Drug Use in the AFL

www.crikey.com.au

"3. The truth about drug use in the AFL?

As debate rages about whether AFL players take illegal drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine, an anonymous correspondent has his say:

I don't think the general public, let alone the AFL have any idea of how rife drug use is in our society today. And add Caroline Wilson to that list. Carro is normally right on the money, but her article in yesterday's Age was so far off the mark it made me want to double-drop some disco biscuits and head down to the seediest club in town just to clear my head. Clearly she and most other people in this debate have no idea what is actually going on in our suburban bars and clubs. In fact the only bloke who would appear to have half an idea (for a change) is Eddie.

I regularly head out to bars and clubs around the inner city and I don't mind having the occasional dabble in some recreational drugs, namely cocaine and ecstasy. I'm certainly no party animal but I'm not averse to a bender from time to time either, as are most of my mates. So having used drugs a number of times, it's easy for one to spot others who are also on drugs and also to sometimes cross paths within these bars and clubs with others that want to buy or sell drugs. Therefore some of the things I am about to say might surprise a few... while for those who socialise in similar circles to me, it will probably come as no surprise.

1) Over the past three years, I have spent countless nights at a club in South Yarra which, to be blunt, is a haven for pill-popping. I've lost count of how many times I saw one senior Carlton player at this venue in the early hours of the morning, looking a little worse for wear... and not as a result of alcohol. Now when you start to see this same player at this venue time and time again, with pupils severely dilated, you have to start asking questions. More often than not he was accompanied by a few of his team-mates who were equally wired. Little surprise then, when Lawrence Angwin makes his accusation about a couple of senior Carlton players "getting anything you want." Is it really that far fetched? I don't think so. But then again, I am an occasional drug user which probably deems my opinion and observations severely clouded and unreliable, just like Angwin.

2) I have a few mates who are current and past AFL players. Now as an example – after the grand final in 2002, I found myself sitting on a couch at a club in South Melbourne with two current Crows players, a current Power player and a former Crows player. What did we all have in common? We were all on ecstasy. Now personally I don't really see the problem with this, because effectively it was the off-season for these guys. But it proves the point that AFL players are just like anyone else in a bar and club and moreover, they have the income to support the hobby!

3) This one was the biggest eye-opener for me: at that same South Yarra club two weekends ago, a mate and I got chatting to two current AFL players around 3am. One of them is a former captain and knows my mate quite well. The boys were out celebrating a big win the previous day and were quite jovial. But you can imagine our surprise when the former captain enquired as to whether we could get him "four or five pills?" Sounds crazy? Well, I wouldn't have believed it myself unless I'd been standing there to hear it. I have to say, I was quite shocked. Here were two of the club's best players looking to buy drugs at 3am, seven rounds into the season proper!"

It goes on. Now I'm not goign to try to start a withc hunt, but from the experiences of a sub-30 year old bloke, recreational drug use is everywhere. Use of speed or E is now cheap ($25-40) a night, and you don't have a hangover, thus no loss of performance on the track the next day. Dale Lewis' 75% of a couple of years ago would have been on the money I reckon - and it wouldn't just happen in AFL...