Personally, I think marijuana should be decriminalized and made totally legal.? 
However, the rules are what the rules are, as is the law. It doesn't make it right in terms of morality, so I personally view this more in line with a distraction the Eagles could do without, not a wholesale condemnation of Rioli as a person (which I'm sure it will devolve into).
He should be dealt with in-club, and told to steer clear of it while an employee of the West Coast Eagles. Though my feeling is that this will become a media feeding frenzy with the conversation verging on the level of sophistication employed by Mr. Mackey from South Park regarding drugs.   

Edited May 11, 20214 yr by Colin B. Flaubert

Good ol happy rioli.

11 minutes ago, TRIGON said:

Busted trying to take cannabis onto a flight...what a duffer!

https://www.afl.com.au/news/612030/banned-eagles-forward-charged-with-drug-possession

Must have [censored] for brains - only explanation.

10 minutes ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

Personally, I think marijuana should be decriminalized and made totally legal.? 
However, the rules are what the rules are, as is the law. It doesn't make it right in terms of morality, so I personally view this more in line with a distraction the Eagles could do without, not a wholesale condemnation of Rioli as a person (which I'm sure it will devolve into).
He should be dealt with in-club, and told to steer clear of it while an employee of the West Coast Eagles. Though my feeling is that this will become a media feeding frenzy with the conversation verging on the level of sophistication employed by Mr. Mackey from South Park regarding drugs.   

You cannot deal with breaches of the criminal law "in-club". That is the kind of exceptionalism that allows young footballers to think that they can get away with it. If the club makes it clear to players that they are on their own when it comes to the courts, a lot of acts would get cleaned up real quick.

37 minutes ago, GonetoCA said:

You cannot deal with breaches of the criminal law "in-club". That is the kind of exceptionalism that allows young footballers to think that they can get away with it. If the club makes it clear to players that they are on their own when it comes to the courts, a lot of acts would get cleaned up real quick.

I also said the law is the law. Laws in themselves are not always morally right (I don't believe this law to be), but we do have to ultimately deal with reality here. We can't pragmatically expect that the police will back off, and the odds that my views on this ultimately prevailing in a court of law, should he be found guilty, are very long.
I'd add that he hasn't gone to court yet, nor do we have the full details. If Rioli were to be found innocent for whatever reason and the club cut him completely adrift, they would be rightfully condemned.
Don Lane years ago got charged with something similar and got off. Not saying that's the case here, but food for thought.

Edited May 11, 20214 yr by Colin B. Flaubert
Added a few commas

Am i right in thinking cannabis has been, or will be taken off the WADA banned list of drugs?

1 hour ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

Personally, I think marijuana should be decriminalized and made totally legal.? 

Legal or not, it was only a small amount and woopty-bloody-do if someone has a puff of marijuana (unless their driving or operating machinery). What Willie's lack of street-smarts has done is create an unnecessary headache for his club.  

1 hour ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

He should be dealt with in-club

That I don't agree with, facing the full consequence of his actions is probably the only way he is going to learn.

6 minutes ago, TRIGON said:

Legal or not, it was only a small amount and woopty-bloody-do if someone has a puff of marijuana (unless their driving or operating machinery). What Willie's lack of street-smarts has done is create an unnecessary headache for his club.  

That I don't agree with, facing the full consequence of his actions is probably the only way he is going to learn.

In an ideal world, this should be dealt with in club.

However, as this involves the law, that's unlikely to happen.  

54 minutes ago, binman said:

Am i right in thinking cannabis has been, or will be taken off the WADA banned list of drugs?

Prohibited in competition as far as I can tell. Not an issue out of competition. 

If the Eagles delist Willie I hope they do it quickly and we can get him in the mid season draft.

He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he’s a heck of a player 

Puts our Weed problems into perspective 

4 hours ago, binman said:

Am i right in thinking cannabis has been, or will be taken off the WADA banned list of drugs?

Idk why it’s on the WADA list: it’s hardly performance enhancing. 
Have you ever seen a stoner get off the couch to go to the kitchen? They’ll take the circuitous route, be gone for hours and come back empty-handed anyways. 
?

3 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Prohibited in competition as far as I can tell. Not an issue out of competition. 

And he is still out of competition i assume?

If so, no issue. The courts will deal with it. Or not. he might just have to pay a fine. 

Club would be annoyed but really it is nothing.  

4 hours ago, TRIGON said:

Legal or not, it was only a small amount and woopty-bloody-do if someone has a puff of marijuana (unless their driving or operating machinery). What Willie's lack of street-smarts has done is create an unnecessary headache for his club.  

That I don't agree with, facing the full consequence of his actions is probably the only way he is going to learn.

The Eagles have had a long reputation for poor culture when it comes to drugs, the question they have to ask themselves is Willie someone they want hanging around and potentially influencing a fresh 18yo recruit. 

I’m another that thinks marijuana should be decriminalised but for now it’s illegal and it’s on the banned WADA list. Does he want to play AFL footy or smoke weed? He’s gotta make that choice. 

Edited May 11, 20214 yr by Pates

Rioli was like - all this for some weed?! I left my proper gear at home!

Don’t they grow ganja on the Tiwi Islands? 

Just now, binman said:

And he is still out of competition i assume?

If so, no issue. The courts will deal with it. Or not. he might just have to pay a fine. 

Club would be annoyed but really it is nothing.  

It's not an ASADA/WADA issue as far as I can tell. 

And the legal issue isn't a huge problem, seems a silly thing to even be going to court but that's for the people of NT to decide. He does have a couple of problems though:

1. Trust: He didn't tell the Eagles that he was busted, and they've stuck by him for a long time now. Trust is vital. We've seen that at Melbourne with someone like Harley Bennell, but also at a lot of clubs.

2. Drugs: The Eagles probably have a lower threshold for this stuff after their big issues with Cousins et al. Willie already tested positive to cannabis with his initial suspension. There were rumours he was trying to avoid a positive test by switching the samples. 

 

2 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

It's not an ASADA/WADA issue as far as I can tell. 

And the legal issue isn't a huge problem, seems a silly thing to even be going to court but that's for the people of NT to decide. He does have a couple of problems though:

1. Trust: He didn't tell the Eagles that he was busted, and they've stuck by him for a long time now. Trust is vital. We've seen that at Melbourne with someone like Harley Bennell, but also at a lot of clubs.

2. Drugs: The Eagles probably have a lower threshold for this stuff after their big issues with Cousins et al. Willie already tested positive to cannabis with his initial suspension. There were rumours he was trying to avoid a positive test by switching the samples. 

 

Both very good points, particularly the first one

3 hours ago, Pates said:

The Eagles have had a long reputation for poor culture when it comes to drugs, the question they have to ask themselves is Willie someone they want hanging around and potentially influencing a fresh 18yo recruit. 

I’m another that thinks marijuana should be decriminalised but for now it’s illegal and it’s on the banned WADA list. Does he want to play AFL footy or smoke weed? He’s gotta make that choice. 

Marijuana is a bit different to meth

Too good. ?

 

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Marijuana is a bit different to meth

Certainly is but marijuana is also a banned/illegal substance so would you want Willie Rioli at the Dees hanging about with Jackson, Rivers, Pickett, Jordon etc?