Steroids

We need to nip it in the bud. Steroids are the tip of a very large iceberg. In the future genetic modification will alter the human structure, parents will decide eye color, brain capacity, and muscle size. We should never get there. Where I'd agree that having a genetically healthy child (or adult, when modifications can happen on them) is important, we are, and have been messing with the future evolution of human kind. Already modern medicine, though good in many aspects has caused many problems in the world. Overpopulation and starvation in countries because we feel the need to vaccinate everyone, viruses that are resilient to vaccines. It goes on and on. Steroids are not that bad in the scheme of todays problems, but it's a road we don't want to go down. We need humans to be frail so that nature can solve the problems over time. We think we're so very smart, but we have no idea of the impact these things will have on us as a species in the future... and for what benefit, sport?

I just think steroids are evil.They serve their purpose in medical field and that is where they should be.Although I heard a lot about how small and very smart steroid usage can help some athletes avoid more injuries than if they did not take them(considering recovery time and physical stress of overtraining) I never touched them and never will. I think even if you are against them it is good to know about them...

Originally posted by mrcnwmn Already modern medicine, though good in many aspects has caused many problems in the world. Overpopulation and starvation in countries because we feel the need to vaccinate everyone... Then you'll be relieved to know that millions of children in third world countries will die this year because we do not have vaccines for HIV and malaria. I guess that's just nature's way of controlling population growth.

I'm not mean. I'm not relieved of anything. I'm expressing the can of worms you get when messing with nature without evaluating the consequences. It's a historical pet peeve of mine, but many years ago missionaries really screwed that place up. Now millions of people are paying the price for the missionaries good intentions. A bad situation is now a catastrophe. We can't go back in time, nor would it be any better if we could. That's my point: We have to evaluate the consequences before we humans apply medicine to a population blindly. There is no undoing our mistakes. We don't know the impact of steroids (or most modern medicine) on our civilization over time. Steroids, in itself, is insignificant. But, where it's going is as dangerous as being the first to practice medicine in a village with high infant mortality rates and low food supplies.

It takes a long time but it's always refreshing to find that one person who feels modern medicine causes all sorts of problems.

Eradicated or not I am glad that I was have some protection after I heard about president Bush's concerns. I glad to hear that people with HIV live longer, but how much longer. George

Nature is a complicated thing. We can't fully understand all it's interactions, and we can't always afford the time to think before we act. One can only expect people to instantly react to a plague that overtakes society. However, when we can afford to sit back a little we should take that time. Steroids are not small pox nor are they a cure for a plague. Yes, there are uses: My girlfriend takes steroids occasionally when her MS acts up. For the most part, however, steroids are a means to alter the human physique. Hardly a noble deed with possible dire consequences for the future human race. We need to devise a plan for when modern medicine concurs the cause of death. Don't laugh, it's in the future as sure as DNA manipulation. Again, steroids are the tip of the iceberg. We need to establish a plan before we get there otherwise the entire world will be illness free, stronger than normal, and starving to death. If you're questioning my ethics... good. That's the point. "Modern medicine", having all good intentions, is on a path that leads to one road: Eventually we will have to choose what humanity physically looks like, how many people live, and how many people die. Maybe we'll have to put restrictions on the size of families. And if you think this is thousands of years in the future - you're wrong. It'll probably be 30 years before modern medicine solves the cell degeneration problem, and half that before parents are gentically choosing children with higher than average brain capacities. Now is one of those times we can sit back and discuss where this is all leading.

I believe they should be banned for use in sports not for medical needs. George

"But, where it's going is as dangerous as being the first to practice medicine in a village with high infant mortality rates and low food supplies." I take it, then, you're a volunteer doctor with Doctors Without Borders... Oh, well; to each his own...

"Can of worms"? Small pox has been eradicated. HIV is no longer a death sentence. The mortality rate from heart disease has declined dramatically such that it is no longer the leading cause of death. Life expectancy in the Western world has almost doubled in the past century. That's the impact of medicine.