Drugs in the AFL

[arizona83]

If it is true about Cousins' $3k a week addiction to Ice I really have to commend him for getting to training and still putting in elite performances on game day for as long as he did.

It was only a matter of time until this issue became public knowledge and sparked a media circus. There are going to be weeks of allegations and name dropping to follow the West Coast Eagles problem.

I think it is a shame that any caught out player is going to have his name dragged through the mud by the media but at the end of the day they must realise that regardless of whether or not they want to be, they are heroes to many and are idolised. They have a responsibility to many young fans to act as law abiding citizens and be good role models for future potential AFL players.

 

[tribesman]

I've got to agree that this was an absolute media storm, but no supprise to many young club going people over here with an eye for drug use.

I have probably seen at least 10 first line footy players on ecstasy at clubs over the past 18 months, and many many people over here will tell you the same.

 

[Bent Mk2]

There is massive hypocrisy about drug use. I know only too well that a lot people in journalism, the law and the police use the same substances Cousins is accused of taking. Some of those people will read this article this morning with a thick head after a big night out on their drug of choice. But that will not stop them pontificating about Cousins and others. Footballers are not the only ones to mouth platitudes while hiding behind the code of silence that operates in so many professions.

How Andrew Fraser is qualified to talk about drugs in footy I'm not quite sure, but I'll agree with him on this, there is a MASSIVE hypocrisy about drug use...at least there is now.

Journo's, lawyers, cops...people in power normally protect each other with silence, its only junkie scum who get dobbed in. I know of another very high profile lawyer who used to deal, and judges that used to be clients (his daughter was once said most people call their dealer by their first name, she just calls him dad), but nothing was ever said or mentioned outside circles.

Now all of a sudden the media feels they have free rein...pity half of them have habits of their own. I've been to the Logies and I don't need the Herald Sun to tell me there was a lot of lines being down in the toilet. Hell any black tie charity at Crown or anywhere else is just as bad!

I guess the moral of the story is, if you're going to enjoy drugs like a lot of other people do, have a boring job so you can enjoy them in peace and quiet.

 

[hoptis]

Lives will be saved
ANDREW HAMILTON, BRISBANE
March 27, 2007 02:15am

BEN Cousins' drug-induced fall from grace has tarnished the AFL - but it may have saved lives.

Lions coach Leigh Matthews said Cousins' suspension by West Coast and the admission he had a drug addiction had done more to protect footballers from the dangers of illicit drugs than any education program.

The former Eagles captain and Brownlow Medallist's world came crashing down last week when he was banished indefinitely from the club at which he has spent his career.

As the extent of his dependence became public, the humiliation grew.

But Matthews said Cousins' plight could have a silver lining.

"Sometimes an individual has to suffer for the common good," he said.

The four-time premiership coach said the nationwide media coverage had hammered home a message that until now had failed to lodge in the forefront of many players' minds.

He questioned the success of existing drug education programs, saying every club tried to inform players on the dangers of drugs but until there was a real-life example the message might have fallen on deaf ears.

"Ben Cousins, the Eagles and the sport of AFL have taken a fair caning over this but in fact having a really high-profile person who gets grabbed by the drug scourge is the best thing for everybody else," Matthews said.

"Everyone else says 'Gee this can happen'. It's not theoretical any longer."

Matthews believes Cousins' standing as one of the AFL's best players sent a clearer message than the cases of lower-profile players penalised for drug use in the past.

"Every AFL player and every sportsman in Australia would have taken a step back by saying 'this has happened to Ben Cousins'," he said.

"That's the greatest incentive for other people not to allow that to happen to themselves, not to take the chance. So, frankly, I think that we're better off for one person's suffering. When a person suffers, you try to get them better."

The Advertiser

 

[hoptis]

Cousins, in denial, refuses help for addiction
By Caroline Wilson
March 27, 2007

FALLEN West Coast champion Ben Cousins remains in denial over his drug addiction and has refused several attempts by his family and his club to convince him to check into a rehabilitation centre.

The 28-year-old, who has been suspended indefinitely by the Eagles, has continued to behave erratically and also has resisted attempts by the club to make a public statement about the severity of his health crisis.

Although the Eagles hierarchy has made it clear to Cousins that he will not be allowed back to the club until he fully accepts his addiction to the methamphetamine "ice", and seeks rehabilitation, the 2005 Brownlow medallist as recently as the weekend remained determined he could beat his drug problem without full-time medical and psychiatric help.

The club appears increasingly pessimistic about his chances of playing this year despite Cousins' best-on-ground performance in his most recent practice match.

West Coast chairman Dalton Gooding confirmed yesterday that Cousins had resisted a series of attempted interventions but said some progress was being made. "The first step for Ben is accepting the problem, and then Ben making a statement and then going off somewhere for rehabilitation," he said.

"Let's just hope that Ben can come to some positive conclusions. Ben would only be considered for playing football again once he seeks rehabilitation. I think there's a chance he can play this year if he accepts that rehabilitation."

