ice performance enhancing says cousins doctor

[bigcarl]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 62,00.html

Peta Hellard

October 19, 2007 12:00am

BEN Cousins' apparent relapse into drugs was likely a combined result of emotional stress, returning to the company of drug-using friends in Perth and resuming drinking alcohol, according to the Californian doctor who devised the treatment program he was following.

World-leading drug addiction expert Professor Rick Rawson said emotional turmoil -- including the death of his friend and mentor Chris Mainwaring -- could have been a major trigger in the footballer's apparent return to drugs.

"Any kind of emotional stress raises the vulnerability of relapse," he said yesterday.

"You're at an ongoing risk for relapse if you don't manage your life properly and things that contribute include stress and major traumatic life events and running into old drug-using friends."

Prof Rawson said relapses -- particularly after the first attempt -- were by far the rule, not the exception.

Prof Rawson -- whose team at the University of California's Integrated Substance Abuse Programs unit works with Malibu's Summit Centre, where the fallen Eagles star was treated in April -- said Cousins' 28-day stint in the residential treatment facility was too short.

"In our experience methamphetamine use really benefits from longer treatment episodes," he said.

"The idea that you put someone in a treatment centre for a month and they get fixed and then they go back about their life just doesn't match up with reality.

"The longer people can stay in treatment the better the outcome is -- typically we are looking at four to six months of pretty intensive treatment, followed by ongoing involvement in some kind of support activity, like going to counselling, AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings, getting involved in church activities.

"It's developing a new life and a whole new set of things you are involved in."

Prof Rawson, who is one of the world's top experts on methamphetamine addiction, said it was imperative for recovering addicts to stay away from other drug users and to avoid drinking alcohol and using marijuana.

"If you are a meth user and you choose to drink alcohol or use marijuana, you are almost invariably going to relapse back to methamphetamine," he said.

"You are about eight times greater risk to relapse to methamphetamine if you re-start drinking alcohol."

He said methamphetamine would have a performance-enhancing effect on an athlete, giving them increased stamina and assisting in weight loss.

Prof Rawson said the drug also enhanced sexual performance and was popular in the gay community.

He said he was not shocked to hear of an elite athlete like Cousins becoming addicted to methamphetamine, which he said was also popular with many American sports stars.

"It is not surprising for me to see anyone develop a substance abuse disorder. With this gentleman (Cousins), he sampled it and it was probably useful in his training activities to get weight off and reduce fatigue but unfortunately that comes with a price -- addiction."

Prof Rawson said addiction to methamphetamine happened very quickly.

"It (the drug) changes your brain chemistry in a way that produces a very powerful rush of pleasure and euphoria and over time you develope a dependency on it," he said.

"It's a true brain addiction -- it's not that you sort of like it a lot, it's that your brain changes and your brain reflectively after a while will stimulate you to want to use it.

"It produces high rates of psychosis, weight loss, dental disease and it can clearly ruin your life because of the way it changes your brain."

The Summit Centre, which Cousins is expected to return to for further treatment within the next couple of days, uses medical treatments devised by the University of California's Integrated Substance Abuse Programs unit, which Prof Rawson heads.

The mountain-top luxury rehab centre also uses the unit's relapse prevention program as part of its follow-up outpatient treatment for patients after they finish their residential stay.

"It's a chronic illness and relapse is part of the recovery process," he said.

"This is not like a broken leg that you can just fix."

He said it was important for Cousins to remove himself from his environment.

[Snakeman66]

[Brian Collis]

Chick is a dog and should be charged also. Seems like he's the perpetrator in this whole thing.

[Mr Magic]

Chick is a dog and should be charged also. Seems like he's the perpetrator in this whole thing.

I don't think Chick was at WCE when the whole drugs/inappropriate behaviour saga started there.

I don't recall Chick's name or voice being on the 'tape' of Kerr agreeing to transport the horse tranquilizer?

I don't think Chick was with Fletcher in Las Vegas?

I don't think Chick was in the car when Cousins ran away from the Police.

I don't think Chick was with Cousins when he was found sprawled in the gutter outside Crown.

