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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

The Ice Age - Four Corners Mon 20th

hoptis said:
The show is repeated on Wednesday night at 11pm on ABC
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Excellent.. I forgot all about this thanks to South Park. :)

chugs said:
I am puzzled at the ice plague. Its a dirty uncomfortable drug, with a short lived high and pain low.
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Yea, I agree.. I don't understand it either. I guess everybody is different though, just like some people hate the feeling of psychadelics, alcohol or weed while others love them.
 
WTF was that example about being "hypersexual". They mentioned some guy who wanked for 19hrs in a hospital bed?!# 8(
 
Was worse than that, he was locked in a room with a glass wall so everyone in the hospital had to watch him do it for 19 hours.

I wouldn't completely disagree with the hypersexual comment ;)
 
looking forward to seeing this on wednesday.

i'll record it on my computer and encode it so it's a smaller if i think its good. i'll need hosting for it though and if it goes for an hour it would be about 400mb.
 
you should be able to get the file size under 100 meg. Then you can host it on www.youtube.com or google video. I did that for the SBS Insight show. If you need any help just email me.
 
You can watch in online now (if you have broad band) with added segments and extended interviews. Check out Alex Wodak - A harm reduction hero IMO. His sound reasoning of giving addicts Dexamphatamine has been discussed before on this board. I personally know of one guy who gave up years of addiction (injecting user) through being able to obtain a script for Dex.

The Ice Age - 4 Corners Broadband Edition
 
It was a pretty crap doco - although fascinating car-crash viewing. There are some serious ethical questions raised about exposing those people who chose to be filmed. There is consent, and then there is informed consent...

It was nice getting Alex Wodak on screen - the extended interview off the website is good too. The other talking heads were all from a ED/treatment perspective, who always have a skewed view (they only see people when things go wrong, so can assume that things ALWAYS go wrong).

It's a pity AIVL or NUAA weren't interviewed. At least we might have got a more balanced user perspective then. No-one in their right mind is going to out themselves as a drug user on telly unless they're already out, or too out there to care.

I can't see this doco leading to a more informed populace - but definitely providing more ammunition for the prohibition camp. :(
 
^Tell me, what are they supposed to portray?
Really, I have only been aware of Ice/Meth's existance for the past 3 years and just about every single addict, or frequent user displays negative symptoms that were described in the documentary.
Really, they did a pretty good job at showing Ice/Meth's addictive potential and how destructive the drug really is.
If most Meth users don't have much good to say about it, then how do you expect the media to?
People should be aware of how physically and mentally degenerating this drug really is.
 
ayjay said:
It was a pretty crap doco - although fascinating car-crash viewing. There are some serious ethical questions raised about exposing those people who chose to be filmed. There is consent, and then there is informed consent...

It was nice getting Alex Wodak on screen - the extended interview off the website is good too. The other talking heads were all from a ED/treatment perspective, who always have a skewed view (they only see people when things go wrong, so can assume that things ALWAYS go wrong).

It's a pity AIVL or NUAA weren't interviewed. At least we might have got a more balanced user perspective then. No-one in their right mind is going to out themselves as a drug user on telly unless they're already out, or too out there to care.

I can't see this doco leading to a more informed populace - but definitely providing more ammunition for the prohibition camp. :(
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Ok, I just got done watching.. and I must say I pretty much agree with this post. I was actually expecting something a little better from Four Corners, I know a bunch of one or two time ice users (who thoroughly enjoyed the experience) who never used again.. so they are def out there but you wouldn't get that from viewing this.

You bring up a good point though.. with the stigma attached to this paticular drug, the only people who are going to go on film talking extensivley about useage are people who are to out of it to care.. so its really comprimised from the start.
 
That doco scared the shit out of me in terms of how low addicts go for a hit :( poor people SHAME society doesnt have the means or will to treat them but instead throw them in jail. Furthermore the doco was a little one dimenshional looking at ex-heroin addicts who turned to ICE but still on the needle. Would have liked to see them look at the broader use of ice in rave and dance culture hmm that would have probably glamourised its use and we are talking about ABC a government funded broadcasting entity GOOD TRY AT LEAST

2 weird 2 live 2 rare 2 die
 
What was interesting about this documentary, and Ice use in particular, was that the users never even attempted to justify their meth habits.

With ALL other drugs, you hear every excuse in the book as to why the user can/should/would/will use their drug-of-choice. Whereas meth users FULLY admit how damaging it is (ie: teeth problems, relationships with their children etc) They know it's killing them, yet they continue to use.

That shows how powerful this drug is. It overrides all common sense.

We're all so quick to dismiss something like this as on showing the end result of years of constant meth abuse, but I bet these people didn't start off wishing to end up picking infected scabs off their bodies for the rest of their lives.

