It has been hoped by the sports world that the era of doping would fade away and be remembered as a dark portion of sports culture, like the O.J. trial and betting on baseball. Although after Ryan Braun’s NL MVP legitimacy was called into question after a failed test, and after cyclist Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France win it appears things haven’t changed.

While these two athletes were not linked specifically to steroids, they were accused of using performance enhancing drugs. PEDs have created an ethical quagmire that athletes, both amateur and professional, as well as teams and media outlets must now wade through.

It’s no longer a simple matter of who is juicing and who is clean. These days, it’s who was unfortunate enough to have unknowingly taken PEDs and who is lying through their teeth.

Take Braun and Contador for example. Both were accused of doping after they had reached new professional heights. Both had plausible reasons for failing the tests. Braun was rumored to have taken STD medication and Contador supposedly ingested genetically enhanced beef. Both alibis appear to be false.

With this kind of uncertainty in dozens of PED-related cases some declare regulation is the only logical solution. If it has become impossible to determine what qualifies as a PED or who has been consciously using them just make PEDs accessible to athletes everywhere.

Do away with the restrictions. Let’s push the envelope when it comes to human development. We should tap the full physical potential of mankind and create super athletes. Clearly we have the means, so why not?

I’ll admit I’d love to see longer home runs and faster receivers. Although, if this behavior continues and furthermore is embraced, we as a society have just set the bar that much higher for future athletes.

Not for professionals, but for amateurs. There’s no telling what dangerous combinations aspiring athletes might try if they can acquire PEDs over the counter without fear of being caught. The road to success would no longer hinge on hard work and determination, but on who could tolerate the greatest amount of artificial stimulants.

I’m sure it wouldn’t be all gloom and doom. In situations where athletes were monitored and PEDs were administered sparingly, the level of competition in sports could rise.

Ethically it would still be unsound. I think back to my days of organized youth sports and how coaches always told kids the best way to improve was to practice. Its scary that in a little more than a decade people can consider using synthetic substances to jump ahead of the curve.

We have seen the taint left on baseball because of the cloak and dagger stories associated with steroids. The age of legalized doping must never come to pass.