I don't think Chick was in the nightclub with Cousins and Gardiner when the shooting took place.

I don't think CHick was in the nightclub when Cousins and Kerr gotinto a fight with each other.

It may well be that Chick has some (maybe enven a major) contribution to this latest Cousins disaster , but the problems were already there well before his arrival on the scene.

[Saint 58]

He said methamphetamine would have a performance-enhancing effect on an athlete, giving them increased stamina and assisting in weight loss.

Not a bad 2nd half Cousins played against us in Round 21 .....

[carn_sainter]

He said methamphetamine would have a performance-enhancing effect on an athlete, giving them increased stamina and assisting in weight loss.

Not a bad 2nd half Cousins played against us in Round 21 .....

that's because he's a very good player

why i remember back when he wore the number 35 guernsey he kicked about 5 in a second half against us at subi...

it's not like he was a dud who up until a couple years ago did nothing...he is and always has been a very very good player, well and truly capable of influencing games

you have no evidence, just a fantastical, herald-sun special of an imagination...get a life

[Saint 58]

just making an observation, no need to get defensive & nasty ...

[Dan Warna]

if he was an addict which is what is being claimed, its not llike he could just turn off is it?

IMO everything he has done from middle of 2006 onwards is tainted.

quite possibly earlier given the kerr tranquiliser tapes and other stuff currently the subject of injunctions.

[Mr Magic]

if he was an addict which is what is being claimed, its not llike he could just turn off is it?

IMO everything he has done from middle of 2006 onwards is tainted.

quite possibly earlier given the kerr tranquiliser tapes and other stuff currently the subject of injunctions.

Dan, he's obviously not addicted enough to test positive under the AFL's 'rigorous testing regime' for its 'World's Best Practice Drugs Policy'.

Or maybe,

Cousins is such a clever 'addict' he's able to avoid detection from the random testers.

Or maybe,

he's had assistance avoiding 'testing positive' ?


I am now totally confused by the whole sorry saga.

Cousins has never tested positive to anything.

Cousins has never publicly admitted having a drug problem. Has admitted publicly having a 'substance use' problem. That 'substance 'could easily be peanut butter for all we know.

Cousins was arrested for possession of diazopan (spelling?) a prescription drug. According to his lawyer he will be 'vigorously defending himself' against all charges.

What has he done wrong?

[BradWA]

don't think Chick was at WCE when the whole drugs/inappropriate behaviour saga started there.

I don't recall Chick's name or voice being on the 'tape' of Kerr agreeing to transport the horse tranquilizer?

I don't think Chick was with Fletcher in Las Vegas?

I don't think Chick was in the car when Cousins ran away from the Police.

I don't think Chick was with Cousins when he was found sprawled in the gutter outside Crown.

I don't think Chick was in the nightclub with Cousins and Gardiner when the shooting took place.

I don't think CHick was in the nightclub when Cousins and Kerr gotinto a fight with each other.

It may well be that Chick has some (maybe enven a major) contribution to this latest Cousins disaster , but the problems were already there well before his arrival on the scene.

Mr magic
GET your facts straight
Gardiner nor Cousins wre in any night club when any shooting took place.
Gardiner made a phone call from the other side of Australia to see if anyone he knew was hurt namelty the head bouncer of the club

GET IT RIGHT MR Higher than mighty

[Mr Magic]

IMr magic
GET your facts straight
Gardiner nor Cousins wre in any night club when any shooting took place.
Gardiner made a phone call from the other side of Australia to see if anyone he knew was hurt namelty the head bouncer of the club

GET IT RIGHT MR Higher than mighty

Well then, I'll correct my post in the interests of getting the facts straight.:-

I don't think that Chick was with Gardiner or Cousins when 1 or both of them mafde a telephone call to find out about the shooting in the nightclub.]

Given that all I did was post a response to a poster claiming that Chick was responsible for this mess,

WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM Bradwa?

[Dan Warna]

Dan, he's obviously not addicted enough to test positive under the AFL's 'rigorous testing regime' for its 'World's Best Practice Drugs Policy'.

