MELBOURNE recruit Heritier Lumumba sought a special ruling of the AFL's illicit drugs policy relating to his potential exposure to cannabis.
Lumumba approached the AFL in the late 2012–early 2013 period while playing for Collingwood, seeking clarification on his personal circumstances.
It is understood that Lumumba's links with Rastafarianism were part of the conversations held between the various parties on the matter.
It is known that he asked the authorities what would happen to him, under the drugs policy, should he record a positive strike due to passive ingestion.
However, it is not known what weight Lumumba himself placed on this.
Rastafari was formed in Jamaica in the 1930's and the Oxford Dictionary states: "Rastafarians have distinctive codes of behaviour and dress, including the wearing of dreadlocks and the smoking of cannabis, and they follow a diet that excludes pork, shellfish and milk."
When Lumumba’s communication with the AFL was put to League headquarters, it refused to comment on the individual.
"The testing, education and counselling sessions are confidential. The policy applies to all players and there are no exemption clauses within the policy," an AFL spokesperson said.
"Further, no player has ever been granted an exemption under the IDP."
Melbourne responded to the matter by stating: "Heritier's discussion with the AFL relates back to 2013, before he joined the Melbourne Football Club.
"Since he joined the Melbourne Football Club in 2015, Heritier has been a terrific role model to our younger players with his work ethic and overall professionalism."
Lumumba’s approaches to the AFL came at around the same time the League scheduled an industry-wide drug summit.
The 28-year-old parted ways with Collingwood at the end of last season and was named in the Demons' leadership group last month.
