NEWS: '1 in 10' Australians have tried methamphetamine

[Chronik Fatigue]

Exposed: the new illicit drug scourge

Annabel Stafford, Canberra
January 30, 2007

Almost one in 10 Australians has tried methamphetamines at least once, according to a scorching report to the Federal Government that recommends a host of policies to combat the scourge.

In what could be seen as confirmation of fears that Australia faces a methamphetamines crisis, a report by the Australian National Council on Drugs, advisers to the Government on illicit drugs, says there has been a "significant upsurge" in problems related to use of methamphetamine drugs since the late 1990s.

It singles out crystal methamphetamine, or "ice", as a particular worry.

Methamphetamines, such as speed and ice, are psycho-stimulants which, according to the Australian Drug Foundation, speed up the heart and breathing while giving users more energy and a feeling of alertness.

An increasing number of media reports have focused on crime and violent behaviour by people high on "ice".

The report cites estimates that about 73,000 Australians are dependent on methamphetamines — almost double the number of those dependent on heroin. About half a million Australians have used methamphetamines in the past year.

"It is difficult to anticipate the impact of methamphetamine use on Australia, although key concerns include elevated levels of psychosis, increases in homicide and other serious violent crimes, and the risk of HIV transmission," the paper says.

It calls for specific measures to deal with the unique problems associated with methamphetamine use, such as psychosis and an increase likelihood of risk-taking in sexual behaviour. The proposals include:

■ Treatment for long-term users.

■ Guidelines on how to deal with those experiencing psychosis.

■ Measures to try to limit supply through working with regional authorities to crack down on supply of precursors.

■ Education campaigns to stop people using, and to limit risk-taking behaviour that could lead to secondary problems such as HIV or chlamydia.

The report says about half of users say they are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour while they are high on methamphetamines.

And the report says there is a particular concern about the higher levels of sexual risk-taking among those who inject methamphetamine "and this provides an avenue for secondary HIV transmission".

The report recommends:

■ Specific HIV prevention strategies for injecting methamphetamine users to target both risky drug taking behaviour and risky sexual behaviour.

■ More guidelines setting out how to treat methamphetamine-related psychosis and which should consider "pharmacological and behavioural strategies to reduce the incidence and severity of psychotic symptoms".

■ Using existing police and court diversion programs, as well as driver drug testing, to target users and direct them into treatment programs.

■ More research into whether and in what ways methamphetamine use increases violent crime.

■ School-based prevention programs that are not fear campaigns, but rather concentrate on teaching young people resilience and other social skills they need to refuse drugs.

■ Guidelines for how to prescribe medication to people with methamphetamine-related psychiatric conditions.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/natio...it-drug-scourge/2007/01/29/1169919278504.html

 

[static_mind]

■ Using existing police and court diversion programs, as well as driver drug testing, to target users and direct them into treatment programs.


Targeting users and forceing them into treatment imo is a waste of time. Just because they are users doesn't mean they have a problem.

 

[phlegm69]

i hate to generalise...but most habitual meth users i've come across aren't normal. they think they are normal...but in affect....they are delusional.

 

[retrogradeamnesia]

Is this only the people who know they are talking meth or does it include all those meth based cocktail pills that are continually circulated?

 

[Flinch]

Methamphetamines, such as speed and ice,

Speed is NOT Mehtamphetamine dammit

 

[Chronik Fatigue]

Uh, yeah it is. Amphetamine is not very common in Australia.

 

[yossarian_is_sane!]

Is this only the people who know they are talking meth or does it include all those meth based cocktail pills that are continually circulated?

I would presume that it includes anyone who has knowingly tried any form of meth. I'm not sure where their stats come from but i would imagine a sample of persons is aked have you tried any form of methamphetamine, 'also known as ice, speed, whippa, etc, etc'. I don't think your average respondant is going to say yes if they had a 'speedy' pill. Or i could be wrong.

 

[Dave82]

That statistic sounds very high if it doesn't include meth in pills sold as ecstasy.