Although Cousins is no longer living with teammate Daniel Chick, he has not moved home with his parents Bryan and Stephanie as the club had first hoped. Cousins reportedly has spent several days at the home of a former Eagle player since being suspended but moved on from there a few days ago.

So fragile and unpredictable is his mental state that he reportedly has called for help on at least one occasion and then rejected it, denying the call. Several reports at the weekend had him in an exuberant state buying takeaway food at a petrol station in the early hours with a female companion.

Gooding admitted he did not know where Cousins was living, while chief executive Trevor Nisbett said: "I know where he is and I know he's safe. That's all I need to know."

Although discussion surrounding football's illegal drug culture dominated yesterday's AFL executive meeting, the league will not take immediate action against Cousins' teammate Daniel Kerr despite the chilling disclosure of police tapes made four years ago.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou spoke yesterday with the game's new chairman Mike Fitzpatrick about the Kerr situation and the wider problem. He said while he accepted the severity of the game's drug crisis and already had sanctioned a more vigilant and targeted testing regime, Kerr would not be punished for bringing the game into disrepute unless further and compelling evidence came to light.

"We've said we'll co-operate with Victorian Police and West Australian Police and we welcome more evidence of drug use to come forward," Demetriou said. "We're going to continue to fight and be vigilant on this issue."

With the premier only four days away from its grand final rematch against Sydney at Telstra Stadium, West Coast continued to insist Kerr had moved on from his drug problem. Gooding said the club would not take action because the conversations occurred four years ago.

Gooding added he believed the recent assault on a Perth taxi driver was alcohol-, not drug-, fuelled and added he was satisfied that neither Chad Fletcher nor Daniel Chick had serious drug problems. The club seems to have washed its hands of Fletcher's near-death experience in Las Vegas last year and will not pressure the player to seek toxicology reports from the US hospital that treated him.

Nisbett, with club vice-chairman Mark Barnaba, have taken on the task of dealing with Cousins and his shattered and concerned family on a daily basis. Nisbett confirmed he had spoken with the player's parents yesterday but not the player himself. He added that Cousins had been in touch regularly with a club-appointed counsellor.

While Gooding said it was preferable for the club and Cousins to come to terms with his problem soon, Nisbett said: "I'd hate to put a time frame on it because I don't have experience in these issues. I think it would be preferable for Ben if he made some sort of statement — I think we'd all like to see that."

Said Gooding: "Ben Cousins is such an incredibly tough person mentally and has such strong self-belief. I guess he is just thinking it all through. As I said, progress is being made but it's slow progress. Fortunately, I've never been in this situation before but I know it would mean a lot to his teammates for Ben to take the next step because he is a much-loved player at this club."

As the Eagles continued to seek a legal resolution over Cousins' contract, Gooding said the club was still paying him.

The Age

 

[ilikeacid]

So fragile and unpredictable is his mental state that he reportedly has called for help on at least one occasion and then rejected it, denying the call. Several reports at the weekend had him in an exuberant state buying takeaway food at a petrol station in the early hours with a female companion.

I too would be hiding out if I was in this situation. As soon as the guy comes home or to somewhere where the media can find him he'll be pounced on. Not exactly what a currently meth addicted person needs right now; more preassure..

 

[lil angel15]

AFL stars face morning-after-game drug raids
March 27, 2007

AFL stars face surprise morning-after big game drug tests in a new push to clean up the competition.
Footballers now face the prospect of Saturday and Sunday morning swoops in a move that could curtail post-game partying at nightclubs.

The crackdown comes as it emerged that two AFL investigators are talking to Victoria Police about secret 2003 phone recordings allegedly linking West Coast star Daniel Kerr to illicit drugs.

The AFL probe - headed by experienced investigators Allan Roberts and Bill Kneebone - is expected to be completed by the end of the week.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou would not speculate about possible sanctions for Kerr, but said: "I will be interested to find out what they come back with.

"Any footballer partaking in illicit drugs, whether they be talking on tapes or actually taking drugs, is not good . . . and unacceptable."

The drug scandal involving suspended Eagles superstar Ben Cousins, who is battling a serious drug problem, and controversy surrounding the club hangs over the start of the football season, just four days away.

But Mr Demetriou denied the AFL's illicit drug policy was unsuccessful because it failed to detect Cousins' habit.

"We have a policy we think is working because we have seen the number of positives come down," Mr Demetriou said.

"You can still have people drink-driving but you haven't got a booze bus on every corner.

"I am sure people have different views about what the punitive sanctions could be, but we think the policy is the right policy and we are determined to rid the sport and educate people about the pitfalls of drugs."

Weekend testing for illegal drugs has always been part of the AFL's illicit drugs policy, which is run separately from its in-competition policy.

But tests the morning after big games have rarely been conducted.

The AFL will also increase the number of tests each year – last year it was 500.

It will also concentrate on certain players.

"There is a general consensus this is a serious issue and we are absolutely determined to continue the fight," Mr Demetriou said.

"That will most likely result in an increase in the number of tests for illicit drug use, and I am sure it will result in an increase in more target testing.

