THE sad and sorry saga of former AFL player Ben Cousins should serve as a cautionary tale for any person flirting with drugs.
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The former Brownlow medallist has in recent weeks exhibited increasingly bizarre behaviour ascribed to the use of crystal methamphetamine, or ice.
Cousins, 36, was on Monday back in police custody for the third time in as many weeks.
He was accused of driving erratically through Perth before leading police on a foot chase through people's backyards and over rooftops.
Before that, he was found inside the restricted area of the army's Special Air Service's barracks.
By his own admissions, the former West Coast Eagles captain has battled addiction to ice and cocaine during his career.
Despite several attempts, he clearly has been unable to beat that dependence.
Ice is a devastatingly dangerous drug because of how addictive it is; users have reported being instantly hooked from their first exposure.
Extreme weight loss, dental problems, chronic illness, anxiety, paranoia and violence, depression, heart and kidney problems and increased risk of stroke are all potential outcomes of ice use.
There are various schools of thought about whether Tasmania is indeed in the grip of an ice epidemic.
The drug is clearly in Tasmania and used extensively in certain circles, but there is still debate, both political and social, about whether its use is so widespread as to amount to an epidemic.
What is clear is the damage it does to people's lives and the lives of their families. That is the terrible toll of all drug abuse.
Cousins might make the headlines but there are hundreds if not thousands of people in our society that have fallen victim to their own stupid decisions.
Police are working hard to reduce the impact of drugs but tackling the scourge must go beyond law enforcement and tackle underlying issues such as education.
Cousins' fall from grace could be the perfect warning story.