 

[rtb]

The report cites estimates that about 73,000 Australians are dependent on methamphetamines — almost double the number of those dependent on heroin. About half a million Australians have used methamphetamines in the past year.

From these figures nearly 1 in 5 users are dependent, and 1 in 40 have used in the past year. This would also mean that 1.5 million other aussies have used methamphetamine at some point in their life, which seems very believable. I'm sure a hell of alot of people have tried speed at some point...
Would be interesting to see how many people were surveyed in the report tho.

■ Using existing police and court diversion programs, as well as driver drug testing, to target users and direct them into treatment programs.

Would this mean if someone where to be caught driving with methamphetamine in their system from say taking some speed or an adulterated pill, would they be forced into treatment?
Even if it was an occasional ice user that didn't have an addiction, would this still apply...

From documentaries i've seen, it seems the majority of heavy users are ex heroin addicts. Due to its purity, price and strength, it is much more appealing compared to the often poor quality of heroin and its relatively boring high.

It would seem that the best way too tackle the main problem would be to target this user group as they are the most in need of help...

 

[Tronica]

You can view the ANCD position paper on methamphetamines here - it was just put online.

The news article presents as if this were a research report in its own right - it is actually a position paper (so it summarises known research before making recommendations).

The stats on meth use would include people who admit to taking methamphetamine or speed or ice or base, etc. Some of those people may be taking it in pill form. The one in ten stat is from the 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey.

The report's recommendations are actually quite well balanced in my opinion. Though I agree with rtb - it may be a bit of a strange thing to force treatment for a casual speed user who is caught whilst driving. A drug education session might be more appropriate in some circumstances - it can't hurt!

 

[rtb]

Thanks Tronica, will read it all when I have the time.

Just heard on JJJ news and someone was commenting on the report. Cant remember his name, but he said the report suggests that the governments drug policy is working, and that illicit drug use among Australians has been dropping over the last 10 years. I would have thought it would have increased...

 

[xcidium]

Christopher Pyne, perhaps?

 

[lil angel15]

NEWS: SMH - 31/01/2007 'Ice defies drug trend'

[EDIT: Threads merged. hoptis]

Ice defies drug trend
31, 2007 - 2:43PM

An estimated 73,000 Australians are addicted to methamphetamines like ice, almost double the number of heroin addicts, a landmark report shows.

The report released today by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) found that although overall drug use in Australia had declined since 1998 methamphetamine use is on the rise.

ANCD chairman Dr John Herron said methamphetamines, including ice, ecstasy and other stimulants, have become a major global drug problem which Australia is part of.

"Almost one in ten Australians have tried methamphetamines, there are now an estimated 73,000 dependent methamphetamine users in Australia and that's almost double the regular users of heroin," Mr Herron told the National Press Club.

"The level of cannabis use has seen the most dramatic decline, the number of fatalities from drug use has fallen by 70 per cent in the last eight years, and the average age of people who try illicit drugs for the first time has been increasing.

"And despite the use of illicit drugs declining since 1998 the level of methamphetamine and ecstasy use in Australia has been increasing."

The ANCD report showed that in 2004-2005 there were 14,780 drug treatment episodes for methamphetamine or amphetamine use in Australia.

Dr Herron said providing effective treatment was critical to addressing the problem.

"Recent estimates show that less than a third of dependent methamphetamine users actually receive treatment," he said.

"To respond we need to galvanise our educational efforts, invest more in our treatment system, maintain our public health programs and continue to support efforts to reduce the supply of the drug."

Other recommendations include using existing police programs such as the drug testing for drivers, ensuring clinical and psychological support in drug treatment centres and encouraging well researched media campaigns.

It also backed continuing efforts to crack down on the availability of chemicals used in the production of methamphetamines.

SMH

 

[lil angel15]

Links for the ANCD site and report are detailed below respectively, for those who are interested;

Australian National Council on Drugs

Methamphetamines Position Paper

 

[yossarian_is_sane!]

Christopher Pyne, perhaps?

Don't profane this thread xcid!

