Illicit drug use by footballers is the arena where the AFL’s objectives of protecting players’ health and protection of the league’s brand have often collided with the force of a shirtfront.

From the outset, the drug policy sought to keep vulnerable or cavalier players from succumbing to drug addition or misuse, but also implicitly pandered to the section of the community that took a punitive, Old Testament view of drug use.

AFL CEO Andrew........

© The Sydney Morning Herald