I have never been part of the illegal drug culture; I am old enough to have gone to school when marijuana was just a word in the dictionary.
So I don’t know if the Four Corners program last night, The Ice Age, about ‘ice’ or crystal methamphetamine, was sensationalist or not, but I do know I found it quite frightening.
It’s cheap, highly addictive and ultra-powerful. “Ice”, or crystal methamphetamine, is now more popular than heroin, playing havoc with the minds and the bodies of nearly 50,000 Australians.
Ice is filling emergency wards with psychotic, dangerous patients, to the alarm of doctors who thought they’d seen everything. “They’re the most out of control, violent human beings I have ever seen in my life - and I’ve been around for a long time,” says one. “It makes heroin seem like the really good old days.”
If you missed it last night, it’s repeated about 11pm Wednesday 22 March; also on ABC2 digital channel at 7pm and 9.30pm Wednesday.
Yeah, ice is pretty nasty. Which just shows the folly of pretending that all illegal drugs are alike (and, BTW, somehow completely different from legalised drugs), and therefore merit the same policy response.
Most of the evils associated with heroin and marijuana are due to their being illegal. Legal opiate use would, from a public health POV, be a pretty minor problem - indeed, it was just that until we foolishly banned it. It’s less physically addictive than nicotine (let alone amphetamines and barbiturates) and the effects of long term use are much less than the scaremongers would have you believe. It’s true weed precipitates mental illness in a small minority of users, but then so does the grog - and weed’s not addictive like grog.
Dude, I’ve lost friends to marijuana!
They didn’t die, they just sat around all day playing video games and smoking till they passed out. I’m still in favour of legalisation (with the same restrictions as alcohol and ciggies re: passive smoke, driving, heavy machinery etc.) and de-crim with heroin, but ice is something different altogether.
God, I feel very bad for the acute health services who have to deal with serious mental illness. The last time I was at RPAH emergency, I watched seven police officers bundle an angry drunk out of a paddy wagon that was rocking from side to side onto two wheels each time. They caught him as he exploded out of the cage door when they unlocked it, then carried him through the hospital doors wrapped tightly in a blanket. I’m not sure how the triage nurse would have dealt with him, perhaps with a whip and a chair, like a lion tamer.
Emergency isn’t meant for the seriously violent or mentally ill, and it’s dangerous for there to be no other option for the ambulance/police.
I was angry as hell with the pregnant woman on ice who told the Four Corners to stop asking stupid questions when he tried to find out how she felt about the harm she is inflicting on the fetus. I think she should be held in custody until the end of her pregnancy and possibly cajoled into sterilisation. I have sympathy for people with addictions but they try my patience when they drag others down with them.
Ice is not a new problem, but it’s certainly reached far deeper into society than it has before. The 4 Corners doco was important, but besides the shocking new stats it could have been made in the early ’90s. Meth, as it was then known, was all over King Cross when I lived there back then. And this doco followed users who were straight out of that scene. It’s too easy for most people who watched it to just think the problem is confined to crusty junkies like we saw on the doco.
We needed to see the users who are barely managing to hold down day jobs in law, accounting, financial services as their addictions increase, though no doubt it would have been almost impossible to get these people to go in front of a camera and tell their stories honestly.
The doco would have also had much more impact if it had been able to follow the lives of some of those causal users we saw bouncing around in the dance clubs. You can see a marked and horrifying physical decline in meth users in six to twelve months, and that might have shocked more people into action than seeing fairly intelligent junkies who seemed almost beyond hope already.
Ice is far worse than smack or coke because the effects are so incredibly good, it literally feels like the thing you’ve been missing your entire life. You get so much energy, in the early usage period you are able to get an incredible amount of work done, and the physical addiction is next to nothing. But it gets into your brain and it transforms your mind. Eventually you think of nothing else but the drug, and it destroys or disables most of your emotional responses. You don’t care about life or death, or friends or family, even while you might be aware of what you are doing to yourself and the people who love you.
