Such Is Life

[Q.]

Line up three blokes.

Every 15 minutes ones has a shot of expresso, one a shot of tequila, one a puff of a crack pipe.

I wonder who would be most affected after 3 hours...

Empty stomach and zero tolerance? I reckon I'd be completely f***** from every scenario.

[Dogwatcher]

Why does the doctor perscribe him sleeping pills? It is not as though he is taking them without the club doctor knowing. Damned if he does, Cant sleep if he doesnt

Who cares if he has some 'rogue's charm' about him, the improtant thing is that he is clean and that he continues to be clean and send the right message to the community about drug addiction.

As he said recently on TV, Drug addiction is what Mental Health was 15 years ago. Everyone knows its there but nothing/no one wants to do anything about it. Mental Health now gets plenty of public awareness and its services/funding is being increased. Drug addiction is still along way down the pecking order. Simply getting a few dogs to sniff pockets and get a slap on the wrist does nothing.

You can easily become addicted to prescribed medication and some medicos can be only too willing to hand them out.
It would be interesting to see how many professional sports people leave their sport with an addiction to the medication that keeps them on the field.
A recovering addict would, or should, be very wary about taking on something which might start them back down the slippery slope of addiction.
I never said there was a problem with having rogue's charm. I noted that it was a personality trait he shares with other people of notoriety.

[Footy Smart]

Why does the doctor perscribe him sleeping pills? It is not as though he is taking them without the club doctor knowing. Damned if he does, Cant sleep if he doesnt

Who cares if he has some 'rogue's charm' about him, the improtant thing is that he is clean and that he continues to be clean and send the right message to the community about drug addiction.

As he said recently on TV, Drug addiction is what Mental Health was 15 years ago. Everyone knows its there but nothing/no one wants to do anything about it. Mental Health now gets plenty of public awareness and its services/funding is being increased. Drug addiction is still along way down the pecking order. Simply getting a few dogs to sniff pockets and get a slap on the wrist does nothing.

You can easily become addicted to prescribed medication and some medicos can be only too willing to hand them out.
It would be interesting to see how many professional sports people leave their sport with an addiction to the medication that keeps them on the field.
A recovering addict would, or should, be very wary about taking on something which might start them back down the slippery slope of addiction.
I never said there was a problem with having rogue's charm. I noted that it was a personality trait he shares with other people of notoriety.

Very valid point about players leaving the AFL with a form of addiction. The pressures to not only perform on the field but to keep your body functioning/play through injury is massive.

[OnSong]

Why does the doctor perscribe him sleeping pills? It is not as though he is taking them without the club doctor knowing. Damned if he does, Cant sleep if he doesnt

Who cares if he has some 'rogue's charm' about him, the improtant thing is that he is clean and that he continues to be clean and send the right message to the community about drug addiction.

As he said recently on TV, Drug addiction is what Mental Health was 15 years ago. Everyone knows its there but nothing/no one wants to do anything about it. Mental Health now gets plenty of public awareness and its services/funding is being increased. Drug addiction is still along way down the pecking order. Simply getting a few dogs to sniff pockets and get a slap on the wrist does nothing.

You can easily become addicted to prescribed medication and some medicos can be only too willing to hand them out.
It would be interesting to see how many professional sports people leave their sport with an addiction to the medication that keeps them on the field.
A recovering addict would, or should, be very wary about taking on something which might start them back down the slippery slope of addiction.
I never said there was a problem with having rogue's charm. I noted that it was a personality trait he shares with other people of notoriety.

Very valid point about players leaving the AFL with a form of addiction. The pressures to not only perform on the field but to keep your body functioning/play through injury is massive.

Especially since Dream Team and Supercoach has taken off. Lol

[White Line Fever]

Line up three blokes.

Every 15 minutes ones has a shot of expresso, one a shot of tequila, one a puff of a crack pipe.

I wonder who would be most affected after 3 hours...

Empty stomach and zero tolerance? I reckon I'd be completely f***** from every scenario.

Makes you wonder then about all things in moderation...

Would one joint a week affect you as a pack a day ciggy smoker?

Would one ectasy pill a night affect you as much as 20 drinks?

You can over do it with anything, too much chewing gum and you poop alot...

[Drop Bear]

I watched it last night, won't be watching Part 2 tonight.

why? it's not finished.

Already wasted an hour of my life last night.

[Footy Smart]

Line up three blokes.

Every 15 minutes ones has a shot of expresso, one a shot of tequila, one a puff of a crack pipe.

I wonder who would be most affected after 3 hours...

Empty stomach and zero tolerance? I reckon I'd be completely f***** from every scenario.

Makes you wonder then about all things in moderation...

Would one joint a week affect you as a pack a day ciggy smoker?

