But he said drug use was less of a problem in AFL ranks than in society in general.
Cousins was sacked by the Eagles in 2007 and deregistered by the league for the 2008 season because of his drug use. He was re-registered for 2009 with significant conditions, including drug testing several times a week, with hair testing part of the regime.
But Cousins shaved down, thus making a hair test impossible, given it needs hair of at least one centimetre and preferably three centimetres to be viable.
A relaxed-looking Cousins told Fox Sports’ On The Couch that although he was clean when he shaved, he was under a huge amount of stress, leading to a another poor decision.
“In no way was it [giving the finger to the AFL] ... but that was probably one of the most trying six weeks of my 12 months off,” he said.
Cousins said his actions were motivated by his fear that the results would come back positive regardless of his drug-free status - in other words, that the test results would have been fixed
However, he admitted most people would "absolutely" see it as a defiant gesture.
“I had, at the time - rightly or wrongly - very little faith in the people that were going to make a decision on my future being able to comprehend the results of that test," he said.
“Obviously there were some concerns with it, and I felt that the AFL was out to get me.
“Now that was just how I felt at the time, and that’s probably why I haven’t, right through this process, spoken publicly, because I probably wasn’t equipped to.
“I was dealing with this [addiction], and to deal with it in a public forum, is very, very difficult.
“I’m able now to sit back and look back and probably see a lot easier where people like the AFL and football clubs were coming from, when they didn’t necessarily think it was [a] fait accompli of me coming back to the game.”
Despite suspicions illicit drug use was rampant when he was at West Coast, Cousins said the 2006 premiership was not “tainted” in any way, and emphasised that drug use had harmed his ability to play well, rather than enhancing it.
“I can only speak for myself - I have always not spoken about other players - but I can say categorically that the use of recreational drugs did not help me play AFL football in any way.
“If anything, it made it a hell of a lot harder.
“I certainly spent the vast majority of my career trying to hide the fact that I was reliant on recreational drugs, no question.
“But that didn’t diminish the application I had to my footy, the want for the footy club to do well.
“I was a leader at that footy club, and it’s easy to get this idea that I didn’t care about my footy, but I cared about, and worked as hard - if not harder - than anyone else at that footy club.”
Cousins denied that illicit drugs were a major problem in the AFL.
“I don’t think they’re nearly the same problem as they are in society. I don’t think it’s a true reflection of what’s happening in the 18-30 age-bracket in society," he said.
“It is a concern for the community, and I think the problem with it is it’s one of the biggest social problems we have, yet we probably know the least about it, or understand it, and treat it with very little compassion.”
