I remember being on a track team where one guy got a legit asthma exemption, and suddenly half the sprinters were "developing asthma." It starts small, and it snowballs. So VVision's point about the parking lot versus the clinic sounds pragmatic, but the real choice is between a ban we try to enforce and a system that tells every kid they need a doctor's sign-off to stay competitive. Supervision would kill the black market, sure, but it would also kill the last bit of restraint we have.
And that "arbitrary line" argument misses something. We draw lines in sports all the time, and they matter. The line separates healing from enhancing. Once you blur it, you're not just managing risk, you're endorsing the pressure. The kid who doesn't want to dope won't have a choice anymore. The clinic isn't a safe space, it's a factory.
11:34 AM