Even though I'm not a statistician, I can appreciate the value of self-reporting: it's a relief that only a quarter of a million Australians used methamphetamines in the last twelve months. I'm a bit puzzled though, where the 2 % (or half a million people) went between those had ever used them at sometime in their lives in the 2004 stats (9% of us) and those who had ever used them in their lives in the 2007, 2010 and 2013 stats (only 7%, or one and a half million of us).

I'm also relieved that, due to the efficacy of self-reporting, one can infer that it is fairly certain that people out in the remote settlements in the NT demonstrate very low use of methamphetamines. On these criteria, I expect that, the more remote a settlement, the less use is being made of methamphetamines. Good to know !

Congratulations,

Joe

"Only" 1%. That's trivializing the fact that it means there are still a hell of a lot dangerous lunatics out the streets! But what else can we expect from these academic types who probably don't get out on street, expect to protest about everything.

The "Ice" epidemic is no myth. It is in fact one of our society`s greatest threats.
There are "Statistics" and there are facts. "Statistics" are used to present a result favourable to the Statistician, (usually Government).
Facts are reality, seldom used, because the presenter is intent on offering a false set of figures for his or her own ultimate benefit.

It is now common scientific knowledge that "Ice" is a highly addictive
and brain-damaging drug of convenience, easily procured, with an evidential marker that is quickly expelled from the body in a very short period of time, (reputedly 24 hours), thus the tragically widespread use by many people who have "responsible" jobs, where drug detection methods can be applied prior to there starting a work-shift.

I have experienced the damage caused by Methemphetamines within my own family, but luckily spotted it before the damage was done, so I cannot stress enough the dangers to users, especially children!

I appeal to everyone to stop and think about the direction in which they are heading if they are a "user", because the usage results in rapid addiction, with physical and mental deterioration and unknown long term consequences.

Remember when people smoked "Grass" for the buzz, and chased better "Grass" for a better buzz, assuring non-users that it was simply to allow one to relax and get more enjoyment out of living in a stressful world?

Many of those "users" are now sampling "Ice" to get a better buzz out of life, disregarding the physical and mental risks to themselves, or others, who may become innocent victims when the inevitable mental breakdown occurs.

I am NOT a "user" and I never will be, but I appeal to everyone to take note of any strange psychotic occurrences affecting members of your family or friends,....investigate and talk seriously about any suspicions, before it is simply too late!

Agree Crackcup, and can only add any ice by any name is bad ice! And it can maim folk for life or failing that, kills people!

1 percent of 20 million people is 100,000 people, and far too many to be subject to this sort of she'll be right, it's not such a big problem, minimisation?

We need to keep the education campaign going to just prevent folks from ever becoming the customers of this evil addiction, which once has you by the throat, never releases its life altering grip!
Rhrosty.

From a police point of view 'ICE' represents probably the most dangerous threat of all the illicit substances, ever ? While it was true, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and other similar hallucinogenic substances, did provoke some very aggressive behaviour from it's users - ICE is far more dangerous to all those who have to interdict those under the effects of the substance.

And sadly it looks like it's here to stay and proliferate, such is it's popularity ? I can see many more coppers, ambo's and health care professionals getting seriously hurt as a consequence of this awful substance ?

I was taken by the salient point of the author referencing the abysmal statistics relating to alcohol abuse, when compared to ice: (And i don't wish to downplay the menace of ice, and it's highly addictive outcome to users of the drug).

But what aspect of drug use and abuse should the community most concern itself with, the negative health aspects to the users, or the threat to the community from anti social behaviour as a consequence of drug use, for example? ( and there are many other negative effects).

I believe Governments are being forced to deal with the alcohol industry in ways that match community expectations. Ice hysteria is a distraction, planned or otherwise, to this progress!

Hi Dan,

You ask: "But what aspect of drug use and abuse should the community most concern itself with, the negative health aspects to the users, or the threat to the community from anti social behaviour as a consequence of drug use, for example? ( and there are many other negative effects)."

