1. Introduction
Methamphetamine is a man-made stimulant drug to speed up the messages travelling between the brain and the body (Ice Facts 2014). It was first synthesized in 1918 and used during World War II (Lee, N 2013). Ice is methamphetamine in a crystal form and it has been in the news as a growing and serious issue across Australia. The head of emergency at ST Vincent’s Hospital, Gordian Fulde, says “Ice is the most evil drug we have at the moment…….Ice addicts are the most out-of-control, the most violent human beings I have seen in my life” (Hildebrand, J 2015).
1.1 Statistics The drug was reported to be the second most widely used illicit drug in the world after Cannabis. (ABC News, 2015). The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) report also indicated that organized crime is involved due to the considerable increase in the amount of Ice being seized within Australia since 2010 (ABC News, 2015).
Figure 1: ACC Drug data report, (Goldsworthy, T, McGillivray, L 2015) The report of the national survey (2013), estimates 50.4% of the 2.1% of Australian methamphetamine users aged 14 and over have used Ice as the main form of drug in the previous 12 months (see figure 2) (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2015). The increased use of Ice has featured in a number of violent incidents and in recent death investigations across Australia. The suspected killers in 14 homicides in as many months in 2014 in Victoria are thought to have been on Ice (Buttler, M 2014). Figure 2: Use of meth/amphetamines by people aged 14 or older from 2001-2013 (%), (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2015) 2. Current strategies used to address the issue of Ice This section of the report investigates the effectiveness and reliability of the current strategies used in the fight against Ice and the limitations regarding the strategies. These include frontline support, drug rehabilitation programs for Ice addicts and National Ice Taskforce (NIT). 2.1 Support from frontline Staff Frontline staff including health workers and police officers provide treatment and support for Ice addicts. However, more than 14,000 violent incidents were recorded in 14 major Victorian hospitals in 2012-13 indicating the need for high occupational safety for frontline workers and better ways to supervise addicts (Ice Action Plan, 2015). The Victorian Ice Action Plan suggests many ways to support frontline staff such as a standard Ice training curriculum for frontline staff, extended clinical supervision training and training medical specialists to support abusive clients (Ice Action Plan, 2015). (See Appendix A1 for Victorian Ice Action Plan). 2.2 Drug rehabilitation programs The Narconon International Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program (NIRP) believe drug rehabilitation, preferably residential, is absolutely critical to the process of recovery of an addict. According to Naraconon’s research, small amounts of residual toxins from drugs stored in addict’s fatty tissues can remain for a prolonged time period and may trigger the cravings for the drug making the complete recovery difficult (2.Narconon international drug Rehabilitation, n.d.) Therefore, NIRP uses low-heat sauna, nutritional supplements and daily exercise to flush out these residues, mostly through sweat (1.Narconon international drug Rehabilitation n.d). Patients who have undergone the treatment says that as the residues are eliminated, their thinking clears, attitude improves and physical cravings are diminished or gone entirely. This is identified as a vital part of living a productive, enjoyable life without Ice. The majority of Australian clients from overseas drug rehab-centres have claimed that the reason for seeking help from overseas was the lack of options in Australia and the high cost of available treatments compared to the budget price treatment offered overseas (Jones, R 2015). However, some have also claimed that their reason to get out of Australia and seek help overseas was because they would not know how to access the drug in another …show more content…
Furthermore, the Productivity Commission estimates a cost of $88,000 a year to accommodate one prisoner which suggests an opportunity to fund education and treatment programs that might be more effective in reducing the harm caused by Ice (Short, M 2014). Mr. Nadine Ezard, St Vincent hospital’s clinical Director of alcohol and drug services, also suggested avoiding a kind of ‘moral panic’ in the society about Ice to help encourage more people to seek treatment (Hildebrand, J
Methamphetamine is a man-made stimulant drug to speed up the messages travelling between the brain and the body (Ice Facts 2014). It was first synthesized in 1918 and used during World War II (Lee, N 2013). Ice is methamphetamine in a crystal form and it has been in the news as a growing and serious issue across Australia. The head of emergency at ST Vincent’s Hospital, Gordian Fulde, says “Ice is the most evil drug we have at the moment…….Ice addicts are the most out-of-control, the most violent human beings I have seen in my life” (Hildebrand, J 2015).
1.1 Statistics The drug was reported to be the second most widely used illicit drug in the world after Cannabis. (ABC News, 2015). The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) report also indicated that organized crime is involved due to the considerable increase in the amount of Ice being seized within Australia since 2010 (ABC News, 2015).
Figure 1: ACC Drug data report, (Goldsworthy, T, McGillivray, L 2015) The report of the national survey (2013), estimates 50.4% of the 2.1% of Australian methamphetamine users aged 14 and over have used Ice as the main form of drug in the previous 12 months (see figure 2) (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2015). The increased use of Ice has featured in a number of violent incidents and in recent death investigations across Australia. The suspected killers in 14 homicides in as many months in 2014 in Victoria are thought to have been on Ice (Buttler, M 2014). Figure 2: Use of meth/amphetamines by people aged 14 or older from 2001-2013 (%), (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2015) 2. Current strategies used to address the issue of Ice This section of the report investigates the effectiveness and reliability of the current strategies used in the fight against Ice and the limitations regarding the strategies. These include frontline support, drug rehabilitation programs for Ice addicts and National Ice Taskforce (NIT). 2.1 Support from frontline Staff Frontline staff including health workers and police officers provide treatment and support for Ice addicts. However, more than 14,000 violent incidents were recorded in 14 major Victorian hospitals in 2012-13 indicating the need for high occupational safety for frontline workers and better ways to supervise addicts (Ice Action Plan, 2015). The Victorian Ice Action Plan suggests many ways to support frontline staff such as a standard Ice training curriculum for frontline staff, extended clinical supervision training and training medical specialists to support abusive clients (Ice Action Plan, 2015). (See Appendix A1 for Victorian Ice Action Plan). 2.2 Drug rehabilitation programs The Narconon International Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program (NIRP) believe drug rehabilitation, preferably residential, is absolutely critical to the process of recovery of an addict. According to Naraconon’s research, small amounts of residual toxins from drugs stored in addict’s fatty tissues can remain for a prolonged time period and may trigger the cravings for the drug making the complete recovery difficult (2.Narconon international drug Rehabilitation, n.d.) Therefore, NIRP uses low-heat sauna, nutritional supplements and daily exercise to flush out these residues, mostly through sweat (1.Narconon international drug Rehabilitation n.d). Patients who have undergone the treatment says that as the residues are eliminated, their thinking clears, attitude improves and physical cravings are diminished or gone entirely. This is identified as a vital part of living a productive, enjoyable life without Ice. The majority of Australian clients from overseas drug rehab-centres have claimed that the reason for seeking help from overseas was the lack of options in Australia and the high cost of available treatments compared to the budget price treatment offered overseas (Jones, R 2015). However, some have also claimed that their reason to get out of Australia and seek help overseas was because they would not know how to access the drug in another …show more content…
Furthermore, the Productivity Commission estimates a cost of $88,000 a year to accommodate one prisoner which suggests an opportunity to fund education and treatment programs that might be more effective in reducing the harm caused by Ice (Short, M 2014). Mr. Nadine Ezard, St Vincent hospital’s clinical Director of alcohol and drug services, also suggested avoiding a kind of ‘moral panic’ in the society about Ice to help encourage more people to seek treatment (Hildebrand, J