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The assumption is being made that it was done for athletic performance and a handful of trinkets. It very well could be true.
However, a few amateur racers aren't responsible for the boom of "youth regeneration" clinics that has grown over the last 10-15 years. Doctors there will prescribe just about anything you'd would have found in Lance's refrigerator to "combat the unfair effects of aging", to include HgH and testosterone. I've even heard of them pushing EPO if you know the right password. Better living through pharmaceuticals.
Where are the hotbeds of this? The Southeast and the Southwest, which, strangely enough, are where many of these sanctions come from. You don't have to get your PEDs from a pharmacia in Mexico or a dodgy online source anymore. You can go legit. Do a big training block and then stop by a clinic to get tested. Chances are, with a few complaints of fatigue, you could probably walk away with the "good stuff". It may cost a bunch, but you'll be able to justify your state championship medal to yourself because "you have a prescription from a real doctor" and "it's a medical necessity".
I'm all for testing at every level. Catch them early before they become a problem. Make an example of them. There will always be cases like Carl Grove's of unintentional contamination, but rarely is it for hardcore stuff like we've been seeing the last decade in amateur races. Those guys that got popped in Miami for EPO? Yeah, you're not going to sell me that it was a bad batch of Hammer Nutrition supplements. You signed on the dotted line that you understood that doping was against the rules before you ever pinned on a number. Sorry.
I can't touch any of it because of my security clearance. Even CBD, which I would much prefer to opioids, is off the table for me- and I have a history of back, hip, and knee problems. I will not risk it. I processed more than a couple people out of the military for thinking they could beat the system. Now that I'm a civilian contractor and could be let go tomorrow if there was a whiff of drug use, I'm even more careful. Not worth it, even if they're really, really nice socks up for the next prime.
Those nasty Masters dopers started somewhere, and I like that USAC is finally getting the message out that it isn't OK at any level. I get my teeth kicked in by naturally gifted athletes all of the time, so there's no need for the "enhanced" athletes to pile on. I get it, I suck at this sport.
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