"We are going to continue to consult with the experts in this field to see whether there are any other means that we should be adopting.

"We are still determined to continue the fight. We are not going to do anything but address this issue and attack this issue as we have done in the past."

In 2003 and 2004, 31 positive tests for illicit drugs were recorded by AFL players.

The findings saw a three-strikes policy introduced from 2005, with 24 positives recorded in the first 18 months. At least three players have tested positive twice.

Figures from the past six months of testing will soon be released.

"We are doing something. We are the only sport doing something (on illicit drug testing)," Mr Demetriou said.

The Australian

 

[hoptis]

Ben and his big bender
By Mark Robinson
March 28, 2007

LAST week, as the AFL world and his family were declaring support for drug-addled Ben Cousins, the star West Coast player was in the middle of a three-day bender.

The Brownlow medal winner went on the partying spree after being suspended indefinitely by the club, a source close to the Cousins camp said.

It's not known if the bender was drug or alcohol-fuelled, but family friends fear the worst.

However, after spending most of the weekend recovering, Cousins on Monday gave the strongest hint yet that he wanted professional assistance to help him overcome his drug addiction.

The source said Cousins's father, Bryan, and West Coast had mapped out a comprehensive plan, which includes what type of rehabilitation he needs and where, and when he plans to resurrect his stunning football career.

Cousins's acceptance is a big step in overcoming his substance abuse.

Cousins made moves in the right direction when he sought advice on drug rehabilitation from his father a week ago yesterday, but he then went on his bender until Friday.

After his weekend recovery, he was yesterday described as "thinking straight and ready to listen".

Cousins's excessive socialising partly explains why he could not front the media or release a statement last week.

His father and the Eagles hope he will do so this week.

Cousins continues to evade the media in his home city, but he was spotted at an East Perth service station on Thursday night.

The sighting was made just hours after his father had revealed his son's addiction on national TV, and the hurdles he faced to help him overcome his substance abuse.

Perth police said that officers in a patrol car saw Cousins with a blonde female buying drinks at the all-night convenience shop.

They described his appearance as drawn.

Cousins is still most likely to head overseas for his rehabilitation.

Arizona clinic Sierra Tucson remains an option, but the Cousins camp is also exploring other overseas options.

The AFL pledged its full support to the banished Eagle last week, even offering financial support for a private charter plane to fly him to rehabilitation.

Under no circumstances will Cousins fly out of Australia on a regular passenger plane.

The timing of his departure remains a mystery.

Depending on his wellbeing, he may depart this week or in a fortnight.

Yesterday's positive step comes after a week of hellish revelations.

Cousins was suspended indefinitely by the Eagles eight days ago, Eagles coach John Worsfold said that up to eight players had admitted to him that they had taken illicit drugs and police tapes played by the ABC on Friday revealed Daniel Kerr discussing his drug-taking with a convicted drug dealer.

Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett did not return calls last night.

Herald Sun

 

[hoptis]

OPINON: Time for a reality check: footballers are just like the rest of us
March 28, 2007

Thirty-two per cent of the community uses illicit drugs, writes John Fitzgerald.

LET'S be clear at the start about the outrage surrounding drug use in the AFL. It is not that the players are using performance-enhancing drugs, or that they are playing badly because of their drug use. Our moral outrage comes from the realisation that those players using these drugs are the exemplars of health. The West Coast story has revealed that it is the best and fairest who are using drugs — and it is not affecting their on-field performances. This has exposed to us an unsavoury reality: that people can and do perform at the highest level and use illicit drugs. Rather than seeking more drug tests for AFL footballers, we should be doing more reality tests for ourselves.

First, there is a reality about elite sport and alcohol consumption that few acknowledge. There is strong evidence that elite sport environments do not promote abstinence — in fact, they are associated with high and harmful alcohol consumption. This is the so-called U-curve: those who do not play sport and those who play high-intensity sport are both more likely to drink in a harmful, binge manner, compared with those who undertake sports with medium intensity.

Second, with regard to drug use, even the most rudimentary back-of-the-envelope estimates of the extent of illicit drug use among players would suggest that there are fewer AFL players using illicit substances than other men of the same age. National surveys show that 32 per cent of men and women aged 20 to 29 report having used an illicit drug in the previous 12 months. Even if the eight players the West Coast coach suggested had used an illegal drug were replicated in each club, the proportion of AFL players who had used an illegal drug would still be lower than that of the general community.

Third, as the recent moral panic about methamphetamine use illustrates, the facts rarely get in the way of good stories. The reality is that use of crystal meth and methamphetamine more broadly has been stable since 2001. Mirroring what happened with public opinion about crack cocaine in the US in the late 1980s, the hysteria about "ice" in Australia is not based on the reality that methamphetamine use has been stable, but on the fact that its use is being recognised among those in whom we least expect it.

So what is it that we are outraged about? The real outrage here is the realisation that maybe we have got it wrong. We are confronted by our own unrealistic expectations. Maybe it is unrealistic to expect AFL footballers to be drug-free.

