Despite there being little increase in methamphetamine use in Australia over the past eight years, the number of users turning to crystal methamphetamine, or ‘ice’, has risen sharply, according to Flinders University’s National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA).
The Centre reports the use of methamphetamine drugs among Australians has been stable at around two per cent since 2007. This includes people who frequently use the different types of the stimulant drug, which include speed and ecstasy, as well as those who may have used it only once in the past year.
However the Director of NCETA, Professor Ann Roche (pictured), said the number of methamphetamine users who preferred ice had jumped from 21.7 per cent in 2010 to more than 50 per cent in 2013.
“Among users we’re seeing a worrying trend towards people nominating crystal methamphetamine, or ice, as their preferred form of methamphetamine,” Professor Roche said.
“Crystal methamphetamine is a much more potent form of methamphetamine. Those who use methamphetamine regularly are more likely to use ice, and of those that are using ice, 25 per cent use it weekly.”
The changing patterns and increasing trends in methamphetamine use and the need for appropriate responses will be among the topics to be discussed at NCETA’s National Methamphetamine Symposium: Making Research Work in Practice, to be held in Melbourne this week.
Professor Roche said the use of ice was associated with a range of physical and mental health risks including increased heart rate, hypertension, increased risk of stroke, poor cognitive function, depression and anxiety.
Regular use could also lead to social and financial problems, including family breakdown, she said.
“Crystal methamphetamine users, and those who use other forms of methamphetamine, at least monthly tend to engage in more risky behaviours than those who use less frequently,” Professor Roche said.
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“Eighty three percent of regular ice users report engaging in some form of risky activity compared to 55 per cent of irregular ice users, such as working and driving under the influence.
“The shift to ice as the preferred type of methamphetamine and its increased frequency of use mean that responses may need to be modified to support a new type of user and address potentially new risks and problems.”
The national symposium, to be held at the Arts Centre Melbourne on May 12, will feature nationally renowned presenters who will highlight and examine strategies to identify methamphetamine-related problems early, how to respond effectively and improved treatments and outcomes.
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