Or maybe,

Cousins is such a clever 'addict' he's able to avoid detection from the random testers.

Or maybe,

he's had assistance avoiding 'testing positive' ?

I am now totally confused by the whole sorry saga.

Cousins has never tested positive to anything.

Cousins has never publicly admitted having a drug problem. Has admitted publicly having a 'substance use' problem. That 'substance 'could easily be peanut butter for all we know.

Cousins was arrested for possession of diazopan (spelling?) a prescription drug. According to his lawyer he will be 'vigorously defending himself' against all charges.

What has he done wrong?

its interesting isn't it?

Is he now going to the USA to rehab from a prescription drug?

what is the relationship with Chick who was with a girl sprung with drugs, and chick wasn't charged

why did he refuse a test?

as for the AFL tests, just lol, they are about the biggest joke going around.

[Mr Magic]

its interesting isn't it?

Is he now going to the USA to rehab from a prescription drug?

what is the relationship with Chick who was with a girl sprung with drugs, and chick wasn't charged

why did he refuse a test?

as for the AFL tests, just lol, they are about the biggest joke going around.

Yep Dan, all interesting questions.
There would appear to be much more to tehse stories than we, the mere public, are being told.

Maybe we should start a thread on Questions we fans would like answers to?

[Spinner]

....mmm the weight thing can be looked at different ways.

If a player goes out and gets blind in the off season, no doubt that his drinking of alcohol will result in putting on weight (obviously not visible but it increases the energy intake balance)

Hence is taking drugs (ie Ectasy and such) that do not encounter any weight issues yet are illegal, performance enhancing?

[Riewoldting]

Of course you realise that this man is not Cousins's doctor, has never met Cousins and is merely speculating as to his personal circumstances?

[stinger]

"He said methamphetamine would have a performance-enhancing effect on an athlete, giving them increased stamina and assisting in weight loss."


and yet some posters on here will still go to their graves in denial......

[saintsRrising]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 62,00.html

Peta Hellard

October 19, 2007 12:00am

BEN Cousins' apparent relapse into drugs was likely a combined result of emotional stress, returning to the company of drug-using friends in Perth and resuming drinking alcohol, according to the Californian doctor who devised the treatment program he was following.

World-leading drug addiction expert Professor Rick Rawson said emotional turmoil -- including the death of his friend and mentor Chris Mainwaring -- could have been a major trigger in the footballer's apparent return to drugs. .

Mentor????? The toxicology report for Mainwaring was a huge ccktail of drugs and alchahol....

I am not sure who was mentoring who and indeed if any real mentoring was occuring. more like the blind leading the blind.........but I think it is well known now that there was a group of Eagles and ex-Egales who were substance abusers....

said Cousins' 28-day stint in the residential treatment facility was too short.

"In our experience methamphetamine use really benefits from longer treatment episodes," he said.

"The idea that you put someone in a treatment centre for a month and they get fixed and then they go back about their life just doesn't match up with reality.

"The longer people can stay in treatment the better the outcome is -- typically we are looking at four to six months of pretty intensive treatment, followed by ongoing involvement in some kind of support activity,
like going to counselling, AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings, getting .

This is why the eagles are at fault....rushing him back to win football games was always going to put Cousins back at risk of lapsing again. The Eagles should have known this.

His short treament was all about the Eagles doing the minimum necessary to get Cousins playing again in 2007...rather than what was best for Cousins.

Now I am not saying that Cousins is not at fault too....but the Eagles clearing are as well. You expect substance abusers to be in denial.....but the Eagles have no such excuse.

Their addition of course was not powder based but was a Premiership addiction....and like any addict they blinded themselves to the realities of life in order to try and meet their addiction.

[barks4eva]

Dan, he's obviously not addicted enough to test positive under the AFL's 'rigorous testing regime' for its 'World's Best Practice Drugs Policy'.

Or maybe,

Cousins is such a clever 'addict' he's able to avoid detection from the random testers.

Or maybe,

he's had assistance avoiding 'testing positive' ?


I am now totally confused by the whole sorry saga.

