2022 Winter Olympics: Why criminilising doping will only worsen the problem

China and the US are making plans to criminalise the practice, which may only make it harder to mete out speedy punishment

At odds over trade, technology and geopolitics, the US and China do share one thing: They both “hate” doping, in the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China reportedly plans to make the practice a crime. And last week in Washington, DC, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers also introduced legislation to criminalize the use of performance-enhancing drugs at international sporting competitions such as the Olympics. Athletes caught doping could be subject to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a civil lawsuit from competitors bested in the final