 

[hoptis]

Nightmare for addicts trying to kick the habit
Ruth Pollard Health Reporter
February 1, 2007

THERE is growing evidence that the use of methamphetamines, including the dangerous crystallised form known as ice, has stabilised, although those who get into trouble with the drug are causing increasing problems for authorities.

The message from a report by the government-sponsored Australian National Council on Drugs on the state of methamphetamine use is clear: don't panic.

Its chairman, John Herron, a former Howard Government minister, said many methamphetamine users only took the drug a few times and suffered little long-term harm from its effects.

Yet those who wanted to kick the habit fared poorly, with less than one-third of users gaining access to the services they needed, the council's report found.

"To respond, we need to galvanise our educational efforts, invest more in our treatment system, maintain our public health programs and continue to support efforts to reduce the supply of the drug," Dr Herron said yesterday.

"One of [the drug's] striking features is its potential to induce psychotic behaviour, which endangers those who are trying to help, particularly nurses and police."

But while numbers of problematic ice users were creating a nightmare for service providers, experts said it was alcohol that continued to cause the most harm.

"An average of three people attend emergency departments each day due to ice-related psychosis, yet there would be 100-times that number of people attending every day for alcohol-related problems," said David Crosbie, the chief executive officer of Odyssey House in Victoria.

"Most of the problems we deal with are alcohol related," Mr Crosbie said.

"We accept a level of violence from alcohol consumption because we accept that people drink to excess."

To protect children from its influence and curb Australia's binge drinking culture, Dr Herron called for a tax on drinks based on alcohol content and a ban on daytime advertising of alcohol on television.

"Firstly, we must address the culture of drinking in this country which celebrates drunkenness and promotes binge drinking as some sort of rite of passage and mark of respect," Dr Herron said.

"Secondly, we must revisit our promotion of alcohol which allows alcohol advertising to be shown during the day when children are watching television because there is a sport event on - these things are out of touch with community wishes."

However, the assistant minister for health and ageing, Christopher Pyne, said the Federal Government had no plans to change regulations that governed the advertising of alcohol on television.

"The Government would rather place the emphasis on individuals making responsible decisions than focus on nanny-state solutions, such as banning advertising for a product which is legal," Mr Pyne said.

"We welcome the Australian National Council on Drugs report because it highlights the need to put the problems with methamphetamines front and centre."

The report recommended better integration of drug and alcohol with mental health services and more resources for frontline workers such as police and ambulance officers to help them manage methamphetamine cases more safely.

The report said educating pupils on the dangers of illicit drugs should begin early in their school careers. It also called for the maintenance and support of needle and syringe programs that curb the spread of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis C.

ICE AGE

- About 500,000 people have used methamphetamines in the past year

- There are 73,000 dependent methamphetamine users

- Less than one-third of dependent users receive treatment

- About 23 per cent of regular ice users experience psychosis within a year

Sydney Morning Herald

 

[hoptis]

Many ice addicts not being treated
Adam Cresswell, Health editor
February 01, 2007

MORE Australians are becoming hooked on "ice" and other types of methamphetamines, with fewer than half the estimated 73,000 addicts receiving treatment.

The first national report on the scale of the ice crisis shows that as many as 1.5 million Australians have tried methamphetamines, the class of stimulant drugs that include speed and ecstasy as well as ice.

Ice is one of several street names for crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as crystal meth, and is more potent than other forms of amphetamines.

While it can cause euphoria, it is also associated with many negative effects, including tremors and toxic psychosis.

The drug causes violent mood swings. Its prevalence has increased the strain on police and other emergency workers.

The report, compiled by the Australian National Council on Drugs, shows that about 500,000 Australians have tried methamphetamines in the past year. The estimated 73,000 addicts is over 60 per cent more than the estimated 45,000 heroin addicts nationwide.

Council executive officer Gino Vumbaca said that while the number of methamphetamine users had stabilised, an increasing number were dependent on the drug.

In addition, treatment programs were falling far short of the target to treat 70 per cent of dependent users.

