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Ex-Bluelighter
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An excellent debunking of sensationalist clap-trap fed to us by the tabloid media - you're better off watching video in the link however the transcript is below if you CBFd
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s4088236.htm
========================================================
The so-called ice epidemic is all over the media. But do the headlines tell the true story?
Hello I’m Paul Barry, welcome to Media Watch.
And that scary story on the front page of Melbourne’s Herald Sun two weeks ago spread fear and alarm even faster than the ice epidemic the media’s been telling us so much about.
By breakfast time that day the plague was making the headline wrap on Channel Nine’s Today Show and ABC News 24.
By mid-morning it had been picked up and polished by those kleptomaniacs at the Daily Mail Online.
And by evening it was shocking viewers of Channel Ten’s The Project.
But are one in 20 Victorians—more than a quarter of a million people—really smoking or injecting the deadly drug?
And did tests on Victorian sewage show it to be the case?
Well, according to the scientists Media Watch spoke to last week the answer’s no and no.
Associate Professor Stuart Kinner described the figure to us as:
While Associate Professor Mark Stoové from the Burnet Institute also damned the claims as:
So where did the 1 in 20 claim come from?
Well, the Herald Sun was reporting the results of tests on wastewater at five Victorian sewage plants.
And naturally, the figure it chose to highlight was the highest by far.
This was more than twice the average which was closer to 1 in 50.
But even that lower figure doesn’t tell you how many people in Victoria use ice on any one day.
Because, as the Herald Sun made clear but the headlines on the ABC, Daily Mail and Channel Ten who republished their story did not—the tests only show how many doses of methamphetamine were found in the sewage system.
And as testers at the University of South Australia explained to Media Watch:
Meth users might hit up two or three times a day, or even more, another fact the Herald Sun acknowledged in the small print. Indeed, as the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre’s Dr Rebecca McKetin suggests:
So the truth is we can’t know from these tests how many Victorians are using the drug.
But figures from the National Drug Survey suggest only 1 in 300 people take meth in any given week, about half of whom, or 1 in 600, use it in its most dangerous crystal form known as ice.
Now there’s no doubt the Herald Sun is right to say ice is a horrible drug and we’re seeing a growing number of overdoses, ambulance calls and young lives wrecked.
But as Curtin University’s Professor David Moore told Media Watch.
This view is echoed by other experts we talked to, including Associate Professor Mark Stoové, who told us it’s the greater purity of the drug today that’s causing the damage.
Part of that IS a shift in methamphetamine use from powder to ice.
And we’re not doubting that’s a problem.
But if the fear is that ICE is now so out of control that anyone could become a victim, we don’t think that is true.
And nor do the experts.
"I think they create panic where there’s no need to have that panic.
— Assocciate Professor Lucinda Burns, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 4th September, 2014"
"It’s portrayed as the most extreme thing we’ve ever seen, it’s the next thing which is going to sweep through and turn everyone into monsters.
— Professor David Moore, National Drug Research Institute, 14th September, 2014"
Most of the experts we spoke to told Media Watch that the primary drug spreading harm right across Australia is alcohol. And that is backed up by a Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into ice, published on the same day as the Herald Sun’s ice plague story, which states:
Nevertheless, it’s the so-called ice epidemic the media want to talk about.
Read the Herald Sun’s response to Media Watch's questions
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s4088236.htm
========================================================
The so-called ice epidemic is all over the media. But do the headlines tell the true story?
"ICE PLAGUE
EXCLUSIVE
Victorian-first tests reveal alarming spread of deadly drug
— Herald Sun, 3rd September, 2014"
EXCLUSIVE
Victorian-first tests reveal alarming spread of deadly drug
— Herald Sun, 3rd September, 2014"
Hello I’m Paul Barry, welcome to Media Watch.
And that scary story on the front page of Melbourne’s Herald Sun two weeks ago spread fear and alarm even faster than the ice epidemic the media’s been telling us so much about.
By breakfast time that day the plague was making the headline wrap on Channel Nine’s Today Show and ABC News 24.
"PRESENTER: The Herald Sun says testing in a Melbourne sewage plant has revealed the extent of the use of the drug ice in Victoria. The results suggest that one in every 20 people have consumed methamphetamine.
— ABC News Breakfast, 3rd September, 2014"
— ABC News Breakfast, 3rd September, 2014"
By mid-morning it had been picked up and polished by those kleptomaniacs at the Daily Mail Online.
"Sewer tests reveal alarming spread of deadly drug ice with one in 20 Victorians taking the drug
— Daily Mail Australia, 3rd September, 2014"
— Daily Mail Australia, 3rd September, 2014"
And by evening it was shocking viewers of Channel Ten’s The Project.