I suppose the obvious answer to that is: 'All of the above'. Why artificially separate the 'aspects' of such a dangerous drug ?

One statistic the authors of this report should be watching is the number of Aboriginal women beaten to death in the NT each year by their beloveds (and god knows how many more around the country): it used to be that eleven out of the twelve murders annually of women in the NT were Aboriginal; has this gone up in recent years to, say, fifteen out of sixteen ? Nineteen out of twenty ? Say twenty eight out of thirty ?

And how many of those babies and young children have been murdered over the last few years by their doped-out single mother's latest doped-out boyfriend ?

I would also suggest that Aboriginal people in country towns are moving away from marijuana, certainly from leaves to heads, and from there to ice. If this is so, we can expect a rapid rise in crimes of violence in the more alienated Indigenous population. After the event, the statistics will tell us one way or the other, soon enough.

Joe

Addressing Joe here...

Why not make all drug taking respectable? After all, isn't that societies approach to alcohol use. It simply assumes no abuse!
That has worked successfully with heroin, shooting galleries are places designed to add respectability to its use!

So, soon, no doubt, ice addicts will congregate in government controlled and sponsored environments to pipe up.
I'm not sure if this designed respectability will extend to bath salt snorters. A place could be provided for them to perform naked backward somersaults before chewing the face off their partners!

I can see though, there would be limits to the acceptability approach . But this is the reality of the creeping acceptance of all odd-ball behaviour in our midst. In the end it makes it into the too hard basket, for tacit approval and acceptance. (Homosexuality quickly springs to mind, as it finds a place in the too hard basket)!

Hi Dan,

'Ice' and 'respectability' - I'm not sure how the two words can appear together in the same sentence. 'Ice', 'crazy', and 'violence' - yes. 'Ice' and ' .... brutal death of .... ' - very likely.

I have a brother who works in a psych ward, designed especially for violent patients. Most of the patients are Ice addicts. He's had broken arms, a broken cheek-bone, very many beatings. I implore him to give it away and make furniture, his passion.

Why do people think that Ice is like pot, you get all warm and fuzzy (I'm told) ? No, you go violent-crazy. My brother spoke of one bloke brought in who jerked off for ten hours straight, and others who smashed every bit of whatever they could. It's not a nice drug.

And it's cheap, easy to conceal and very tempting for idle people with money (or with a grandmother or aunt who has her fortnightly money). Frankly, it should be counted as a concealed weapon, with users shot for resisting arrest, or some other pretext.

Pipe-rooms ? How long do you think they might last ?

Or are you being ironic, Dan ? I'm a bit slow this morning :)

Joe

//Pipe-rooms ?//

Well why not? Pubs, clubs, bottle-shops and home-brewing shops are all very popular, even though we know alcohol to be a far more harmful drug than ice.

Hi Toni,

Alcohol far more harmful than ice ? Per gram ? Per person ? Or do you mean in total ?

Maybe you're onto something: perhaps in remote Aboriginal settlements, as ice takes hold, the blokes could bring their women along and have one room as the pipe-room and next-door the punching and kicking room. At least somebody will be happy.

But my weak efforts to be ironic may back-fire: that previous paragraph is not meant to be taken seriously. I repeat: that previous paragraph is not meant to be taken seriously. Please, Toni, don't take it seriously.

Not easy, working with small children.

Joe

//Maybe you're onto something: perhaps in remote Aboriginal settlements, as ice takes hold, the blokes could bring their women along and have one room as the pipe-room and next-door the punching and kicking room//

Yeah, because Aboriginal blokes have never been known to get violent from drinking grog.

Let's look at some figures from Victoria. From 2012-13, alcohol accounted for six and a half times more emergency department presentations than illicit drugs (with 7,744 instances attributed to alcohol and 1,206 to illicit drugs). In 2011 alcohol caused ten times as many deaths than illicit drugs (781 and 77 respectively). Alcohol-related hospitalisations and ambulance attendances also exceeded those for illicit drugs three-to-one in both instances.

But all we ever hear about in the media is the dreadful ice pandemic in Victoria, even though it clearly causes far less harm than alcohol.