Sportspeople are successful, high-achieving exemplars of health. That they may use drugs like the rest of the community confronts us because it illustrates how we construct those who fall short of our expectations in relation to being healthy (by smoking, using drugs or not exercising, for example). While health promotion messages are often framed positively on what we should do rather than what we shouldn't do, they rely implicitly on constructing those who do not follow the rules as failures. That is why the story of footballers grabs our attention so compellingly — even though they break the rules, these are the men we find almost impossible to see as failures.

Andrew Demetriou's defence of the education-based response to illicit drug use in the AFL's voluntary drug-testing regime is sound and based in the reality that people in our community do use illicit drugs. Naming and shaming individuals found to have used drugs once contributes nothing. AFL players have voluntarily agreed to allow drug testing for non-performance-enhancing drugs in their workplace. Given the high rates of drug use in the community, similar workplace testing universally, followed by a punitive approach, would net a vast catch indeed.

Drugs are illegal, and there are those who call for a "zero-tolerance" approach. This unrealistic law-and-order approach makes attractive rhetoric, but unfortunately does not produce the results that advocates seek or promise.

The American experience of punishing illicit drug users has produced high levels of HIV transmission and the most incarcerated society on earth. In Australia, we wisely have little interest in thus pursuing people who use illicit drugs, as we know that it is more effective to educate people and help them integrate back into work and family and social life. Ultimately, most of the community seek compassionate responses to people who use drugs, because these people, even when they are the sportspeople we idolise, are indeed part of our community.

What we should learn from the West Coast experience is not that we need to do more drug tests — we already know that drug use is part of the community. What we should do is test the reality of our expectations. A rational, evidence-based approach is what is needed. Judged on the available evidence, the AFL is on the right track, its drug policy is in touch with our social reality. It is those who advocate for a more stringent drug-testing regime in the hope of a drug-free world who need some reality testing.

Associate Professor John Fitzgerald is VicHealth senior research fellow in the Centre for Health and Society, University of Melbourne.

The Age

 

[New Beginning]

Finally, some sense.

'Footballers are just like the rest of us'

Finally, a sensible article.

Yes, using illegal drugs is against the law - if you get caught then you face the consequences. But that really is a seperate argument to drug testing football players.

If I sit up all night eating cheese, and as a result I am sick and unproductive at work the next day my boss is not going to tell me I am no longer allowed to eat cheese - he is going to tell me to make sure I'm not sick when I come to work or else I can get myself a new job.

If footballers chose to use drugs as long as it doesn't interfere with their performance it shouldn't be anyone's business.

C.

 

[hoptis]

Lions use shock tactics
Caroline Wilson
March 29, 2007

GRAPHIC vision of drug-affected people was yesterday used by the Brisbane Lions to reinforce the club's zero-tolerance policy to its players.

Coach Leigh Matthews and his senior playing list spent several hours learning of the devastating and long-term damage caused by drug use from former Brisbane drug squad boss Anne Macdonald who said: "I didn't embellish anything and I certainly didn't pull any punches."

In something of an understatement, Macdonald added: "This was organised three weeks ago but it was probably timely that we did it now."

One of Matthews' assistants described Macdonald's message as "terrifying". The former detective inspector, now an acting superintendent on the Sunshine Coast, will return to the club next month to repeat her message to players' wives and girlfriends and Lions officials.

The chilling demonstration was an initiative of the Lions, who first employed Macdonald's shock tactics when Roger Merrett was captain-coach. Her visit followed chairman Tony Kelly's admission at an AFL meeting last week that a West Coast-type situation at the Lions could destroy his club.

Kelly said last night he was not exaggerating in his claim: "Up here the impact could be devastating. It's not an outrageous statement, it's an obvious fact. We are competing with four codes and a pretty tough local media. Clubs like West Coast do recover. History has shown they weather the storms."

Matthews, whose football department organised the session which has no relation to any AFL or AFL Players Association initiatives, agreed.

"A West Coast situation would have a far more devastating effect on us than the Eagles. The two recession-proof clubs are the Crows and the Eagles.

"Up here you've got plenty of enemies of the sport. I think there has been a bit of a retaliation against us after some successful years. There are a lot of people with reasons to whack us."

Of Macdonald's talk, Matthews said: "She just hits you between the eyes. She tells players what's going on in the street. One disincentive to take drugs is the AFL's testing regime but another disincentive is for a player to realise 'Hey, this could cause me a lot of harm here'."

The Lions' move — Kelly's board has repeatedly told the AFL it opposes the three-strikes policy — was one example of how clubs are attempting to tackle the drug culture that has pervaded the AFL.

Richmond captain Kane Johnson last week called a meeting of the Tigers' senior list and warned them to keep away from amphetamines, take control of situations where drugs were available and look out for teammates in similar situations.

Macdonald also urged the Lions to protect each other at nightclubs and parties. One of Macdonald's examples showed footage of a young man, who had taken "fantasy", driving a car along a highway without any control of his bodily functions but believing he was in complete control.