"CARRIE BICKMORE: Tests for meth in Victoria’s sewage shows one in 20 people are using ice and inner Melbourne shows up as an ice hotspot.
— Channel Ten, The Project, 3rd September, 2014"
— Channel Ten, The Project, 3rd September, 2014"
But are one in 20 Victorians—more than a quarter of a million people—really smoking or injecting the deadly drug?
And did tests on Victorian sewage show it to be the case?
Well, according to the scientists Media Watch spoke to last week the answer’s no and no.
Associate Professor Stuart Kinner described the figure to us as:
"... incredibly speculative and almost certainly wrong.
— Associate Professor Stuart Kinner, The University of Melbourne, 5th September, 2014"
— Associate Professor Stuart Kinner, The University of Melbourne, 5th September, 2014"
While Associate Professor Mark Stoové from the Burnet Institute also damned the claims as:
"Extremely spurious ... I would be extraordinarily surprised if it was anywhere near that one in 20 figure.
— Associate Professor Mark Stoove, Burnet Institute, 5th September, 2014"
— Associate Professor Mark Stoove, Burnet Institute, 5th September, 2014"
So where did the 1 in 20 claim come from?
Well, the Herald Sun was reporting the results of tests on wastewater at five Victorian sewage plants.
And naturally, the figure it chose to highlight was the highest by far.
This was more than twice the average which was closer to 1 in 50.
But even that lower figure doesn’t tell you how many people in Victoria use ice on any one day.
Because, as the Herald Sun made clear but the headlines on the ABC, Daily Mail and Channel Ten who republished their story did not—the tests only show how many doses of methamphetamine were found in the sewage system.
And as testers at the University of South Australia explained to Media Watch:
"The people who are using it are often using multiple doses.
— Professor Jason White, University of South Australia, 4th September, 2014"
— Professor Jason White, University of South Australia, 4th September, 2014"
Meth users might hit up two or three times a day, or even more, another fact the Herald Sun acknowledged in the small print. Indeed, as the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre’s Dr Rebecca McKetin suggests:
"You might have people who are using 10 doses in a day.
— Dr Rebecca McKetin, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 4th September, 2014"
— Dr Rebecca McKetin, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 4th September, 2014"
So the truth is we can’t know from these tests how many Victorians are using the drug.
But figures from the National Drug Survey suggest only 1 in 300 people take meth in any given week, about half of whom, or 1 in 600, use it in its most dangerous crystal form known as ice.
Now there’s no doubt the Herald Sun is right to say ice is a horrible drug and we’re seeing a growing number of overdoses, ambulance calls and young lives wrecked.
But as Curtin University’s Professor David Moore told Media Watch.
"Research suggests that the number of people using methamphetamine is not necessarily increasing but that they are using a stronger form of the drug, which may be associated with greater levels of harm.
— Professor David Moore, National Drug Research Institute, 14th September, 2014"
— Professor David Moore, National Drug Research Institute, 14th September, 2014"
This view is echoed by other experts we talked to, including Associate Professor Mark Stoové, who told us it’s the greater purity of the drug today that’s causing the damage.
"For every dollar you spend the amount of pure meth you get has increased dramatically .Five years ago it used to be 20 per cent purity and now it’s closer to 70 per cent purity.
— Associate Professor Mark Stoove, Burnet Institute, 5th September, 2014"
— Associate Professor Mark Stoove, Burnet Institute, 5th September, 2014"
Part of that IS a shift in methamphetamine use from powder to ice.
And we’re not doubting that’s a problem.
But if the fear is that ICE is now so out of control that anyone could become a victim, we don’t think that is true.
And nor do the experts.
"I think they create panic where there’s no need to have that panic.
— Assocciate Professor Lucinda Burns, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 4th September, 2014"
"It’s portrayed as the most extreme thing we’ve ever seen, it’s the next thing which is going to sweep through and turn everyone into monsters.
— Professor David Moore, National Drug Research Institute, 14th September, 2014"
Most of the experts we spoke to told Media Watch that the primary drug spreading harm right across Australia is alcohol. And that is backed up by a Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into ice, published on the same day as the Herald Sun’s ice plague story, which states:
"... the most recent survey research shows that the use of methamphetamine, both in Victoria and nationally, is considerably lower than the harmful use of alcohol and much lower than tobacco and cannabis. It is also lower than the use of ecstasy and misuse of pharmaceutical drugs.
— Inquiry into the supply and use of methamphetamines, particularly ice, in Victoria, September, 2014"
— Inquiry into the supply and use of methamphetamines, particularly ice, in Victoria, September, 2014"
Nevertheless, it’s the so-called ice epidemic the media want to talk about.
Read the Herald Sun’s response to Media Watch's questions
media watch!