Drug Free Australia welcomes a number of recommendations in the ANCD’s Position Paper on Methamphetamines..  According to DFA’s Executive Officer, Jo Baxter, the Paper represents a timely formal acknowledgment of the challenges we are facing in Australia with illicit drugs such as ‘ICE.’

For example the Paper:

• enunciates a clear warning about the dimensions of the problem in Australia, with over 73,000 addicts and more than 560,000 who have tried the drug in the last 12 months.
• makes a number of sound recommendations, particularly with regard to prevention. For instance the recognition of school-based prevention strategies that incorporate a life skills  approach is welcomed. We support existing prevention education, such as the high impact, interactive programs delivered by Life Education Australia, and the ‘No-Way’ campaign being implemented by Darren Marton in NSW.

We hope that the Federal Government will not stop at this one Position Paper, but will continue to look closely at research done both here and overseas. For example in the United States, where methamphetamine use has also escalated, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that:

• prevention programs should start early, be comprehensive, and repetitively stress key points.
• Family-focused prevention efforts have been found to have a greater impact than strategies that focus on parents only or children/adolescents only.
• Several cognitive behavioural interventions designed to help modify a patient's thinking and behaviours, and to increase skills in coping with various life stresses, have been found to be effective.
• there are currently no medications available to treat addiction or overdose to amphetamine or amphetamine-like drugs such as methamphetamine.

We certainly request that all governments in Australia reject any suggestion of legalising the use of amphetamines for medical purposes, as proposed by Dr Alex Wodak on an ABC program in March 2006. In that same program Wodak expresses concern at the psychotic effects of these drugs and is quoted as saying: “there has been a 60 percent increase in amphetamine psychosis in the last four years." and yet advocates medical use of the drug.

Apart from destroying lives, careers and families, the physical degradation of ICE can be truly shocking. Changes in appearance of regular users of ice can be viewed on websites like http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/MethResources/faces/photo_5.html

Drug Free Australia will continue to address issues related to ICE and other illicit drugs, as well as offer solutions at an International conference in Adelaide in April. Speakers at the conference will include Jay Bacik, CEO of Life Education Australia and Darren Marton, Campaign Manager, the No-Way Campaign. For further information go to: www.drugfree.org.au