Another showed before-and-after shots of a 17-year-old girl who took the drug ketamine for the first time, overdosed, and after waking from a coma could no longer walk and is still learning how to speak.

She also showed disturbing vision of backyard amphetamine laboratories and warned that drug use could lead to depression, sterility, suicide and addiction. She also delivered some home truths on sexual assault and date rape.

"I told them: 'I'm not going to stand here and tell you not to take drugs but if, after what you've learned today, you don't think twice in certain situations it would be surprising'," Macdonald said.

"Cocaine is not a recreational drug. They are all illegal substances and there is a reason they are illegal."

The Age

 

[ilikeacid]

They are all illegal substances and there is a reason they are illegal."

#2 most hated drug saying of all time!!

 

[lil angel15]

Drugs' offenders rise
MARK STEVENS,DAMIAN BARRETT, MELBOURNE
March 29, 2007 02:15am

FOUR more players have been nabbed under the AFL's illicit drugs policy.

Amid the fallout from the Ben Cousins saga, the league yesterday revealed the number of positive tests in the past two years had risen to 28. And the AFL provided an insight into the types of drugs used by offending players.
Of the 28 players caught, only seven had traces of cannabis. The rest tested positive to harder drugs. In a breakdown of figures since the inception of the policy, 19 tested positive in year one and nine in year two.

The four positive tests announced yesterday came in the six months from mid-August last year to mid-February.

That period includes the six-week holiday break when players can only be tested if they are called back to the club for fitness tests.

But although the number of players testing positive is tracking downward, with the AFL and the AFL Players' Association showed no joy.

AFLPA chief executive Brendan Gale said the latest figures were disappointing.

"When you consider the eduction that goes into players and the time and effort a range of people put into it, I'd say I'm disappointed," Gale said. "One is too many."

AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said he was "encouraged", but made it clear he did not want any player taking illicit drugs. "We acknowledge that one positive test is one too many," Anderson said.

Anderson confirmed the league had undertaken 990 tests over the two years of the illicit drugs policy.

A total of 25 players have tested positive. Three players tested positive twice in the first year of the policy. In year two, there were no repeat offenders. In a wide-ranging media briefing on the hottest issue in the game, the AFL also revealed:

ANY player testing positive for the first time is immediately placed in a group regularly target-tested.

LEAGUE medical officers act on information from the public, which can often be mischievious and lead to dead-ends.

IF the information is deemed credible, a player can be target-tested.

PLAYERS receiving confidential counselling after committing a first strike can be asked for information about possible targets.

TESTING will definitely be increased but Anderson said he could not yet reveal by how much.

SIX of 19 positive tests in year one were for cannabis. Only one of nine in year two were for cannabis.

The league is also considering a change of policy in regards to players with two-strikes being traded. Under current rules, a club recruiting a new player has no idea if he has two strikes. It is possible the doctor at the player's former club will be asked to pass on the information to his new club - as long as it remains confidential.

The move would be designed to ensure the offending player continues to get the same level of counselling at his new club.

The AFL again strongly defended its illicit drugs policy, which involves the identity of players testing positive remaining confidential until they are caught three times.

"It would be very easy to react to emotional calls and hype but the AFL and the AFL Players' Association on this issue won't be making any knee-jerk reactions," Anderson said yesterday.

AdelaideNow

 

[lil angel15]

Cousins takes off for secret drug rehab
Chip Le Grand and Jenny McAsey
March 30, 2007

DANIEL CHICK, the West Coast Eagle with whom Ben Cousins sought shelter during the drug-fuelled days preceding his banishment from the club, insists his friend and premiership team-mate knows exactly where he is going.
Nicholson animation: Drugs in football
"Mentally he is on the right track," Chick told Channel Ten in Perth. "He knows where he is headed."
Under a secretive evacuation plan hatched by Cousins, his father Bryan and his Melbourne-based manager Ricky Nixon, the fallen Eagle is one of only two people who do.

Following 10 days of frenzied speculation about his health, mental state and nocturnal proclivities, Cousins was last night preparing to leave the country to seek drug rehabilitation treatment at an undisclosed location.

He is expected to be gone for a month, perhaps several, as he battles the twin effects of drug addiction and public humiliation after his coach and father's admissions the player has had a substance abuse problem since last July.

To provide a shield from the intense scrutiny that would surely follow Cousins overseas, the 2005 Brownlow medallist and Bryan Cousins have decided that only they will know his whereabouts during treatment. It is understood not even West Coast coach John Worsfold, chief executive Trevor Nisbett or Nixon are privy to the details.

While Cousins' concern for privacy is understandable, it has placed his club in the awkward position of having to continue to pay his weekly salary of $11,500 without knowing when he will return to the country, let alone resume his job on the field.

Cousins' exile into rehab comes as the focus on his drug-taking shifts away from his hectic life after dark to whether he could have used either cocaine or ice as a performance-enhancer in the latter part of last season.

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority has taken a keen interest in his case and public statements from West Coast officials about when they first realised he was regularly taking substances banned under the World Anti-Doping Authority drugs code.