Would one ectasy pill a night affect you as much as 20 drinks?

You can over do it with anything, too much chewing gum and you poop alot...

You will go to a club on a saturday night and find that alot of people you wouldnt suspect have had 1 ecstasy pill and a fair few drinks and you can hardly notice. Often only when people over indulge or the pill is very strong do you notice a person has taken something.

[Q.]

Line up three blokes.

Every 15 minutes ones has a shot of expresso, one a shot of tequila, one a puff of a crack pipe.

I wonder who would be most affected after 3 hours...

Empty stomach and zero tolerance? I reckon I'd be completely f***** from every scenario.

Makes you wonder then about all things in moderation...

Would one joint a week affect you as a pack a day ciggy smoker?

Would one ectasy pill a night affect you as much as 20 drinks?

You can over do it with anything, too much chewing gum and you poop alot...

Which is why I think that education and harm-minimisation is a far better approach than zero-tolerance stances and fear campaigns.

[CoverKing]

Fell asleep just after 9.

Far too often when discussing his addiction I felt the smirk on his face did no justice to the story he was trying to relay. Too many occasions he justified his drug use by coutering it with sound on field performances. Perhaps I missed his message but thats how I viewed it.

I missed part of Part 1 and I dont think I'll bother with part 2. Especially if it is twice as long. Mrs.Boon has recorded the two and we will decide if we sit with Junior Boon ( 14 ) and watch it together. I doubt it.

Dutchy, Part 2 only captivates you if Part 1 is worthy.

definitely didn't understand what he was tryin to portray I think Booney! His attitude last night was simply reflecting the attitude he had during his times when he thought he was indestructible!! It was a reflection of his attitude, and not his actual attitude at present!

Watching tonight will show how he thinks of it now and that smirk is the most read into thing ever! I think it's a nervous trait, and nothing else into it really IMO

[Freo HeaveHo]

we can argue black and blue about this subject there is no right or wrong answer. I personally dont do drugs ... A have a large group of friends some who choose to do it occasionally and some dont do it at all.

But all people i associate with are great people ... yea we have fun but its majority of the time in a controlled state. We dont go out looking for fights . drink drive or to ruin other peoples night.

Drugs are a part of life and its each to there own its not till it becomes an addiction or affects your everyday duties ( not turning up for work in a fit state ) because of it. In Bens case it did.

I would never choose to associate with people like that and my view would be no different to someone who had no control over there alcohol consumption either. I think in Bens case he is of the minority where he still had the ability to function and perform very well in his line of work where most people dont.

But at the end the day i applaud the guy for what he has gone through and hopefully come out of and had to do it with the rest the country watching. Very brave when others dont have the courage to speak up and get help

[Media Park]

OnSong and Quichey:

Thanks for the new signature...

[OnSong]

I'm honoured. My quote next to an image of Sting, the master of the Scorpion Death Lock.

[Mythical Creature]

we can argue black and blue about this subject there is no right or wrong answer. I personally dont do drugs ... A have a large group of friends some who choose to do it occasionally and some dont do it at all.

But all people i associate with are great people ... yea we have fun but its majority of the time in a controlled state. We dont go out looking for fights . drink drive or to ruin other peoples night.

Drugs are a part of life and its each to there own its not till it becomes an addiction or affects your everyday duties ( not turning up for work in a fit state ) because of it. In Bens case it did.

I would never choose to associate with people like that and my view would be no different to someone who had no control over there alcohol consumption either. I think in Bens case he is of the minority where he still had the ability to function and perform very well in his line of work where most people dont.

But at the end the day i applaud the guy for what he has gone through and hopefully come out of and had to do it with the rest the country watching. Very brave when others dont have the courage to speak up and get help

Great Call Freo. Best post on this topic!

[Punk Rooster]

Ben let his partying (drugs) get in the way of his footy

Didn't seemed to affect his on-field performances at all.

The problem was not his on-field performances, but the league wringing their hands at one of their star players publicly getting wasted every three or four weeks. Don't **** with the AFL image.

Ben stated that he accused his team-mates of training harder than him, purely to make him look bad.
That suggests to me that it was getting in the way of his footy.

[Footy Smart]

Ben let his partying (drugs) get in the way of his footy

Didn't seemed to affect his on-field performances at all.

The problem was not his on-field performances, but the league wringing their hands at one of their star players publicly getting wasted every three or four weeks. Don't **** with the AFL image.

Ben stated that he accused his team-mates of training harder than him, purely to make him look bad.
That suggests to me that it was getting in the way of his footy.

Thats when his addiction did start to win the battle. He was getting away with it, he was training hard, he was playing well. Then it started to decline as happens to drug adicts, it started to minimise his discipline but in his mind he was still fine it was everyone elses fault.