Cousins has never tested positive to anything.

Cousins has never publicly admitted having a drug problem. Has admitted publicly having a 'substance use' problem. That 'substance 'could easily be peanut butter for all we know.

Cousins was arrested for possession of diazopan (spelling?) a prescription drug. According to his lawyer he will be 'vigorously defending himself' against all charges.

What has he done wrong?

It appears that

Cousins never tested positive for what the AFL regarded as performance enhancing drugs

Did Cousins however test positive for what the AFL regarded as recreational drugs?

Has this ever been asked and asnwered, definitively?

What is obvious is that the goofballs at the AFL were classifying crystal meth as a recreational drug, when clearly it is also very much a PERFORMANCE ENHANCING drug

and not only that crystal meth is probably the single most performance enhancing drug on the planet

no wonder the AFL probably looked upon this as recreational

If the AFl are only testing for performance enhancing drugs and they classify ICE as recreational, then clearly the AFL are buffoons and Demetriou should resign immediately for bringing the game into disrepute

[GrumpyOne]

Dan, he's obviously not addicted enough to test positive under the AFL's 'rigorous testing regime' for its 'World's Best Practice Drugs Policy'.

Or maybe,

Cousins is such a clever 'addict' he's able to avoid detection from the random testers.

Or maybe,

he's had assistance avoiding 'testing positive' ?


I am now totally confused by the whole sorry saga.

Cousins has never tested positive to anything.

Cousins has never publicly admitted having a drug problem. Has admitted publicly having a 'substance use' problem. That 'substance 'could easily be peanut butter for all we know.

Cousins was arrested for possession of diazopan (spelling?) a prescription drug. According to his lawyer he will be 'vigorously defending himself' against all charges.

What has he done wrong?

It appears that

Cousins never tested positive for what the AFL regarded as performance enhancing drugs

Did Cousins however test positive for what the AFL regarded as recreational drugs?

Has this ever been asked and asnwered, definitively?

What is obvious is that the goofballs at the AFL were classifying crystal meth as a recreational drug, when clearly it is also very much a PERFORMANCE ENHANCING drug

and not only that crystal meth is probably the single most performance enhancing drug on the planet

no wonder the AFL probably looked upon this as recreational

If the AFl are only testing for performance enhancing drugs and they classify ICE as recreational, then clearly the AFL are buffoons and Demetriou should resign immediately for bringing the game into disrepute

Good point. I'd like the AFL to answer that suggestion. Suggest you email that to Dimwit and get his response.

Resist the temptation to quote hit-outs to avantage.

[Mr Magic]

It appears that

Cousins never tested positive for what the AFL regarded as performance enhancing drugs

Did Cousins however test positive for what the AFL regarded as recreational drugs?

Has this ever been asked and asnwered, definitively?

I am pretty sure that earlier this season either the AFL or WCE (or maybe even both) publicly announced that Cousins had not tested positive even once let alone 2 or 3 times. Since a positive test to 'performance enhancing substances' is an automatic suspension, you would have to assume that they were talkiing about 'illicit/recreational' substances.

[Dan Warna]

interestingly the arguments in defence of cousins are a mishmash of bollux.

1. it was a prescribed drug he was taking : then why is he getting treatment for addiction? sure the doctor /doctors responsible have been negligent if so? surely cousins must take responsibility for them? why did he refuse to give a sample?

2. he is suffering from an addiction he needs our help and sympathy : if he has been suffering from an addiction reputedly going back 18 months, why was it NEVER picked up by tests? why then was he allowed to continue playing? why are his performances under the addiction not under scrutiny?

3. methamphetamines are not performance enhancing? their is a vast amount of evidence that controlled doses of methamphetimines ARE performance enhancing. if he was an chronic abuser 1. it should ahve shown up in tests unless they didn't test for it, or 2. his performances should ahve deterioriated which clearly they didn't.

4. he has never tested positive for any drug? well then he is NOT an abuser of drugs, DOESN"T need our sympathy, DOESN"T need treatment, SHOULD have given a sample and SHOULD not be delisted and deristered and there isn't a problem is there? let him back in the side and let him play football then...obviously there ISN"T A PROBLEM?