Former anti-doping boss John Mendoza yesterday told The Australian that the Cousins case warranted an investigation by ASADA, armed with a specific, federal government mandate to prosecute suspected anti-doping breaches in which no positive tests are recorded.

The potential performance-enhancing benefits of ice, a particularly strong form of amphetamine, are mental alertness, improved anaerobic capacity and a feeling of invincibility. The thought that Cousins may have played last year's finals aided by a banned substance has set tongues wagging in Perth and Sydney, where West Coast last night arrived for tomorrow night's grand final rematch at Telstra Stadium.

Sydney coach Paul Roos said he did not know the effects of cocaine and methamphetamine, or ice, on elite athletes, or whether Cousins had taken either of those drugs. He also said it was wrong to get "caught up in the numbers" of positive drug tests under the AFL's illicit drugs policy.

Where both cocaine and methamphetamine are banned substances on match days and subject to an automatic, two-year ban for a first-time breach under the WADA code, they are treated more leniently under the AFL's out-of-competition, illicit drugs policy.

"Let's forget the game for a minute," Roos said. "Probably if I had to sum up the debate, too much has been made of the numbers, AFL players as opposed to NRL, what is the policy. They're all relevant issues but let's make it absolutely clear: drugs kill people.

"I don't think there are too many bigger issues that I've been involved in, in life, than drugs."

Amphetamines dramatically increase blood pressure. Mendoza warned that had Cousins taken to the field with either methamphetamine or cocaine in his system, he would have been at significant risk of cardiac arrest.

The Australian

 

[hoptis]

AFL does have a tough anti-drug policy
Andrew Demetriou
April 1, 2007

THERE has been a lot of debate and discussion over the AFL's illicit drug policy and the way football is combating the issue of illicit drug use.

Andrew Fraser's contribution ( The Sunday Age, April 25) is an example of the common misunderstanding of the policy.

As a former lawyer who was convicted and jailed over the importation and trafficking of cocaine worth $3 million, he obviously has some lessons to provide on how to avoid going down the path he chose. But his article contained inaccuracies that need to be addressed for football supporters and readers to be able to have an informed view on this subject.

Fraser writes that "other codes have a zero tolerance policy, which has cut down players such as rugby star Wendell Sailor for relatively minor infringements. Sailor was named, fined and suspended for two years. Compare that hard line with the AFL's half-hearted stance, and its tendency to hush things up."

That is wrong.

The AFL, like all other major sporting codes, is World Anti-Doping Agency-compliant, which means if an AFL player tests positive during a match to cocaine as Sailor did, he would suffer the same fate. He would be outed for two years in any major football code or Olympic sport in Australia, including the AFL.

All codes have the same testing and reporting program, administered by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, a Federal Government authority.

Fraser also says "the AFL makes no distinction between the so-called recreational drugs and performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids".

Wrong.

We have both an anti-doping code and an illicit drug policy. Under the anti-doping code, AFL players can be tested 365 days a year, 24 hours a day by ASADA for performance-enhancing drugs, and on match day they are tested for illicit and performance-enhancing drugs.

If they test positive to any performance-enhancing drugs at any time they face an immediate two-year ban. So where does the AFL differ from other sporting codes?

We differ because we are the only sporting code that tests players for illicit drugs on non-match days. If you are a player in another code, we don't know if there is a problem with illicit-drug use because there is no testing outside of match day.

Fraser also asks why AFL footballers are treated differently to the rest of society.

Effectively they are different because, unlike most members of the public, they have volunteered to be tested for illicit drug use because players are concerned for the health and welfare of fellow players.

The players overwhelmingly support testing because, if a player is taking illicit substances, they want him to be detected and given counselling to change his behaviour. They want to stop illicit-drug use.

While one positive test is one too many, we are encouraged that the number of positive tests has dropped in the past year. This shows more players are heeding the message.

As far as the treatment of footballers compared with the general population is concerned, the AFL's illicit drug policy is consistent with the Federal Government's national illicit drug diversion initiative.

This approach, followed by most Australian police forces, allows offenders to be diverted into an assessment and counselling program rather than the criminal justice system. If the offender completes treatment, no conviction is recorded.

As always, we are happy to speak to the experts and hear the views of people from across the football world, the wider community and those who work in the area of drug prevention.

We are happy to have the debate because it helps promote our strong "Say No to Drugs" message. All we ask is that the debate be based on fact.

Andrew Demetriou is the AFL's chief executive officer.

The Age

 

[hoptis]

Makeover becomes takeover
By Paul Gray
April 02, 2007 12:00am

IT'S a beautiful life, so let's make it more beautiful still by injecting our faces with cosmetic agents, while bending our minds with drugs.

That's the message from an increasingly narcissistic society that is preoccupied with transforming an existence it plainly finds too dull and boring.

The signs of this obsession are all around, from TV stars having botox injections on camera, to sports stars whose glamorous lifestyles just don't feel interesting enough.

So they take drugs. The AFL reported last week that nine players had tested positive to illegal drugs in the past 12 months.