I guess it hit home for me, because me, and most of the people around me, enjoy the odd toke on a meth pipe now and then. Goes to show what chasing the high leads to...
 
This program hit home for me. Ive tried ice twice and the first time i didnt really achieve the effects i was after. However the second time was absolutely awesome. The next 3 days were spent trying to get more. I wasnt fiending but if me and my mates had nothing to do, the thought would come into my mind "oh lets score some ice." It really is that powerful and has the potential to absolutely fuck someones life as they show in the doco.
 
It was good to watch and cool how it was a flash file!!, anyway interesting to say the least, especially the differing trends, like as an example here in NZ second option for ice users is not heroin, but instead gbl/ghb? well here in wellington that is!! (the capital of gbl/ghb lol) Ive found even amongst my mates and the inner city scene, the increase in gbl/ghb demand, some I know will not smoke/iv ice unless they have at least 2 to 8mls gbl/ghb for the 'comedown'. Last year it would be MDXx, weed then downers (sleeping pills, benzos and maybe morphine/if you are a south-islander). Ive been in a couple case scenario's iv'ing+smoking ice with managers from a corp company, so it is across all barriers. 'Ice' is the favourite word as well! it has to be rocks! powder is just no go anymore, so really no demand for backyard cooked meth, go to dealer and everyone is saying 'chinease', due to the chinease new year and the amount of good ice at the moment..is shaped as shards of rice+slightly yellowish if smoked slightly sweet (no not cut with glucose) and burns clean in a crank pipe/hence slang 'rice'. Then theres the 'russian' type thats floating about. They'd have a field day if they were to film a day in a life of a 'blulighter' haha..

http://www.shore.ac.nz/projects/IDMS%20Report%20Methamphetamine%20Module%202005.pdf
 
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I have had some level of exposure with the sorts of people portrayed on the show. In my view it was more an indictment on society than the drug. These types of people have simply fallen through the cracks and will continue on their self destructive path because they don't have any reason for not destroying their lives. The woman going through the garbage was a very sad case and quite frankly requires immediate mental health care. Horse, great to hear from you again, very interesting observations on the lack of any attempts at justification.

Saying that, the psychological problems related to excessive use of the drug and the likelihood of it contributing to extremely violent or psychotic episodes is real, particularly with certain types of people. That is why the section dealing with the casualty ward was of great concern but as someone above said, that is the worst case scenario and the result of when things go horribly wrong. It is just unfortunate that with this drug things go wrong in a more serious way and seem to more often because the user has not treated the drug or themselves with the respect both these different things deserve.

I agree that more people should listen to Dr Wodak, easily the most reasoned speaker on the show, and I fully support his suggested treatment for hard-cord ice addicts.

Remember "Ice" (this crystal stuff) is methylamphetamine (the proper name for the drug) just as "speed" (this powder stuff) is. The only difference relates to the purity of the drug and the types of impurities contained therein. Ice has become a problem because people can now take a far greater quantity of methylamphetamine, in much less time and repeatedly administer it over some days without immediate negative effects. A similar quantity of meth if you were obtaining it from 10% pure "speed" would be cost prohibitive to most, particularly the individuals who had the starring role in this show.

I know many people who use the drug semi-regularly and I do not know one person who has a problem with it. Saying that, not one of these people has a background or an existence like those that we saw on this program. Perhaps that is why for me the IT guy who began in the recreational scene then moved to being unemployed and finally in jail is the most relevant and thought provoking case.

The show did not attempt to delve into the backgrounds of the saddest cases it depicted, nor consider the reasons why people found themselves in such a dreadful existence. In my view their path to self destruction may have begun long before they necessarily tried this particular drug. A path that was not necessarily of their own deliberate choosing but one that has been influenced by their experiences earlier in life.
 
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Hmm... i liked it.. portrayed just as they said 'junkies'

meth can fuck up lives, it takes alot of will power to be able to use meth and come out without some habit.. i have :) and im thankful.

Meth never held that on me :) and i used to use it in massive amounts every weekend.. and had reasonable quatity on me all week, but didnt use it :)

goes to show.

A day in the life of an educated drug user...

im sure it wouldnt be all that different except the 'ice bugs' rofl...
 
I was in my room when i heard ice mentioned on the tv in the lounge, so out i went. what followed was a great documentry into what i couldve become but didnt.
I sat there with my father for the whole doco unable to speak. I think it was great. When the guy with ice bugs came on it reminded of the time my mate was convinced he had burnt a whole crystal into his finger. he spent and hour digging and almost crying to find this crystal, not matter how many times i told him it was imposssible he kept on digging.

and the chick who was pregnant. sif she isnt a hardcore user..

well done 4 corners!
 
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