Twenty-six positives for illicit drugs

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Twenty-six AFL players tested positive for illicit drugs in 2012, a large increase from the previous year.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou described the results as disappointing.

There were 26 positives from 1979 tests in 2012, with two of those being from a player testing positive on a second occasion.

Twenty-five of those positives were for stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines.

There were six positives from 1489 tests in 2011.

The AFL illicit drugs policy is separate from its testing for performance-enhancing drugs and is done with the support of the AFL Players' Association.

'The rise in detections in 2012 reflects both an increase in the number and effectiveness of target tests conducted as well as the well-documented jump in illicit drug availability and use in the broader community,' said Demetriou.

' ... The AFL playing group largely falls within the high-risk 18-30 male age group and individual players are not immune to peer group pressure and poor decision making.

'However, the use of illicit drugs in the AFL playing group remains substantially lower compared with the same age group of males in the wider community.'

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Twenty-six positives for illicit drugs