This is not an isolated statistic. In the previous 12 months, 19 AFL players tested positive to illicit drugs.

A trio of academics says the whole community needs a "reality test" if it thinks illicit drug-taking isn't normal.

The academics say rudimentary estimates show that fewer AFL players use illicit substances than other men of the same age.

Up to 32 per cent of Australian men and women, aged 20 to 29, have used an illicit drug in the past 12 months, say professors John Fitzgerald and Nick Crofts and Dr Mary O'Brien.

The percentage of AFL players who use the drugs is certainly smaller than this.

The million-dollar question is why are so many people in society taking drugs?

Why should so many people feel the need to transform their experience of life in artificial ways?

Increasingly, it seems that Australians are not content with the humdrum beat of existence as it has been experienced by their forebears of only a few years before.

The transformations people are choosing are not just happening through drugs. Cosmetic surgery and body modification are becoming increasingly obvious as major cultural themes.

These were once the province of the rich and famous, such as the celebrated "Bride of Wildenstein", Swiss-born New York socialite Jocelyne Wildenstein, the divorced wife of art dealer Alec Wildenstein.

Also known as the Cat Woman, Wildenstein reportedly spent almost $5 million on procedures to her face including silicon injections, eye reconstruction and a facelift.

The end result of all these procedures has been to make her look very strange indeed.

Then there's Anna Nicole Smith, the former Playboy playmate who injected her buttocks with anti-ageing drugs before dying.

A drug cocktail, combined with a ruptured boil on her bottom, contributed to Smith's death.

She was said to be taking heavy doses of painkillers to ease chronic pain from her many cosmetic procedures.

Now, cosmetic surgery is becoming more and more obvious as a cultural theme in Australia.

For several years now, we've had the popular US TV drama about cosmetic surgeons in Florida, Nip/Tuck, starring Julian McMahon, the son of former prime minister Sir William McMahon.

Two weeks ago on Channel 9's The Footy Show, Sam Newman had his face injected with Botox.

Was this just another publicity stunt by Newman, or did the choice of Botox say something about the "improvements" more and more people are seeking in their lives?

Definitely the latter. A Sydney social and market researcher tells of a group of mothers in their 30s and 40s who were hypothetically offered top-quality plastic surgery, for free.

All the mothers said they'd take it. Liposuction and breast augmentation got big votes, wrote Neer Korn of Heartbeat Trends.

One of the more bizarre variations Australians have started to engage in is a cosmetic surgery procedure as a feature of their holidays.

Melbourne University's Sheila Jeffries goes so far as to describe cosmetic surgery as a form of "self-mutilation by proxy". More and more bizarre forms of bodily alteration are becoming common in our culture.

As drug-taking is a method of altering reality by artificial means, so cosmetic changes to the body are a way of transforming our self-image.

But even if this is the intention, cosmetic changes can make us look ridiculous, or worse. Drugs, or course, can kill us.

It is not a form of mindless conservatism to see this as a sign that something is wrong.

The mindless response is to smile benignly while more and more Australians alter their minds and bodies in potentially destructive ways and pretend that nothing is amiss.

Herald Sun

 

[hoptis]

It is not a form of mindless conservatism to see this as a sign that something is wrong.

It is if you don't acknowledge the damage alcohol does to society and that it's the most common method Australians use to "alter their minds".

 

[hoptis]

Popular drugs not detected
Nick Sheridan | April 14, 2007

THE AFL has admitted there is a gap in its illicit drugs policy, which does not cover testing for the some of the most commonly used "party" drugs, such as ketamine, GHB and LSD.

The AFL's medical commissioner, Dr Peter Harcourt, said there were certain drugs slipping through the net, but that the league's policy was a work in progress.

"There's a gap in our coverage at the moment, which we will deal with," he said.

Harcourt said he was satisfied that the most commonly used drugs were covered by the policy.

"The main illicit drugs out there are covered. Ketamine is certainly out there but it's not a significant drug and so is GHB, but it equally is not as broad as the other ones."

The AFL uses the drugs listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency as the basis for its own illicit drugs policy, but these do not include some of the most popular illegal drugs used today.

At least one AFL player, West Coast star Daniel Kerr, allegedly has used ketamine after police surveillance tapes from 2003 were leaked last month, revealing him talking with a convicted drug dealer about his use of the drug.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou this week defended the league's omission of the drug from its testing regime.

"We don't prescribe what's on the drug list, I mean that's done by WADA, as it should be. We, like any other sport, will adhere to WADA, and whatever's on the list of banned substances, that's what will get tested for," he said.

Demetriou also said the AFL had no plans to add ketamine to the list of drugs being screened by the AFL.

"It's not for us to ask (WADA to add ketamine to the list of screened drugs) because I've found out that it's an anaesthetic, and it's a tranquilliser for horses and it's not banned," he said.

"So if someone else would like to put a case forward, someone who's in that area, I've got no reason to ask for horse tranquilliser to be on the banned substances (list)."

Under the AFL's drugs policy, in-competition testing — testing of players on game day — is controlled by WADA, but the league's illicit drugs policy is fully administered by the AFL, meaning the league has control over which drugs it tests its players for.