There were just 14,780 treatment episodes in 2004-05, the report shows, which Mr Vumbaca said represented just 30 per cent of dependent users.

"The number of people who have moved from occasional use to regular and dependent use has increased," Mr Vumbaca said. "People who thought they were under control (with their habit), they are the ones who are now showing up as out of control."

The report was released by council chairman and former federal Aboriginal affairs minister John Herron at a speech at the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday.

Addicts were likely to spend more than $200 a week on drugs - double or quadruple the amount spent by the majority of users, who use less frequently - and were more likely to turn to crime to finance their habit, Dr Herron said. However, he said people should not panic.

"We definitely need to increase treatment availability for drug users in Australia," he said. "This has to be a priority."

The report said good results had been achieved with a psychological treatment called cognitive behavioural therapy.

A state breakdown of people over 14 who had used methamphetamines in the past year showed NSW had by far the most, with 170,400. Victoria followed with 114,231, while Queensland had 94,191 and Western Australia 72,504.

Other states had considerably smaller numbers of recent users, with 52,016 in South Australia, 11,407 in the ACT, 7054 in Tasmania and 5947 in the Northern Territory.

Although injecting the drug increased the risk of HIV and hepatitis C transmission, those who smoked the drug were twice as likely to become addicted.

The Australian

 

[hoptis]

Methamphetamines drug of choice
Janelle Miles
January 31, 2007 11:00pm

MORE than 94,000 Queenslanders aged 14 and older used methamphetamines in the past year, a landmark report has found.

The nation's first major report on methamphetamines released yesterday said one in 10 Australians had used the drug, including 500,000 in the past year.

Although most users take the drug infrequently, recent estimates suggest 73,000 Australians are addicted to methamphetamine, about 60 per cent more than the 45,000 regular heroin users.

But less than a third of "meth" addicts had received treatment, the Australian National Council on Drugs report said.

"The number of hospital presentations for methamphetamine psychosis has steadily increased over the past five years from 1028 in 1999-2000 to 1510 in 2004-05."

Courier Mail

 

[hoptis]

Deadly ice scourge
Jane Metlikovec, health reporter
February 01, 2007 12:00am

MORE than 114,000 Victorians are taking the deadly drugs ice and speed.
And paramedics are regularly forced to flee violent users in fear of their lives.

Australia's first major report on methamphetamine use revealed yesterday that one in 10 people had tried a version of the killer drug at least once, and more than 500,000 had taken it in the past year.

The paper, from the Australian National Council on Drugs, also revealed that an estimated 73,000 are dependent on methamphetamines -- almost double the estimated 45,000 heroin addicts.

Only 2693 of the 114,231 Victorians who used in the past year received medical help for abuse of speed (powder methamphetamine) or ice (crystal methamphetamine).

Victoria reported the second-highest number of methamphetamine users last year. NSW had 170,400 and Queensland 94,231.

Melbourne ambulance officers, medical staff and youth workers yesterday told the Herald Sun:

EVERY week sees an assault on paramedics by violent drug or alcohol-affected patients.

EVERY week sees an incident in which a paramedic flees such a patient, abandoning the ambulance.

SEVEN paramedics were forced to take time off work after being seriously assaulted by drug or alcohol-affected patients in 2005-06.

A 20-YEAR-OLD Melbourne man tried to kill his father by belting him with a block of wood after an ice binge last week.

Metropolitan Ambulance Service paramedic Alan Eade said officers treated about 15 methamphetamine patients every week.

"Most are agitated and disoriented, but we will generally get an extremely violent patient about once a week," Mr Eade said.

"There is no limit to what that person can do.

"They think they are superhuman.

"We are constantly spat at. We are punched. We get injured trying to restrain them."

Drug counsellor Richard Smith, of Melbourne's Raymond Hader Clinic, has seen his methamphetamine clients rise from 5 per cent of the total in 2004 to 90 per cent last year.

Twice his life has been threatened by ice users.

