The idea that somatropin (growth hormone) isn't a drug is patently ridiculous... sometimes the stoopiditty on this board is revolting.
Growth hormone IS a drug; insulin is a drug; thyroxine is a drug; androgenic anabolic steroids are drugs...
They are also CHEATING... and that's why they should be banned. An arbitrary line must be drawn in the sand somewhere, otherwise they become a prerequisite for participation in the sport. Without some kind of limit on what is acceptable in the pursuit of muscle, well then there is always some moron willing to take more than you are... then someone like BillyGuns ends up as Mr Olympia due solely to the dosages and combinations of the stack some irresponsible "guru" recommended/sold to him.
In bodybuilding steroids have given us a progression from great natural physiques in the 50s, to impressive physiques in the 60s, to fantastic physiques in the 70s and 80s, to misshapen artificial physiques in the 90s, to a new century of cartoonish comical freak show bodies...
If you appreciate modern bodybuilding, with its distended stomachs; bloat and pimples; disproportionate musculature reflecting hormone receptor patterns and not the pattern of muscles trained; with its prostitution, gay hustling and schmoes... then more power to you.
But let's remind ourselves of what chemical bodybuilding has cost the physical culture movement...
-mainstream acceptance
(bodybuilding shows should be held in art museums... if the physiques were natural and the shredded, overly-depleted chemical look wasn't rewarded the guys would look like Chippendales but without the watery bloat, and the girls would look like gymnasts/ballerinas... that would put bums on seats and sell gym memberships. Remember bodybuilding audiences are full of low-income sub-100-IQ underachievers directly because of the influence of steroids on this sport)
-proper training science
(every idiot get results with steroids and the din of self-professed experts drowns out proper hypertrophy science... some of these idiots recommend three-a-day volume workouts for natural trainers! No wonder Arthur Jones abandoned bodybuilding in disgust. Remember, you are confused about how to add muscle to your problem bodyparts because of what steroids have done to bodybuilding)
-mainstream respect
(natural bodybuilding requires discipline; commitment; perseverance and intelligence... meanwhile most IFBB Pros are semi-illiterate charisma-free drug addicts that know next to nothing about bodybuilding training or nutrition and would be crackheads or dope fiends if they hadn't found bodybuilding. Remember, this sport is boring because of the influence of steroids)
-organisational integrity
(mainstream acceptance would provide the competition needed to eliminate people like the Weiders who have used bodybuilding as their own personal fiefdom for far too long... Remember, the judging system is corrupt and unaccountable because of what steroids have done to bodybuilding)
Sorry guys, it's the truth.
Steroids have ruined bodybuilding and now that the genie is out of the box... genetic manipulation is on the way, soon, very soon, a muscular build won't command respect from anyone... it won't be something you earn and deserve to be proud of... it'll be something to be ashamed of, akin to getting a facial tattoo reading: "I'm so vain and shallow I take drugs to look like this"
The Luke