Former Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell says players are not afraid to let loose in the off-season and take a plethora of illicit drugs because "they know the system".
Speaking on SEN Radio on Tuesday, Maxwell said the AFL needs to take a tougher stance on illicit drugs.
โNow players are basically just having a laugh in the off-season, because they have their six or eight weeks and they know they can do what they want to do,โ Maxwell said.
โThe only result of that is when they get back and theyโre hair tested theyโve got to sit down with the doctor and have a one-on-one conversation.
โThe big thing for me is the whole attitude has to change across the board, itโs a problem in society everyone acknowledges that.
โEither the AFL or AFLPA, who pride themselves on being leaders on these issues, theyโve got to take a stance and understand they may lose a few along the way but for the betterment of the game they have to go hard and test four times a year, and really start penalising.
"The illicit drugs policy is an absolute failure at the moment."
Maxwell also said that he is aware of players getting out of drug tests.
โIt was brought in for medical reasons, so that if players tested positive to illicit drugs then there could be a process to educate them and make sure it wasnโt something that continued.
โI started to here rumblings myself, and did some digging talking to players from different clubs because up until recently Iโve been pretty naรฏve on how big the drug culture is in society.
โDifferent players have told me theyโve been able to get out of testsโฆ players have been getting out of it because they know the system.
โA lot of senior players out there are frustrated and worried because they also now know that if a teammate gets tested and gets a second strike theyโll get four weeks โ so that could cost them success.โ
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