[Booney]

Fell asleep just after 9.

Far too often when discussing his addiction I felt the smirk on his face did no justice to the story he was trying to relay. Too many occasions he justified his drug use by coutering it with sound on field performances. Perhaps I missed his message but thats how I viewed it.

I missed part of Part 1 and I dont think I'll bother with part 2. Especially if it is twice as long. Mrs.Boon has recorded the two and we will decide if we sit with Junior Boon ( 14 ) and watch it together. I doubt it.

Dutchy, Part 2 only captivates you if Part 1 is worthy.

definitely didn't understand what he was tryin to portray I think Booney! His attitude last night was simply reflecting the attitude he had during his times when he thought he was indestructible!!
It was a reflection of his attitude, and not his actual attitude at present!

Watching tonight will show how he thinks of it now and that smirk is the most read into thing ever! I think it's a nervous trait, and nothing else into it really IMO

Perfect, thankyou. Here in lies the issue with allowing young adults to watch this. We have all been guilty of misinterpreting something we have seen/read/heard and my issue with this portion of the program was that youths could see the glamorous side that Cousins did his best to justify and miss the actual message he is attempting to deliver. They may not see the retrospective view he was taking with it.Sure, with parental guidance and discussion kids should get the message that that actually isn't that case, but how many times as a teenager did we hear our parents warn us about drugs and how many of us have experimented with illicit substances?

I know what he was trying to say, but would everyone get it? I dont think so. Enter the dangerous side of his tell all story.

[qwerty]

Where was the AFL in all of this and why did it not do anything to help.

One of the star players of the league and the AFL seemed to do nothing to help him seek help for his addiction. This bloke was a drawcard for the AFL and when he needed help they turned their back's on him.

What about the players association, AFL, West Coast Eagles etc, I didn't feel there was enough intervention.

[Punk Rooster]

Where was the AFL in all of this and why did it not do anything to help.

One of the star players of the league and the AFL seemed to do nothing to help him seek help for his addiction. This bloke was a drawcard for the AFL and when he needed help they turned their back's on him.

What about the players association, AFL, West Coast Eagles etc, I didn't feel there was enough intervention.

why didn't the AFL intervene to help Ox (David Schwarze) with his gambling addiction?
Because these guys make choices away from the AFL system & try to hide it.
Drug abuse is not black & white- Cousins thought he had control, but the drugs ended up in control.
Graham Cornes hit the nail on the head perfectly- it catches up with you eventually.

[Dig]

A list of the top 20 drugs for ADDICTIVENESS.

Not surprisingly, caffeine and alcohol feature but take a look at the top three.
I forgot all about number one!!!

http://www.blurtit.com/q3150977.html

Drugs are drugs, whether they are legal or not. If you check OnSong's link out you will find most 'illegal' drugs were used in medicine in the past, and have been used for centuries, quite often being derived from natural plant material. LSD was used in the past to treat psychiatric patients. People (and their friends and family) can suffer from addiction problems to 'legal' prescription 'medicine', as well as 'illegal' 'drugs'. It depends on your perception (altered or not) about what is 'socially acceptable'.
In pubs/clubs between 2 and 3am when people have been drinking heavily you can pretty much count on fights breaking out. Pretty rare to see fights at dance parties. Alcohol is a drug, but 'legal' and socially acceptable, and is also the cause of a lot of problems in society.
It is when addiction affects your life, and the lives of others in a negative way that it becomes a problem that needs to be addressed. I have seen first hand the damage substance abuse can do to an individual and their family.
I don't take 'illegal' drugs, nor do I condone people abusing any substance. I enjoy a beer after a hard days work and a glass of wine with a good meal. If I am sick and the doctor prescribes something for me I will take it to make myself better.
I watched the first part last night and will watch the conclusion tonight. I commend Ben for having the courage to speak the truth about his experience, because we all know what we read in the papers and see on the news is not always the truth, nor the whole story. I also commend Ben for having the inner strength to confront, accept and deal with his problem. I also hope he can continue to stay away from drugs in the future as it will be a life long battle, or a battle for life.

[Q.]

Perfect, thankyou. Here in lies the issue with allowing young adults to watch this. We have all been guilty of misinterpreting something we have seen/read/heard and my issue with this portion of the program was that youths could see the glamorous side that Cousins did his best to justify and miss the actual message he is attempting to deliver. They may not see the retrospective view he was taking with it.Sure, with parental guidance and discussion kids should get the message that that actually isn't that case, but how many times as a teenager did we hear our parents warn us about drugs and how many of us have experimented with illicit substances?

I know what he was trying to say, but would everyone get it? I dont think so. Enter the dangerous side of his tell all story.

Well put Booney.

I'll also add that fear and scare tactics aren't very effective either.