Barba is seeking treatment at a health facility in Thailand.

The 27-year-old was off-contract at the end of 2017.

Barba was instrumental in delivering the Sharks a maiden premiership and scored the opening try against the Storm in the decider.

His form was similar to that of 2012 which earned him that year’s Dally M Medal.

Barba was facing an automatic 12-week ban with this reportedly his second positive result to an illicit substance this year.

“I know and accept I need to take some time away from the game to deal with some personal issues,” Barba said in a statement.

“I am accountable for myself and my actions and if I don’t address them now I will certainly ruin my career and more importantly my life and that of my family.

“As footballers we often find it hard to speak up about having problems, but this decision has lifted so much pressure off myself that I cannot start to explain just how much better I feel by taking this action.”

Sharks CEO Lyall Gorman sympathised with the star fullback after working incredibly hard to get back on track after a number of personal issues in recent years.  

“This is an incredibly difficult situation for Ben, his family and our club and all involved with it,” Gorman said.

“Ben has made a remarkable contribution to our club and community since joining it. It is however something we believe and accept is absolutely necessary in order to assist Ben to work through the challenges at hand.

“While Ben will be a major loss to our football club, the far greater priority is for him to focus on his long term future away from football and we will continue to support Ben throughout that process in any way we can.”