Surfing was associated in 1970s and 1980s with recreational drugs

Anabolic steroids are utilized by surfers too. Sport governing body announces that prohibited medications are a significant problem in this sport. That’s why the Association of Surfing Professionals made a decision to implicate testing for anabolic steroids and other forbidden medicines that are administrated for performance-enhancing effects.
The Association of Surfing Professionals led some discussions with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They asked how they could implicate testing for prohibited products into surfing. Since anti-doping program of the WADA is claimed to be the best policy, the surfing organization wants to use this protocol. It goes without saying that this is the next victory of the WADA that induces the opportunity to manage drug-testing programs in sports.
It is known that surfing is a competitive sport. So, strength, speed and endurance are main skills that induce winning. Thus, surfers could be convinced that intake of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs promotes success greatly. It is also important to take in consideration that amount of money which is obtained by winners is large. Winners receive no less than 100, 000 dollars. Desire to obtain money could lead surfers to decision to take anabolic steroids.
Nonetheless, it is said that usage of anabolic steroids and other products which cause performance-enhancing effects is not widespread in surfing. A lot of people think that administration of recreational drugs is more widespread among surfers than usage of steroids. Sport of 1970s and 1980s was oftan associated with marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Current facts justify this impression. The number of surfers who are caught using marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine is quite high.
Andi Irons, a professional surfer, died in November 2010. The reason of his death was a heart attack caused by drug abuse. It was determined that steroids hadn’t been implicated in this fatal case. Traces of methamphetamine, cocaine and methadone metabolites were found in his system.
Another surfer, Peter Davi, died in December 2007. Increased levels of meth were also found in his system.
As for Anthony Ruffo, another professional surfer, he was caught distributing meth.
Only the professional surfer from Brazil Neco Padaratz was caught administrating steroids. He was sentenced to one-year ban. This person tested positive for banned drugs in 2004. This surfer said that he had used these products to get a complete recovery from back injuries. In spite of his defense, he was banned. He was the first individual that was caught administrating steroids by the Association of Surfing Professionals. According to numerous sources, he remains to be the only surfer who has ever been caught by the ASP.
The ASP has already the initial budget to introduce the WADA anti-doping program into surfing.
Although it is unlikely that steroids represent a problem in surfing, the new anti-doping program may create a wrong public impression.