Ice induces a psychosis far beyond anything produced by smack or coke or Es or pot, and it will claim many more victims like housewives and doctors and cops and students who learn to function superhumanly whilst on it, then not at all without it.
You have to wonder if state and federal health ministers have any idea of the scale of this plague of addiction. It would be stunning if they were not aware, or chose not to know.
Perhaps it is just too overwhelming a problem for them to comprehend, or want to even try to deal with.
If you don’t know somebody already who is using, you probably will very soon. This is one drug where intervention is not a moral choice for friends and family, it is utterly mandatory. Be-very-aware.
I think there’s a serious problem with having education campaigns based solely on the perils of a drug. I’m assuming the 4 Corners show was nothing of the sort, rather a story about people with massive drug problems, and that story does need to be told.
However, a drug education program for young people can’t afford to carry such a simplistic message. Kids and young adults see people using drugs, having a great time and doing fine all the freaking time (unless they’re sheltered from it) and this message hits home as clearly or more so than the scare tactics. They know that statistically their chances of seriously fucking up are low, unless they have social/economic/family problems already. They know this because it is simply true and evident to them.
I’ve used plenty of meth; in small, occasional doses it is fun and safe. Loads of energy, confidence and accuracy (esp. on drums), licketty-speed, a quick wit, grinding jaw, holding forth like an arsehole on topics of limited broad appeal, ages to get to sleep, etc etc. It’s just speed. I had older peers tell me very early on that you’ve got to watch out for addiction, make sure you know your supplier, test some for strength if you can’t be sure, make sure someone who cares about you is aware how much you’re taking - all the usual sensible stuff. I followed their advice, and here I am today. Still using various class-A drugs every two or three months.
I’ve had good friends go totally off the rails on meth and heroin, and end up lying to they mommas, stealing from their friends (i.e. me) and in two cases dying. In absolutely every case, I put it down to a lack of support resources. These kids couldn’t tell their family or community they were in trouble and incrementally slipped off the radar. One, let’s call him Greg, had a very loving family who were dumbfounded by his (prob. deliberate) overdose and death. They had no idea he was using, thinking he was just a bit poor at keeping contact and eating well after moving out of home. I though the same. When we were at school, he was caught with weed by his parents and they subjected him to a barrage of professional counselling on the inevitable slippery slope to hell he was on. Connection?
Ummm, i didn’t think they were stupid at all. in fact some of their comments about drug culture and addiction were pretty insightful. so was their realisation that they were sick. it wasn’t a matter of them being able to ‘pull themselves up by their bootstraps” so to speak. A social network that specifically addresses the ramifications of ice is needed. yet where is it? There are programs for other addictions eg. heroin. As for demonising - perhaps we should looking at the suppliers. what operations are under way - seems like even though ice has been on the street for nine years or so it’s not politically volatile enough yet to do anything about it.
My one taste of crystal meth was nearly forty years ago. One of the greatest weekends I’ve ever had, and one of the worst Tuesday mornings of my life.
I’ve also been on the receiving end of amphetamine paranoia a couple of times. Very scary stuff, and these were relatively mild psychoses. But I’ve also been on the receiving end of alcohol induced aggression, which was just as scary.
Maybe it’s time for a rational approach to all drugs in our community (oh look! the pigs are flying away)
F David Bower: what exactly was the point of your post? You argue against simplistic drug education, and seemingly give yourself as an example of a “successful” casual drug user, while admitting that it does sometimes lead to big problems for your friends.
Does your story mean you want kids to be told “you can be like me, just be sensible about your drugs.”? What is the “lack of support resources” you blame for your friend’s death and problems? For heroin users in Queensland at least, I believe the methodone program has been quite extensive (and, I think, relatively easy to get onto) for decades. (For some obscure reason, I think it was established and well funded under the Bjelke Peterson government, but anyone who knows more can correct me.) Maybe there is room for more and better funded addiction programs, but people who argue for radical drug reform (in my opinion) often downplay the programs that are already there.
