BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Get disgusted all you want at Tyrann Mathieu for throwing away his LSU football career over drugs.

But he may have just saved his life.

And a whole lot of people in college sports -- athletes, families, coaches, administrators, conferences and the NCAA -- should pay attention to how Mathieu is battling his demons.

He's not dropping down to a lower classification to play immediately. He's not saying his life will suddenly improve by transferring somewhere with a good support system. He's not banking on the next school overlooking his poor behavior.

Jon Solomon is a columnist for The Birmingham News. Join him for live web chats on college sports on Wednesdays at 2 p.m.

As the college football world wondered where the Honey Badger would land and universities flooded LSU with interest, Mathieu's family made a sensible decision.

They're getting the kid help. Honest-to-goodness help. And that requires shutting down football, for now.

Tyrone Mathieu, Tyrann's uncle and guardian, told Fox 8 in New Orleans that his nephew has entered former NBA star John Lucas' drug rehabilitation program in Houston. Lucas, whose career was plagued by cocaine and alcohol addiction, will have an important say on when Mathieu can return to New Orleans.

The family believes Mathieu can't succeed in the future until he conquers what's ailing him. Good for them. Good for Mathieu for finally accepting help.

How bad had it become for Mathieu? New York Jets safety LaRon Landry, a former LSU star who had become a mentor to Mathieu, told Yahoo! Sports he felt Mathieu's one-game suspension by LSU for using synthetic marijuana last season was "a slap on the hand." Landry's opinion of Mathieu's alleged behavior: "Enough is enough."

That message should be heard loud and clear throughout college sports, especially as use of synthetic marijuana continues to rise.

As my Birmingham News colleague Kevin Scarbinsky wrote about recently, synthetic marijuana (also known as K2 and Spice) has become the latest front in the war on drugs waged by athletic organizations and federal agencies. People high on these drugs can become violent, have severe behavior changes and harm themselves or others. A basketball player at Anderson (S.C.) University died by ingesting the chemical JWH-018, which is used to make synthetic marijuana.

The NCAA is trying to create drug-testing protocol to soon test for synthetic marijuana at its championships. At least eight SEC schools -- Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Texas A&M -- told Scarbinsky they test for synthetic marijuana and their penalties for a positive test are the same as for traditional marijuana.

Considering that Spice is more dangerous than traditional marijuana, shouldn't the penalties start reflecting that? Antonio Goodwin's attorney argued in court that Goodwin was impaired after smoking Spice on the night of his armed robbery with Auburn teammates.

At Goodwin's trial, Mike Dyer testified that he smoked spice "consistently" during his Auburn career, and that he found it "way stronger" than regular marijuana. Current Auburn wide receiver DeAngelo Benton testified he experienced hallucinations and felt paranoid while smoking spice.

It's not just Auburn players, of course. The NCAA sees high numbers of positive test results across the country.

Yes, you can only help people who want to be helped. But you can take the games away until they truly come to grips with their problems. You can properly prioritize the athlete's life and let him or her focus on a meaningful recovery without the pressures and glamour of big-time college sports.

I'm continually amazed when universities accept transfers who suffer from drug problems. The reason tossed out publicly is that a new environment can magically change addictive behavior. Some of these schools treat addiction like playing-time issues.

Don't you think LSU bent over backward for a while to try to keep a player as valuable as Mathieu? So now McNeese State could provide resources that LSU couldn't?

Don't you think Auburn did all it could to keep Dyer, the BCS Championship Game MVP, before cutting him loose? So suddenly Gus Malzahn -- who was Auburn's offensive coordinator and sought an NCAA waiver so Dyer could play immediately -- could offer a magical home-state cure at Arkansas State?

Take away the games. Get the kids help.

Maybe by helping himself, Mathieu can show others the path to a real recovery.

Write Jon at jsolomon@bhamnews.com. Follow @jonsol