ACC Report Warns of an alarming Increasing Illicit Drug Abuse in Sports

Illicit Drug Data Report 2011-12 of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) has warned of an alarming increase in the use, seizure and arrests for illicit drugs in sports, especially in football.

The report revealed 76,000 seizures of cannabis, amphetamine-type substances, heroin, cocaine and other substances, together with 93,000 illicit-drug related arrests both of which have been the highest for the past decade, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Rally in Chennai to Fight Drug Abuse and Illegal Drug Trafficking
A rally to promote awareness on drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking was organized today in Chennai, South India to mark the international day against drug abuse and drug trafficking.

ACC chief executive John Lawler claimed that the illicit drug market is the chief source of profit for any form of organized crime, adding that criminals infiltrate sports clubs and gain information or compromise players in exchange for illicit drugs, using it to spot-fix matches and earn profits through gambling outlets in Australia and overseas.

Graham Ashton too warned of increasing drug abuse in the sports arena following Australian Football League's (AFL) announcement of a five-fold increase in the number of positive tests over a year by Australian Football League players for illicit substances.

Ashton claimed that illicit drugs as compared to the performance and image-enhancing drugs that involved Cronulla and Essendon players in a national scandal, has a greater potential to compromise the integrity of players and matches.

Handle Drug Abuse As Public Health Issue, Conveys US Czar
On Monday, President Barack Obama's top adviser on drug policy appealed for greater importance on handling drug abuse as a public health crisis instead of a crime in the United States.

While cannabis has remained the dominant illicit drug in the Australian market over the past decade, cocaine and amphetamines are also used by footballers according to their choice.

The National Rugby League (NRL) which was the first Australian football code to centrally test for illicit substances, said that each club needs to conduct 70 tests on its NRL players and 70 tests on its National Youth Competition players, with two audits a year by representatives of the NRL and Players' Association.

Drug Abuse Negatively Impacts Sexual Performance In Men
Researchers have found that drug abuse negatively affects sexual performance in men even after years of abstinence.

An NRL spokesman confirmed that their policy will publicly identify players on a second offence and suspend them for 12 matches as he believes that there should be no tolerance for any illicit substances and teams need to focus on education and counseling as well as deterrents.

Source-ANI

Drug Abusers Turning to Heroin: Research
According to a recent research, many painkiller abusers are turning to heroin.