If we assume that a government is never going to legalise a very potentially harmful and addictive drug like meth, the risks of using it are always going to be there (in terms of certainly of quality and content, etc). The 4 Corners program suggested that up to a quarter of users are going to have psychosis problems with it; this is radically higher than the rate with marijuana. Doesn’t your story in that case only work to encourage others to give a dangerous drug a try?
And no insult, but I would also like to know if your friends think you are as “successful” in your casual use as you do.
Your post, regardless of its intent, can also be seen as somewhat callous by relatives who have lost family to drugs and did in fact try to help. This seems a not uncommon story.
The major problem associated with rehabilitation is that once people complete the program, they return to the same network that saw their original drug habit spiral out of control.
I’ve been banging on about this for years, but there needs to be mega bucks poured into community based rehabilitation programs.
Steve - my point was poorly delivered, you’re correct. Put it down to my fried brain if you wish.
Your summation was pretty much on the mark, though, and I don’t see a contradiction between arguing;
“against simplistic drug education, and seemingly give(ing) yourself as an example of a “successfulâ€? casual drug user, while admitting that it does sometimes lead to big problems for your friends.”
I am against simplistic drug education because it deliberately gives a one-sided picture. We have “responsible drinking” campaigns for alcohol which emphasise the risks, but encourage social drinking in moderation. Drug campaigns almost never mention anything about responsible use, so the only information on that topic is to be had from users. Depending on a kid’s environment, that might be good information (such as in my case) or crazy bullshit. Or they might live in an area and socioeconomic situation where drug-related problems are so rampant nobody even talks about them much.
Re: rehab, I think David’s on the money. There are programs, e.g. methodone, that are in place and easy to get on to. And off of. So easy, lots of people sign up when they can’t get smack, or use it as a base level of drug to be topped up with the good stuff. It’s rortable in the extreme, and even those who really want to get clean often have trouble when they’re back in their ‘normal’ lives. I have no interest in playing down the success of existing programs. When someone rids themselves of a crippling addiction, I’m always happy for them and the system that helped them. It clearly isn’t working much of the time, though.
Re: my use of drugs, I don’t think anyone who didn’t know would suspect I ever use drugs. Unless they saw me on drugs, particularly that acid on the beach in Corinella. Aieee!
I teach at a bachelor level, have a pretty lady friend, enjoy sports, gardening and fishing while maintaining regular contact with my loving but far-flung family. Occasional bouts of depression, usually linked to a prolonged excess of alcohol.
Lastly, I apologise if anyone was offended by my “callous” tone. I really cared about that guy, and I probably skipped the sentiment to protect myself from a workplace sobbing incident.
David, I don’t understand what “responsible use” means when a drug gives you a one-in-four chance of developing psychosis.
Is it a bit like responsible razor blade swallowing and responsible dynamite juggling?
You mention “occasional bouts of depression”. Yep, I get those too. And that’s why I don’t see much advantage in fucking up my brain even further with drugs (other than an occasional few beers or red wines).
If you went a nice natural head rush spend time in the sun, have sex, go for a jog, pump iron or meditate- it seems to work for many people.
Whoa there net-nanny!
Did you read the bit about me being a well-rounded and -grounded person? You clearly believe there is no such thing as the safe use of illicit drugs (I wonder; what are your thoughts on alcohol?) so to continue this conversation is pointless. You simply cannot, despite your best efforts, believe what I have to say about my own experience, which is a bit confusing.
Fare thee well, amigo.
Net-nanny!! Ha!
Oh well, maybe I have become a bit of a wowser since I gave up the fags in December.
Ice is the darling of transnational crime. The heroin shortage is partly due to the gangs switching from heroin trafficking to ice trafficking. It is easier to get and a lot more profitable. See the DEA website for data,a nd the UN reports.
Three enormous labs have been broken up recently, one in Suva, one in KL, one in Java. Big ops, up to 400-500kg per week production of top-line crystal ice, as good as North Korean ice in quality.
This is the tip of the iceberg. The Filipinos are drowning in the stuff (mostly crappy quality, called Shaba/shabu over there) as well as ketamine. They take out big labs with monotonous regularity.
