weakened the foundation of both amateur and professional sports. It appears that the major reasons for using “ergogenic aids” are for the athlete to develop a competitive advantage in improving athletic performance. The first recorded fatality from a performance-enhancing drug occurred in 1886 when an English cyclist died from an overdose of trimethyl. During the 1960s, major efforts were undertaken in order to get a picture of the extent of the drug problem. Three types of surveys have been sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The first initiated in 1975 with The High School Senior Survey, conducted at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The second survey, entitled “The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse,” conducted every two to three years, measures the prevalence and frequency among the American household population aged twelve and over. The third survey is Drug Abuse Warning Network.