5. Its a failure of the AFL and Police and WCE that cousins was delisted:

1. the AFL concur they couldn't find him ONCE guilty of drugs in his system, well therefor sacking him should NEVER happen. the AFL have sacked an innocent man right? right?
2. the police were wrong. WTF? did they plant the evidence? did cousins do the blood/water test? another case of police victimisation? bollux.
3. the WCE did the have a cause to sack cousins? well if 1 and 2 are true the the WCE did the wrong thing by cousins and he is an innocent man right? right?

these are the basic arguments used in defence of cousins, sadly the obviously clashing nature of these four defences are used by the Same people to different criticisms of cousins.

the sad fact is for some fools cousins is a martyr, their arguements do not gel, are not logical, and fail miserably. you cannot argue systematically the 5 lines of arguement that have been regularly presented in defence of cousins.

is he an addict or not? what substance is he abusing? is it all a conspiracy? etc etc.

IMO when 1 person in the rowing 8 was found guilty the whole team lost their gold medals.

3 of the 4 members fo the sydney US olympic bronze medal team have been found guilty of drug cheating and lost their medals, the fourth 'innocent' member will shorty be stripped of her medal.

IMO if cousins is guilty then WCE should be stripped of their 06 premeirship and it awarded to sydney as a lesson to drug cheating.

[barks4eva]

Since a positive test to 'performance enhancing substances' is an automatic suspension, you would have to assume that they were talkiing about 'illicit/recreational' substances.

assume nothing

WHY would you have to assume, what they were talking about?

If the AFL regarded ICE/crystal meth as recreational, then they could announce that Cousins has never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs,
when clearly ICE is the possibly the most performance enhancing drug there is

I clearly remember Anderson stating that Cousins had never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs

If the buffoons at the AFL conveniently classify crystal meth as recreational then they can do the "pr exercise" in an attempt to conceal the real issue

afterall the brownlow medal is for the best and fairest not the best and highest and when Cousins is flying high and the Eagles win a Grand Final by one point.......I think you get the drift......................

[n1ck]

1. it was a prescribed drug he was taking : then why is he getting treatment for addiction? sure the doctor /doctors responsible have been negligent if so? surely cousins must take responsibility for them? why did he refuse to give a sample?

He was prescribed the drug found in the car. I believe he was either found with more of the drug than the prescription included, or the prescription had run out.
He was also found with TWO OTHER UNIDENTIFIED PILLS.

The treatment for addiction is a different but connected subject. He went to Malibu for rehab earlier in the year to treat his 'substance use' which as it hasnt been confirmed, is usually presumed to be Ice. He, and the Eagles / AFL had always planned to head back there after the season concluded as he had been 'continuing treatment as an outpatient'.
He delayed his flight back to the USA after the death of Mainwaring.

As for refusing to give a sample?

Why?

He's Ben Cousins, goddammit....!

[n1ck]

Never said it was Ice, Oti. Just saying thats the basis for the charges, that he was found with two unidentified pills apart from the diazapan.

Drivers refuse at booze buses all the time. They are then arrested.

I believe he was stopped by the Squad, searched, and then requested to have a drug test, which he then refused, it wasnt a 'Drug Bus'.

[Otiman]

Never said it was Ice, Oti. Just saying thats the basis for the charges, that he was found with two unidentified pills apart from the diazapan.

Drivers refuse at booze buses all the time. They are then arrested.

I believe he was stopped by the Squad, searched, and then requested to have a drug test, which he then refused, it wasnt a 'Drug Bus'.

Ah you got to my post before i got rid of it I don't like to get too legal and political on these forums.

My booze/drug bus was more of an analogy, if they refuse to give the sample, they are arrested and then forced to give a sample, correct? In Cousins' case, the arrest wasn't preceeded by refusal of a booze/drug bus test, as he may not have been driving (i'll have to admit i'm not up to speed on the intricacies of the case). Surely there has to be legal scope for any drug related arrest to be able to force an on the spot drug test.