Breakin' the law?

Something has been bothering me for a while now.

How is it that the use of "performance enhancing drugs" by professional athletes is the business of congress?

In the interest of full disclosure, I have already admitted a dependence upon steroids. Having been on the juice for several years now, I totally understand why not just athletes, but anyone, would want to use them. The first time I used, I felt like a young monkey, swinging from tree to tree. Which is odd, since I was born in a lab and never got the chance to swing from tree to tree in those years.

I also have known quite a few athletes and dancers. The one thing I know about their existence is that making your living, living your life for your art or sport, means that you are even more in tune with your body than the average person or monkey. Part of the art/sport is pushing yourself to accomplish more, higher, or better than yesterday.

I also suspect that professional athletes are constantly chasing the one perfect performance they hold in their mind's eye. And, as they age, the chase becomes more desperate. So, should we really be surprised when they look for ways to boost their performance, endurance, or recovery? Isn't carbo loading before a big race or wearing lucky talismans the same sort of thing? When a baseball player crosses himself, or a gymnast spits on her hands, or a basketball player dribbles exactly 4 times before the free throw, aren't they all looking for some edge that will insure a perfect performance?

I understand that there are fair advantages -- training and nutrition -- and unfair ones - injections and pills. I understand that each sport has an interest in insuring that competition is based on pure physical ability and not chemicals. However, I fail to understand how congress has any business demanding testimony or threatening jail to athletes. Have all the hungry people been fed? Does every grandma have her meds? Is there world peace? Can all children read? Are all the homes and streets safe? It seems to me that it is a tremendous waste of tax dollars and resources to have congress worrying about games people play rather than people starving or living in fear or dying for want of their blood pressure meds.