I guess whether you think alcohol or ice is more harmful depends on whether you're persuaded more by the figures, or by sensationalist media reports, anecdote and emotive arguments short on facts.

Toni:

On what factual investigation are you basing your statement
"That we now know that alcohol is more dangerous than "Ice"?"

Alcohol has been around virtually forever, consequently
imbibers of the many and varied forms of Alcoholic drinks
have learned to drink sensibly or suffer the physical and mental
consequences in over indulgence.

The majority of people, even those with half a brain, generally
realize when alcohol is getting the better of them, and moderate
their intake accordingly.

Some people imbibe and over-indulge, to escape a genuine or
perceived problem in their lives,....an escape that is
unfortunately only temporary, thus when sober and in the
light of a new day, the budding alcoholic, embarks yet again
into the perceived comfort zone and again over-indulges, thus
we have a budding Alcoholic!

Alcoholism is simply a weakness of will power, as is the
gambling addiction, whereas the use of Methamphetamines is
savagely addictive, particularly in young people who are
so easily "conned" into trying it, observing peer group activity
similar to "smoking behind the toilet block at school!"

From my own experiences with victims of "Ice", the first sign
of usage is temporary mental confusion and "the hearing of voices"
This is to be taken as a warning as the first step in the
downward plunge into "Ice" addiction, and investigation is
needed but with caution, as the budding addict will
totally deny usage, and may appear to be okay the next day,
however, the supplier will be not far away, waiting to make
another quick sale!

I reckon what police and health authorities are worried about is that we are the tipping point, immediately before the incidence of 'ice' health effects and other social problems from its use overtake the available police, hospital and other helping agencies.

What are the resource and opportunity costs to ambulance, police and ED (hospital) of just one injured and difficult to manage 'ice' admission? -By opportunity I mean that the ambulance etc are not available to be used elsewhere.

One rampaging drug freak causes chaos in an ED, affecting other cases as well.

There is already ramping of ambulances outside hospital EDs.

If 'ice' usage is a media 'myth' why are organised gangs importing and making kilograms of the product?

I acknowledge what CRACKCUP has opined in the last sentence of his last paragraph '...the supplier will not be far away, waiting to make another quick sale...' ? Therein lies the trouble ? You no longer lockup a seller, of any illicit substance, and the magistrate will cut him loose with a stern talking too ?

To obtain any really meaningful custodial sentence from the current crop of the existing 'left learning' judiciary, needs to amount to an offence tantamount, to high treason ! Remove the pushers from the streetscape for six months or so, will invariably slow the supply source down significantly.

Still I've bleated about the flawed justice system for so long now, what's the use ? Until the judiciary collectively all grow a large pair of 'b..ls', nothing will ever change.

For a start I wouldnt be putting too much faith in the 'National Drug Household Survey' which shows a reduction in use, unless you have faith in the honesty of drug users.
To explain the rise of meth/ice use in 2014, they suggest 'a reflection of police arrest priorities, and by targeting amphetamine users the percentage of detainees testing positive will go up.'This is an unusual opinion. I dont know about 'arrest priorities 'or' targeting amphetamine users', Its more likely that the users made themselves a target, you have to be arrested for something before being drug tested.
Calling it as it is 'ice epidemic' is in no way sensationalizing drug use and need not be ignored. The media 'demonizing drug users' suppliers, pushers and enablers is totally acceptable.

o sung wu,

The good citizens of SEQld are fed up. One of the very first priorities of new Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk MP is to deep six the highly successful anti-bikie initiatives of previous LNP Premier Campbell Newman.

Campbell Newman, a Duntroon military graduate, is the only Premier Qld has seen who was not scared into compliance by the thugs of the criminal gangs, including the outlaw motorcycle gangs. -Particularly the Mafia and Middle Eastern Gangs that are the gift(sic) of the 'diversity-Australia-has-to-have'.

OTB,

In German, the word 'gift' can also mean po'ison'.