"I have worked through the heroin epidemic, and that was not as bad," he said. "Yes, there was a high mortality rate, and it was terrible. But give me 20 heroin addicts to treat any day over one ice freak.

"Ask anyone in Melbourne's north or west. It is an epidemic."

Open Family youth worker Les Twentyman will visit relatives of the ice addict who attacked his father with a block of wood today. "I see kids on the streets picking at their skin, kids climbing up on trains thinking they are Superman, and a lot of ice-related stabbings," Mr Twentyman said.

"Methamphetamines are cheap and available, because they are made locally. It is an enormous problem, and it can easily get worse.

"Melbourne can become as bad as Sydney."

Australian National Council on Drugs chairman John Herron said effective treatment was critical. "Recent estimates show that fewer than a third of dependent methamphetamine users actually receive treatment," he said.

"To respond we need to galvanise our educational efforts, invest more in our treatment system, maintain our public health programs, and continue to support efforts to reduce the supply of the drug."

The report also recommended developing clinical guidelines to help those medical practitioners dealing with methamphetamine users.

Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre said there was no ice epidemic in Victoria, and the drug did not threaten most young Australians.

Herald Sun

Audio: Drug council head John Herron (Herald Sun)

 

[hoptis]

Fight drugs at primary school
By Nicolette Burke
February 01, 2007 12:00

PRIMARY students should be taught about the dangers of drugs along with the alphabet and times tables, the Federal Government's chief drug adviser says.

Australian National Council on Drugs chairman John Herron, a former government minister, said yesterday children aged 6 to 12 should be targeted by anti-drugs campaigns to help them "just say no''.

It emerged yesterday that almost one in 10 Australians older than 14 has tried methamphetamines - including speed and ice - and half a million people used the drug in the past year.

Read one addict's story below.

In total, 1.5 million Australians have tried methamphetamines, the report found.

There are 73,000 dependent methamphetamine users in Australia, almost double the number of heroin addicts.

It is the first conclusive statistical evidence of the "ice epidemic''.

In NSW, 170,400 people aged 14 and older used methamphetamines in the last year.

Dr Herron said methamphetamines were used as a prescription drug for weight loss when he was at medical school - but the illicit trade had turned it into a widespread social problem.

"If you see people using methamphetamine, and I know they're very common, I think you should counsel them for the potential for addiction,'' Dr Herron said in a National Press Club address.

"Community action is required as much as (action) from the Government.''

He said school-based programs should start in the early primary years - but kindergarten drugs programs would not be suitable.

"You've got to allow children the joy of growing up, but I think in the early school years you can start talking about it,'' he added.

The report said ice became widely used after the heroin drought of 1999-2001, with cheap methamphetamines luring many heroin addicts.

However, it was not only seasoned drug addicts who were using ice - evidence showed it was being used more often socially.

The report said smoking crystal methamphetamine had become a common trend, and people wrongly thought it was less dangerous and more socially acceptable than injecting the drug.

"Methamphetamine is usually taken in a home environment, together with friends and acquaintances,'' the report said.

Dr Herron called for the treatment of addicts - detoxification programs and trials of pharmacological treatments - to be made a priority.

An addicts's story - Lara's deadly spiral into addiction

FREELANCE photographer Lara Benson, 42, is a reformed ice user who realised after six months of smoking the drug that crystal meth had a fierce grip on her.

"It is extremely insidious and it is a very potent drug,'' she said.

"It takes 10 days to get out of your system so if you are using it every week it is never out of your body and it is wearing you down.''

Ms Benson, from Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, said she began smoking ice recreationally on weekends but soon realised it was ruining her health and affecting her life.

"The turning point for me was when I recognised I was feeling awful during the week and I knew it was the drug,'' she said.

"The comedowns were getting very bad. I was sleeping a lot during the week and being very unproductive.''

It's been more than a year since Ms Benson touched ice and she still attends weekly counselling sessions with St Vincent's Hospital's Smart Recovery program, which has helped more than 400 addicts break their habit.

The federally-funded program is under threat because financial support has been withdrawn.

Daily Telegraph