It is easier and cheaper to make than MDMA (ecstasy), so guess what your eccy mostly is? Meth and ketamine. The counterfeit MDMA is upon us, so expect a LOT more deaths among ‘MDMA’ users. Low production quality meth-ketamine mixes can kill you, and fast.
Junkies will top themselves no matter what. But in the hands of the gangs, this stuff is far worse than heroin becuase of the better profits. In our part of the world they can corrupt entire nations with the sort of cash flows they can generate. This one will probably be as bad as the ‘crack plague’ in the US a decade or so ago. They solved it by waiting for most addicts to kill themselves. No other options.
MarkL
Canberra
Y’know I actually agree with MarkL here.
Now I gotta take a shower and do a line.
Re Darryl Mason’s:
“We needed to see the users who are barely managing to hold down day jobs in law, accounting, financial services”.
My heart bleeds - not. Being on the dole and trying to get a job, it amazes me that a seeming majority of the workforce are either f*-ups who wouldn’t stand a chance of landing “their” jobs if they were applying from scratch (= the dole), and/or spend most of their work hours surfing the net.
Maybe I should get myself a drug/bludge habit to improve my employability.
And my heart bleeds even less for junkie DSP recipients (which seems to cover every person shown in the doco). In return for being voluntary f*-ups, they get paid $48 per week more than me, *and* don’t have to do a thing for their money (other than staying f’ed-up - which seems to suit them all just fine, incidentally).
F David Bower: I am pretty sure I would not be the only one who thinks your “successful” use might involve quite a lot of luck.
Surely parents dread their children trying illicit drugs because a) apart from marijuana, which is at least clearly what it is represented to be, there is no easy way of knowing the quality, purity or strength of the drug; b) proneness to addiction seems to be a hit and miss affair; c) unlike alcohol, for most illicit drugs the science indicates no known health benefits at all, it’s all potential downside. This is particularly the case for stuff like meth and ectascy, which mucks around with dopamine in the brain as its way of having an effect.
Teaching responsible “use” for things like sex (as maybe 99% of teenagers are going to get around to that sometime in their life) or alcohol consumption (a drug that is potentially dangerous but entirely capable of harmless use) makes sense. Teaching responsible use of illicit drugs makes sense for those already addicted or are already known to be trying it (eg needle exchange programs and teaching clubbers about drinking water). However, teaching “responsible use” of other drugs for those who have not yet tried it hits that large discomfort zone that it will encourage use of something that a large majority feel is best never used.
The other point about alcohol I want to get off my chest is this (as drug apologists are always going on about hypocritical attitudes to it.) If one allows that there is an inate interest in a large percentage of the population in occasional mood altering for fun, at least having one method of doing that should be legal. With alcoholic drinks we have the perfect substance: it comes in a million flavours which can be inherently interesting in their own right; it is a “social” drug (unlike stoners or heroin users who tend not to be fun to be around while under the influence,) it is widely believed to be have positive health benefits in small doses. And it alters your mood.
It can be dangerous and because of its widespread use its abuse is numerically a big problem. But people who want to limit legalisation of illicit drugs don’t in principle have anything against better alcohol education and treatment.
For conservatives like me, needing a different type of mood alteration experience seems just needlessly hedonistic, and an invitation to making addiction problems in society worse, not better.
Just wanted to try to show that conservative attitudes to licit/illicit drugs can be argued with some rationality.
Stephen W,
It’s a pathetic human being who legitimately argues alcohol is truly mood-altering. It’s one of the worst cop-outs there is, in my satanic opinion, and those ‘upright citizens’ who are brought up before the Magistrate to say that ‘the drink made them do it’ are those who’ll be first into the Pit.
Alcohol is a strong depressant, toxin and a social uninhibitor, but it doesn’t make people feel anything they didn’t feel in the first place. Drunk people only become more themselves. Angry people make angry drunks, sleazy people make sleazy drunks, sad people make sad drunks, violent people make violent drunks.
