Australia Suffering from “Ice” Epidemic

Ice as it is known on the streets, is a grimy drug with a lurid background. One of the most addictive substances known to man, ice crystal meth is one that is easy to make, cheap to produce and quick to become addicted to. This epidemic is spreading quickly across the Australian continent. Health officials are scrambling to come up with a solution as the rate of usage doubled from 22 percent to 50 percent in just three years. This is a fight that has to be backed and combated by society as a whole. The police, doctors and health organizations can only be effective if society decides to take a stand against the use of the drug. Starting at home with parents and talking to children about drug use could do a lot in the effort to bringing use to a screeching halt. When taught young about the dangerous effects of drug use, a nation that is currently being brought to its knees with use and abuse could quickly become a nation that takes a stand against crystal meth use.

The drug often brings users to extreme emotional highs, euphoria, a sense of being stronger than what they really are, and paranoia. Police officers have to often deal with the abusers with violent or even fatal force. Prisons across Australia are seeing a rapid increase of prisoners with incredibly long sentences for their violent and outrageous crimes. How much can the prison system truly handle? At the rate of usage pretty soon the Australian government will have to turn to building more lock up facilities to house meth addicts if there isn’t a curb on the addiction immediately. With ice becoming a drug of choice for many, its need and demand is growing larger than that of cocaine and heroine, something the country’s illicit drug circles have not seen in the past. Treatment and education are the two main ways to help put an end to the extreme usage of this dangerous drug.

If you, or someone you care about, needs help for a drug or alcohol addiction,
contact us at 1-888-457-3518 US, 0-808-120-3633 UK or 1-800-990-523 AU.
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Anne -

Anne Lazarakis joined the DARA Rehab team from Sydney, Australia. She writes about addiction and mental health on a global, local and community level. She also relays personal accounts of substance abuse and recovery through the stories of our clients, their families and our own team members.