Toni,

You suggest, quite reasonably, that ' .... whether you think alcohol or ice is more harmful depends on whether you're persuaded more by the figures, or by sensationalist media reports, anecdote and emotive arguments short on facts.'

Reasonable but irrelevant: both are scourges, it's not either/or. And if we bring it down to the individual level - an individual who's had too much to drink, vs. an individual who's taken ice, who do you reckon might do the most damage to other people ? I would respectfully suggest that the 1 % of us who have used ice in the last twelve months, compared to the 60 % of us who have used alcohol in the last twelve months, that ice has given grog a pretty good run for our money in terms of damage.

I guess we'll see what damage both of them are wreaking in Aboriginal settlements in due course, won't we ?

Joe

G'day there ONTHEBEACH...

I don't know much about Campbell NEWMAN, other than his tough laws on the outlaw motor cycle gangs when he was still Premier. But you know as well as I my friend, for any successful law enforcement initiative to work, it must receive bipartisan support. And as you've so accurately stated herein, the new Qld. Premier, is already backing down, and accelerating as she does so ?

ONTHEBEACH, no matter what the issue is - terrorism, drugs, illegal F/A'S, domestic violence, or a crack-down on 'Jay walking' recidivism, if the politicians wish it to work, and work successfully, ALL politics must be set aside and they all must confront the menace (whatever it is) with a completely united front ! Will it ever happen in this country ? We all know the answer to that.

This article, by three authors, is complete baloney.

If 1% of Australians are abusing methamphetamines, and the proportion of those using the crystal "ice" version is increasing, then that is justification for saying that Australia is in an "ice" epidemic. These authors sneer at the press for "sensationalising" the extent and the effects of ice addiction, while admitting that methamphetamine use generally is decreasing. Did any of you Mensas make the connection that if methamphetamine use is decreasing generally, it may be due entirely to the media "sensationalising" the negative effects of methamphetamine abuse?

Some people really like taking hard drugs and they can do so without it affecting their lives. I myself have a friend who is a part time heroin user and he has been for 40 years. He still functions quite well, and it dies not affect his work performance or his relationships at all. There seem to be a lot of people like him who sometimes use even dangerous and addictive drugs for fun, and they can control themselves. Some of these, like presumably our three authors, see nothing wrong with that and they advocate drug abuse as a lifestyle choice. They routinely advocate drug abuse and sneer at attempts to prohibit them.

The problem is, that there are some members of society who are not as smart as my friend, and if they abuse illegal drugs, the cost to society and to our most vulnerable and disadvantaged families can be catastrophic. If the news media is sensationalising "ice" abuse, then good for them. Keep it up. You might just keep ahead of the entertainment media who can be relied upon to do the exact opposite.

It is odd that we as a society ban smoking advertisements because we know that the advertising media can encourage large numbers of people to smoke cigarettes, and then we allow the entertainment media to glamourise drug abuse to our youngest generation. Pop stars in particular are renowned for singing songs advocating drug abuse to the extent that they are the unofficial advertising arm of the illegal drug industry.

//If 1% of Australians are abusing methamphetamines, and the proportion of those using the crystal "ice" version is increasing, then that is justification for saying that Australia is in an "ice" epidemic.//

Epidemic is a reasonable term to use in this instance. But alcohol abuse is pandemic and is responsible for more harm in the community. Wouldn't it be nice if that problem was sensationalised as much as ice? Maybe we might see a decline in alcohol abuse. But the media would rather talk about ice because ice-induced psychosis is so much more dramatic than Korsakoff's psychosis. And dramatic stories are what get reported in the media: they're not in the business of public health, and if you only base your public health policy on what makes the headlines then you're going to run into problems.

It is odd that we as a society ban don't alcohol advertisements because we know that the advertising media can encourage large numbers of people to (ab)use alcohol, and then we allow the entertainment media to glamourise drug abuse to our youngest generation. Sportsmen, who are supposed to be role-models for a healthy lifestyle, in particular are renowned for glamourising binge-drinking to the extent that they are an unofficial advertising arm of the alcohol industry.