Inverness Caledonian Thistle's reaction to Richie Hart's conviction for cocaine use has re-emphasised Scottish football's draconian attitude to drug taking. Hart has been suspended indefinitely by the club after he was found guilty of taking the recreational drug at a recent Rock Ness concert. Presumably, in the meantime, the club's directors will gather round a table, scratch their heads collectively and ask what do we do now, boys?' Their ignorance is as foolish as the act itself.

This column will not begin to condone Hart's folly but it will not condemn him either. Instead, it will encourage a journeyman footballer to reclaim his place in Scottish football's order. Hart, in short, is far from a world beater. In fact, he has failed to feature regularly for a team keeping Gretna company near the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League table. Cocaine will not turn him into Kenny Dalglish.

His greatest crime is being caught. This may seem an outlandish statement but it is naïve in the extreme to consider Hart the only footballer currently playing who has not snorted a quantity of Bolivian marching powder up his snout this season. The SFA, through UKSport, have doubled their doping control testing in the past year but they are powerless to prevent out-of-competition recreational use.

In an era when the top earners in the SPL can command upwards of £25,000 a week, surely we cannot expect their extravagant lifestyles extend simply to a fancy pile of bricks and mortar, a fleet of fast cars and the occasional indulgence in pink Moet of a Tuesday night?

Scottish football has not learned its lessons of the past. Drugs remain as much a taboo as homosexuality in a game that has long since been relieved of its working-class roots.

In a week when Thistle plumped for the ultimate cop-out - the equivalent of closing their eyes and hoping Hart goes away - Andy McLaren has willingly and enthusiastically hit the promotional trail to sell his autobiography, appropriately titled Tormented. McLaren is a recovering alcoholic, drug and gambling addict. For a period, he also happened to be one of the country's most entertaining footballers.

McLaren was sacked by Reading after failing a random drug test.

Did the English club's treatment suddenly cure him? Of course not, but the ease with which clubs can wash their hands of troubled employees - especially ones in the final year of their contracts - is criminal. Without a proper support network in place, McLaren attempted suicide and blocked off his family as he hurtled deeper into his abyss.

He, of all people, would confirm that alcohol is every bit as addictive and destructive as drugs.

Why, then, does football persist with the arcane philosophy that drugs have no place in the game, while alcohol has a place in the very fabric of the sport; quite literally in the sponsorship deals struck between brewers such as Tennent's and Carling with the national team and the Old Firm?

Hart, who foolishly denied the accusation before a positive sample was produced, does not, by all accounts, suffer a drug problem, which makes the mock indignation of those who glamorise the heroin-ravaged Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse astounding.

Unless he is given the opportunity to atone, Hart will be regarded as a pariah. Where McLaren revived his career thanks to Bobby Williamson's compassion at Kilmarnock, others have been less fortunate. Darren Hill, the former Falkirk goalkeeper, is now turning out for East Stirlingshire, while George O'Boyle and Kevin Thomas fled under the cover of darkness after being caught in the cubicles with a rolled-up £20 at the St Johnstone Christmas party.

Which brings us to the hypocrisy of it all. Diego Maradona was the most high-profile drug taker in football. A cocktail of cocaine and performance-enhancers earned him fines and suspensions aplenty but there were no shortage of offers for the flawed genius. Claudio Caniggia enjoyed an Indian Summer in Scottish football despite serving a drug suspension, while Adrian Mutu's punishment after being caught during Chelsea's random drug testing policy was a sacking - followed by a £40,000 per week five-year contract with Juventus while he was still banned.

If Thistle had any wisdom, they would send Hart to a drug awareness course, paid for out of his own wages, order him before the media to apologise in public for his stupidity and give him the opportunity to reclaim his first-team status. Compassion might just save Hart's career, and prevent him from going towards an even darker place.

And another thing . . .
IS there no end to this feel-good factor? Fresh from Scotland's triumph over Ukraine, the Scottish Football Writers Association's motley crew recorded their most emphatic win of the season; a 7-2 horsing of the Premier League's new sponsors, Clydesdale Bank.

In a rare bout of tactical acumen, stand-in gaffer John McGarry, of the News of the World, appears to have given the 68-year-old midfield veteran Chick Young a new lease of life in the holding role.

Apparently, Chick loves the Brahim Hemdani.