I agree though that there’s a fundamental human need to kill brain cells, to act irrationally, and to act in alcoholically self-destructive ways, which also tend to be really rather fun. Teenagers need to be told that there’s ’safe’ drinking as well as ‘unsafe’ drinking.
Hey, that’s what I do.
I agree Steven W. I once new a guy who was a “responsible” drinker of booze. The fact that he would knock off a slab most nights, shout abuse, vomit all over himself and then crawl to bed was just a harmless bit of skylarking. Hey, I mean, he was still able to hold a job and keep his girlfriend.
But I’m sure the “responsible” crystal meth crowd, like the esteeemed Mr Bower, know exactly what they are doing. Of course they won’t become social parasites and bludge off Medicare and the Disability Pension if anything goes wrong.
Prohibition has failed. As a regular user of intravenously administered heroin and ice, I see daily the culture that most of you only read about or guess about. Our community would be well served by an immediate legalization of opiates, and decriminalization for possession of ice, shabu.
yes it IS real
Four corners back it up with facts. My experience would press it further. Australia is unprepared.
GOD HELP US ALL
Your article entitled “Four Corners: The Ice Age� about “ice� or crystal methamphetamine made me instantly sad, angry, and depressed. Now that I have somewhat “recovered� let me make a few comments.
Some people feel that almost everyone has a need to “dull the pain� of life somehow. Where does the pain come from? Not to be superficial, but sometimes we have to stop our “paralysis by analysis,� stop searching for “the secret to life,� admit that we are all in some sort of pain, and start developing healthy, fulfilling, and productive actions, thoughts, and behaviors.
There are many disappointments and frustrations in life. Some people gravitate toward the quick fix, the easy way out, to the course of least resistance while others refuse to give in, focus on positive goals, and roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Habits, good and bad, and addictions seem to have a form of inertia or a life of their own. It sounds so very easy, but people have to get involved in positive habits and in a positive momentum rather than taking the easy way out and giving in to harmful addictions such as crystal methamphetamine.
Most people are smart enough to know what is harmful and what is good for them. Surround yourself with good things (healthy eating habits, proper sleep, contact with positive friends and relatives, doing helpful things for others, expressing thankfulness for the things you have) and start eliminating actions and behaviors that you know are negative (staying out until 2AM on work nights, spending money on alcohol or drugs, surrounding yourself with people of questionable character, eating mainly junk food, focusing on partying rather than on self-improvement, and most especially, taking substances like crystal methamphetamine).
A healthy or positive habit starts with one action. Take that first step and see how positive behaviors and thoughts feed on one another. Sit down and ask yourself what you can do to make your life more fulfilling and joyful. Then develop a plan of action and implement it. Stop making excuses and giving in to your weaknesses. Get off your lazy butt and do something positive for others and for yourself. You just might find out more healthy and good things about yourself than you ever gave yourself credit for. And you might even start to create some meaning in your life that is worth the time and the effort.
DenMan7
http://www.About-Getting-Sober.com
All human cultures use mood altering substances for a range of purposes, (and with a variety of effects) and have done so since times immemorial. Making moralistic judgements about this is pointless.
Prohibition (a modern and Amerikan invention) has always been an abject failure, and always has resulted in the creation and nurture of a criminal class, involving systemic police and political corruption.
Even in the ’60’s, we had it right with the simple (and accurate) warning - SPEED KILLS !
Legalisation, and realistic warnings (ie education) as to the actual effects/outcomes of their use, is IMO the only sensible way to deal with any of the drug “problems” we curently face - unfortunately, the corruption is so endemic that such sensible goals remain out of reach as much, if not more than they have ever been, and no solutions are yet in sight.
Oh well, at least I only had to contend with alcohol, nicotine, acid (LSD), DMT, STP, morphine , pethidine, heroin, barbiturates, sleeping pills, dexedrine, methedrine, marijuana, hash, hash oil, and a variety of pills as I have negotiated my way through life, but wait ……….is that the sound of the sky falling ?
“DMT”
Ooooh, now you’re talking my language.