Should performance-enhancing drugs be allowed in sport?

With the World Cup in South Africa underway, Wimbledon beginning next week, and London 2012 drawing ever closer, Oxford Online Debates continue this week with the launch of the latest discussion, 'Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in sport'. Speaking for the proposition, Professor Julian Savulescu says: 'Regulated access is better than prohibition. A regulated market would narrow the advantage gap between the cheats and the honest athletes and create a stimulus for the market to produce new, safe performance-enhancers. Limited resources could be better deployed to detect the dangerous drugs. Opposing the proposition, Dr John William Devine argues: 'We must fiercely oppose the pernicious effects of doping so we can ensure that what we celebrate in London 2012 are not tainted performances but outstanding displays of authentic sporting excellence. The debate is being moderated by Professor Roger Crisp. Each term Oxford's Online Debates give the public an insight into topical controversies from the perspective of academic specialists.