poledriver
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AUS - 'Ice psychosis': how ice can cause a 'fight or flight situation'
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ice-psych...fight-or-flight-situation-20120327-1vvuf.html
Darren Neill's life was spiralling out of control and came to a violent end.
After a dangerous high-speed chase and carjacking at knifepoint on what is believed to be an 'ice-fuelled rage' - a senior police officer shot him dead in a Parramatta shopping centre.
'Ice' - a cheap and potent methamphetamine easily available on Sydney's streets - is not the most popular drug of choice for criminals but it certainly adds a violent element that can, as seen on Sunday, cause fatal consequences.
Consultant psychologist Dr Glenys Dore, Clinical Director of Northern Sydney Drug and Alcohol Service said the drug is a major problem for health officials and police when users suffer an 'ice psychosis.'
An 'ice psychosis' is when users have persecutory or paranoia delusions often accompanied by auditory and visual hallucinations, she said.
"Those who are committing crimes and who are extremely violent on methamphetamine represent a very small group of those using methamphetamine. Of those who become psychotic it's only for two or three hours but if they continue to be psychotic, only about 10 per cent are going to be very violent," she said.
Dr Dore said often a range of other factors contribute to the violence - including personality disorders, previous violent behaviour, other drug and alcohol use and mental health issues.
"Individuals with an ice psychosis start to believe others are out to get them, others want to harm them, they want to hurt them. They often believe others want to kill them and sometimes the have a specific person in mind.
"And in that state they become very, very frightened, it can become a fight or flight situation for them," she said.
Dr Dore said the user has no "insight" that the drug is creating these unrealistic beliefs.
"Ice increases a number of chemicals in the brain, in particular dopamine and when there is a large outpouring that can trigger a psychotic episode.
"Not everybody on ice will become violent and if you look at the profile of those who become violent it's about 10 per cent. Often they are very heavy users who have been using ice for a very long time," she said.
Earlier this month the Australian Institute of Criminology's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program released a report on the links between drugs and crime, finding 66 per cent of offenders tested positive to at least one type of drug, excluding alcohol – down from 77 per cent in 2004.
From January 2009 until December 2010 researchers interviewed 7,575 people arrested by police and took urine samples from 5,714 and found methamphetamine use among detainees was at its lowest level since DUMA's inception in 1999.
"(But) it is of some concern that further analysis of data collected in the first three quarters of 2011 showed a spike in the use of methamphetamine," the report stated.
The drug most commonly detected was cannabis (46%), followed by benzodiazepines (23%), opiates (22%) and amphetamines (16%).
After a dangerous high-speed chase and carjacking at knifepoint on what is believed to be an 'ice-fuelled rage' - a senior police officer shot him dead in a Parramatta shopping centre.
'Ice' - a cheap and potent methamphetamine easily available on Sydney's streets - is not the most popular drug of choice for criminals but it certainly adds a violent element that can, as seen on Sunday, cause fatal consequences.
Consultant psychologist Dr Glenys Dore, Clinical Director of Northern Sydney Drug and Alcohol Service said the drug is a major problem for health officials and police when users suffer an 'ice psychosis.'
An 'ice psychosis' is when users have persecutory or paranoia delusions often accompanied by auditory and visual hallucinations, she said.
"Those who are committing crimes and who are extremely violent on methamphetamine represent a very small group of those using methamphetamine. Of those who become psychotic it's only for two or three hours but if they continue to be psychotic, only about 10 per cent are going to be very violent," she said.
Dr Dore said often a range of other factors contribute to the violence - including personality disorders, previous violent behaviour, other drug and alcohol use and mental health issues.
"Individuals with an ice psychosis start to believe others are out to get them, others want to harm them, they want to hurt them. They often believe others want to kill them and sometimes the have a specific person in mind.
"And in that state they become very, very frightened, it can become a fight or flight situation for them," she said.
Dr Dore said the user has no "insight" that the drug is creating these unrealistic beliefs.
"Ice increases a number of chemicals in the brain, in particular dopamine and when there is a large outpouring that can trigger a psychotic episode.
"Not everybody on ice will become violent and if you look at the profile of those who become violent it's about 10 per cent. Often they are very heavy users who have been using ice for a very long time," she said.
Earlier this month the Australian Institute of Criminology's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program released a report on the links between drugs and crime, finding 66 per cent of offenders tested positive to at least one type of drug, excluding alcohol – down from 77 per cent in 2004.
From January 2009 until December 2010 researchers interviewed 7,575 people arrested by police and took urine samples from 5,714 and found methamphetamine use among detainees was at its lowest level since DUMA's inception in 1999.
"(But) it is of some concern that further analysis of data collected in the first three quarters of 2011 showed a spike in the use of methamphetamine," the report stated.
The drug most commonly detected was cannabis (46%), followed by benzodiazepines (23%), opiates (22%) and amphetamines (16%).
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ice-psych...fight-or-flight-situation-20120327-1vvuf.html
