Is it naive to say that ALL players know that they may be tested and if caught, they will face a ban.
Whether drug taking is prevalent in society as a whole, is largely irrelevant as the rules are in place before any player joins the ranks of pro RL players.
The bloke should receive full support to help him deal with the issue but, the getting caught is the small part of this.
It must be wrecking the guy to know the actual consequences of his actions.

The biggest game in the clubs history and their chances disappeared just as soon as he was suspended.
Should Cas have dropped him sooner and tried to "bed in" a new FB prior to the GF ?

Wheres the rumour? Current International or former? Doesnt leave much if its current.

I agree that the drug laws in this country are potty - we've arbitrarily decided that some are legal and some aren't, and launched a pointless and harmful crusade to try to enforce that; furthermore, we seem to treat people who take the ones who aren't differently, based on their class or social status.

That aside, if you work in a regulated environment, and allow yourself to give a positive test after a weekend of whatever you deem to be fun, then you're an idiot and deserve whatever penalty your employer has deemed appropriate; in Hardaker's case, coke is on the banned list - he will have known that - but chose to take the risk; so tough tits.

And for clarity - stupidity is not a mental illness.

One can argue about the legality of drugs and whether recreational drugs should be illegal however that doesn't excuse Hardacker's behavior.

Whether taking cocaine would result in a 12 week ban, 12 month ban or 2 year ban is irrelevant. The point is Castleford would have every right to sack him for such behavior.

It's not just a bit of sniff on a Saturday night. You a professional athlete playing at the highest level and with that comes responsibilities. Can be cigarettes, alcohol or recreational drugs. If you wanna partake in such activities be prepared to cut short a career.

Though addictive personality disorder is most definitely a mental illness. Now I’m not saying he suffers from this but people who do have self destruct tendencies.

Read up on it.

I've worked in mental health for 20+ years and operate 2 specialist PD treatment units; so I'm fairly well read, and therefore know that there is no medical or scientific definition of addictive personality, or addictive personality disorder.

In this case it matters not a jot that cocaine is classed as an illegal drug in this country. For the purposes of in-competition testing, WADA regard cocaine as a stimulant and for that reason it is on their banned list.

Professional athletes should be leading a professional's life for the short time in their life they are professionals. Yes, I kind of get the argument that people in every day life do these sorts of things and they are just young men like anyone else in society but whenever this sort of thing pops up i think about it and really they aren't just like anyone else in society. Professioanl athletes are not your average brickie, barman or receptionist. Plus cocaine is a stimulant and it makes you act over and above your usual state of excitability. If you're "going for a " in the changing rooms before the game and at half time to get a bit of this up your nose you are cheating as this substance is on the WADA list of banned substances. Even if you're doing it recreationally in your spare time, IT'S A BANNED SUBSTANCE. We could argue whether Portugal has it right or not all day (and i think they do) but we're not in Portugal and cocaine is banned. They have all the rest of their life from their mid-30s onwards to do what they want, but while they are professional athletes they should be acting within the rules.

Unfortunately, most athletes lead that professional's life when they are young and it doesn't seem like a short time. I'm old now, and appreciate how quickly time passes, but when I was in my 20's, the years seemed to go by much slower. Probably because each one was a bigger percentage of my life overall.

Wish people wouldn't bring this white mark thing up - it was proven in numerous videos that these are old scratches on the benches. Clutching at straws. And Chase got caught doing cocaine when he was at Widnes - shall we 'sit all over them' as well.

I feel sad to see how many people on this forum are so comfortable with the use of cocaine. It may be common and alcohol may be just as bad but that does not lessen the dangers of taking illegal drugs and putting money into the pockets of people who promote misery (no not Shaun Wane). We all know the spiel. In this case the issue is not that it is common and should be treated differently from other drugs but that it is on the WADA list and we have signed up to it. Many drugs on that list are not illegal and many, like caffeine, are both common and legal. Some drugs have genuine medical uses. The simple fact is, that these substances are controlled. If a person uses them and is caught they know the likely penalties. Consider those who have been banned from their sport because they took a foreign version of a medicine that they use at home that had other active ingredients. They still got banned. The rule for substances on the list is that you are responsible for whatever gets into your system. In Hardaker's case he made the choice, but perhaps we could ask for a retrospective medical exemption on the grounds that he was taking cocaine as a medicine to deal with his own stupidity.

Idiot took a substance that was on the banned list and is banned! THE END!

Can't believe the length of this thread....

As has been mentioned it isn't and is a myth, although you see it being banded around the internet alot nowadays. I think people tend to use words like that instead of what is actually Scientifically and Medically known. Issues like biology, social environment, family & psychology are what's known to cause Addiction.
.
Genetics, for example, play a role in the development of an addiction. The extent to which genes impact behavior, is estimated to be between 40% & 70% for addiction, depending on the type of substance.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 'the role that both genetics and environment play into the development of addictions are unique and change over an individual's lifespan. This in turn makes it even more difficult to understand the underlying causes of addiction.'

How about micro-chipping athletes? That way it's not about whether an athlete was "clean" when tested, but is consistently clean! https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... WEML6619I2

How about micro-chipping athletes? That way it's not about whether an athlete was "clean" when tested, but is consistently clean! https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... WEML6619I2

erm.... maybe because it is one of the biggest RL stories/scandals of the year and it being a RL forum people are here to discuss it.