- Question
Should doping be allowed in sport?
Vast resources are dedicated to detecting and punishing doping among athletes in professional sport. Despite the punishments, many competitors use performance-enhancing drugs anyway. Should doping be allowed in sport? Would it be better to let athletes take what they want? Or should doping be managed and controlled to create a more level playing field, rather than granting unfair advantage?
Yes, doping should be allowed
Doping has been around for centuries. It is impossible to eliminate. Resources would be better spent working out how to keep athletes safe while doping, rather than trying to find dopers.
- Policing doping is futile
- Doping would make sport more about talent and less about genetics
- Doping is allowed in other segments of the entertainment industry
- Doping would remove many financial barriers to elite level sport
- Doping would make sport safer
- Doping has always been a part of sport
- Doping would make sport more interesting
No, doping should not be allowed in sport
This position holds that doping should not be allowed in sport. It argues that permitting performance-enhancing drugs would turn competition into a contest between drugmakers, undermine the fair test of ability, endanger athletes' health, and expose even children to coerced drug use.
Some doping should be allowed
This position holds that some doping should be permitted in sport. It argues that allowing performance-enhancing drugs within a heavily regulated framework could create a more level playing field — and that not all such substances carry the same risks, so a blanket ban is too crude.