Should the AFL amend their Drug Policy?

There is growing momentum among the AFL Clubs towards the AFL to amend its drug policy, which I guess is nothing that is all that new but with the AFL to meet with the Federal Government and the ALFPA in early 2008 the policy will be high on the agenda.

Adelaide and Port Adelaide are the latest clubs to express their opinions towards the policy and how it could be improved. I think most clubs are of the view that the three strikes rule needs at least a review and that more testing needs to be conducted.

The Policy

The AFL’s drug policy is very closely tied into that of the Federal Governments stance on illicit drug use, and both parties have common goals they are trying to achieve. Yet there are still misunderstandings about the AFL’s policy. I remember when the ex Treasurer Peter Costello said something along the lines of: the code was not tough enough because players were not named or sanctioned until their third offence, and that the AFL code allows people to be caught without suffering any consequences. But from what I understand this is not what AFL’s policy does.

A few misunderstandings

Talking to a lot of football followers there are still a lot of people who misunderstand what the AFL’s policy is all about. The AFL have quite a comprehensive policy in the treatment of initial findings of non-performance enhancing drug use in that they use medical intervention as the first response, probably better treatment than you and I would get. Most of the misunderstandings are centered on the 3 strikes rule. The assumption is that the AFL doesn’t take any action until a player is caught on the third occasion.

This is simply not true. Read more