Harcourt signalled that he would consider including the missing drugs on the testing list in the future.

"This is a journey." he said. "We've made one step, we're doing a few things and we'll keep building on what we're doing. It's part of the commitment in the AFL to create a safe environment for the players."

The medical director of drug and alcohol services at the Western Hospital, Dr Michael McDonough, said the three drugs not included on the list were among the most popular recreational drugs available.

McDonough, who specialises in clinical toxicology and addiction medicine, said that, according to a recent study by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, ketamine, LSD and GHB ranked among the 10 most heavily used "party" drugs.

McDonough expressed surprise that such popular drugs were not included among the AFL's list of illicit drugs.

"It is unusual because they're common," he said. "Certainly within the drug and alcohol sector and certainly on the public record, these are fairly common party drugs."

McDonough said that in his experience, drugs such as ketamine and GHB were likely to be the kinds of drugs used by occasional users of the sort that the AFL was targeting.

"Recreational users, or 'party drug' users, are relatively commonly in contact with mostly amphetamines and secondly the various different forms of amphetamine — at the moment crystal meth — and then things like cocaine, ketamine, LSD and GHB, sort of in that descending order," he said.

Inspector Glenn Weir, manager of Victoria Police media, said ketamine and GHB ranked highly among the so-called "party" drugs.

"They'd be in the top five. There's the amphetamines, there's the cannabis, there's the narcotic, or opiates such as heroin — which doesn't seem to have been mentioned at all in relation to any of the footballers — and then there's the other miscellaneous types such as ketamine," he said.

Weir said the popularity of ketamine and GHB has been on the rise in recent years.

TESTING TIME

DRUGS TESTED BY THE AFL

Ecstasy (MDMA)

Speed (amphetamine)

Ice (methamphetamine)

Cocaine

DRUGS NOT TESTED

LSD (hallucinogen)

Ketamine (tranquilliser)

GHB

(In order of popularity, according to the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre's Part Drug Trends Bulletin)

The Age

 

[Prince Planet]

Did anyone see the recent Chaser's War on Everything, featuring the West Coke Eagles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1KCwgbgDqI&mode=related&search=

 

[hoptis]

Club wants Cousins to admit drug problem
By Tim Clarke
April 24, 2007 06:31pm

WEST Coast have warned Ben Cousins he faces strict conditions before resuming his AFL career and would like him to publicly admit his drug problems on his return to Australia next week.

The Eagles today confirmed the former skipper, who has spent the last month in America undergoing drug rehabilitation, is expected to return to Perth in the next 10-14 days to undergo out-patient treatment in WA.

Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett said Cousins' rehab progress was ahead of schedule, but predictions of a return to the field between six and eight weeks were premature.

"(We will talk about a playing return) when all the medical information is gathered and Ben and his advisers believe he is ready to talk about it," Mr Nisbett said.

"It could be months, it might be next year. We are still not certain on dates, and our only interest is Ben's health at the present stage.

"If he is back (in Perth) within a week, he would certainly be ahead of schedule in our view.

"But there is a lot of hurdles to go ... I don't think Eagles fans can get excited just yet.

"There are a lot of things that Ben needs to change in his life and we will be encouraging him to take as much time as he needs."

Cousins checked into a rehab program in California last month after being suspended indefinitely by the club for failing to meet training requirements.

His father Bryan then confirmed his son had a "substance abuse" problem, although reports it relates to the methamphetamine "ice" have not been officially ratified.

Eagles chairman Dalton Gooding said although the AFL premiers were delighted the Brownlow medallist was making progress, there was a huge gulf between a return to the country and a return to the team.

"We will sit down with Ben and his father and discuss conditions he will be allowed back to the club," Gooding told ABC radio.

"(The conditions) will certainly be onerous, and we will be expecting complete compliance.

"There is a lot of water to flow under the bridge ... before Ben can play football again for us."

And while the club prepares itself for another media frenzy when Cousins returns, the player himself has yet to comment publicly on his plight – a move Mr Gooding said he would like to see.

"I think that is all part of the process," Mr Gooding said.

"We will be very much guided by recommendations, but certainly it would be appropriate, we think, if Ben could make a statement when he does arrive back in Perth."

Coach John Worsfold said the prospect of Cousins' return to Perth was a welcome one.

"He is obviously feeling really good and thinks that the program he has been part of – and it has been pretty intense – has been outstanding," Worsfold told Southern Cross radio.

"Our 100 per cent aim is to make sure that Ben lives his life in a healthy way, and that seems to be on path."

Nisbett said Sunday's meeting with the AFL commission, ordered after the Eagles' string of off-field problems, would now include discussion on what drug testing procedures might be implemented if and when Cousins' resumes playing.

"If he comes back into the football environment in the future, there is no doubt the AFL will have very stringent clauses as to what Ben can do," Nisbett said.

"And that will be something we will talk about with the AFL ... to see what the process might be if Ben in the future comes back."

News.com.au