CARLTON champion Chris Judd says a one-type-fits-all illicit drugs policy is not the way for the AFL to go.
Speaking on radio 3AW on Wednesday night, Judd also hinted he might play on in 2016.
The dual Brownlow medallist revealed he and Geelong star Jimmy Bartel would attend a meeting with League officials on Thursday to discuss how to best to tackle illicit drug use.
Drugs policy review to be completed by season's end
His insights were fascinating.
Judd said it was not a black and white issue, and reflected on his time at West Coast, which suffered well-documented drug problems.
"I think you've got your young guys going out exploring and experimenting and other guys who are sometimes self-medicating a mental health issue," Judd said.
"To just group any drug user as the same, and come at them with the biggest stick you can grab, I don't think that's constructive.
"I look at certainly my experience in the West Coast days and how Ben (Cousins) was often treated.
"I think you can often get misled by the masks that players wear.
"Sometimes players who are behaving a certain way will wear a mask to portray an image of themselves, and when you play a professional sport a lot of what you do is about portraying a certain image of confidence and self-assuredness.
"It's a big part of professional sport, but it's not always representative of what's going on inside that players' mind.
"And I think as an industry, they are some of the issues we need to be looking at."
Judd said despite Carlton's horrific season, he still hadn't ruled out playing on next year.
"There's still a lot of footy to go under the bridge this year," he said.
"Similar to last year, I'll make a call on that in the last couple of weeks of the year."