Facts and Figures

• Amphetamines are “psycho-stimulants” – they stimulate the central nervous system and speed up the messages going to and from the brain to the body.

• Amphetamines can be in the form of powder, tablets, capsules, crystals or red liquid.

• Amphetamines are a group of drugs made from different chemicals. Most people call amphetamines “speed”. Other names include “crystal meth”, “base”, “ice” or “shabu”.

• Ice is a street name for crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride, which is a powerful, synthetic stim-ulant drug. Ice is more potent than other forms of amphetamines. It is more pure than the powder form of methamphetamine (“speed”).

• Other street names for ice include “meth”, “d-meth”, “crystal”, “crystal meth”, “shabu”, “batu”, “Tina” and “glass”.

• In 2004, 3.2% of Australians aged 14 years and older had used amphetamines for non-medical purposes in the previous year and over 38% of this group reported the type of amphetamine they used was ice.

• Ice use among injecting drug users increased from 15% in 2000 to 52% in 2004.

• As the effects of ice wear off, a person may experience a range of symptoms such as tension, depression, radical mood swings, uncontrollable violence and exhaustion.

• People who use ice can quickly develop a tolerance to the drug so that increasingly greater doses are needed to achieve the desired effects. Ice can also lead to physical and/or psychological dependence.

• 38% of all people over 14 who admit to using amphetamines use ice. Over half the people injecting drugs in 2004 were injecting ice.

• About 73,000 Australians are dependent on methamphetamine, a figure which is more than double the number dependent on heroin.

• Amphetamines have a much higher dependency liability than ecstasy or cannabis and more often lead to heroin use.

• Users of methamphetamines are 11 times more likely to experience psychosis than non-users.

• Almost a quarter of the methamphetamine users have experienced psychosis, including hallucinations and extreme paranoia, in the past year. A quarter of those experienced aggressive and violent behaviour at the time they were psychotic, putting themselves and others at risk.

• Australian customs officers have seized roughly 10 times more methamphetamine than heroin in recent years.

• Most of the methamphetamine available in Australia is produced domestically in clandestine chemical lab-oratories. Domestically produced methamphetamine is usually marketed on the street as a powder called “speed”, which is heavily cut with glucose, or as a less adulterated damp/oily powder or paste, which is sold as “base” methamphetamine.

• Methamphetamine distribution mainly occurs through social networks of drug users and word-of-mouth (like a pyramid or multi-level marketing scheme).

• The United Nations ‘World Drug Report’ has named Australians as the world’s biggest ecstasy users and second-biggest speed users. Almost twice as many Australians use ecstasy (3.4%) as the next highest nationality, the British (2%).

• There has been a 556% increase in the detection of clandestine laboratories in the past 10 years.

• In 2004-05 almost 14 tonnes of illegal drugs was seized and 77,333 people were arrested for drug-related offences. The seizures included almost seven tonnes of cannabis, 2276 kg of amphetamines, 194 kg of heroin and 191 kg of cocaine. Cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug, with prolific cultivation in every state. It accounted for 70% of drug-related arrests.

• Clandestine laboratory production will continue to be associated with high levels of harm as a consequence of the production techniques and chemicals utilised.

• Regular methamphetamine users have a high level of contact with police and most have committed some type of crime in their lifetime (other than illicit drug use).

• People who regularly use speed can also experience problems with relationships; work or study; the law; and finances.

• 13% of methamphetamine injectors shared a needle in the last month. This increases the risk (as a result of needle sharing) of spreading hepatitis C and other blood-borne infections.

• Dependent methamphetamine users are twice as likely to engage in unprotected sex compared to non-dependent methamphetamine users.

• Deaths and harm from the use of methamphetamines, particularly the potent drug ice, are increasing, with experts warning that until there is greater investment in treatment programs the casualties will continue to climb.

• More than 100,000 Australians are thought to have used amphetamines in the past 12 months and more than 1000 are believed to have been hospitalised for mental or behavioural disorders. The surge in the use of ice has been known for years but only now is the nation confronting the medical, criminal and social fallout.

• About 500,000 people have used methamphetamines in the past year.

• Less than one-third of dependent methamphetamine users receive treatment.