After the party no more ecstasy as psychosis sets in: [1 Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 May 2002: 9.
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Abstract
[Ben] is one of an increasing number of young people enmeshed in the mental health system after coming a cropper on the latest generation of street or recreational drugs -- ice, shabu and new forms of ecstasy. For the first time, last year there were more arrests for amphetamine use than for heroin use.
The latest figures show heroin-associated arrests slumping to 1995 levels and heroin overdoses dropping dramatically, while amphetamine usage goes through the roof. Five years ago, police dismantled 58 clandestine amphetamine laboratories. Last year it was 201. The growing number of amphetamine users is being linked with increases in violent crimes.
National Drug and Alcohol Information Centre information manager Paul Dillon says with the recent heroin drought there appears to have been a dramatic increase in the use of ice, which is cheaper and easier to produce than heroin. Dillon says it is not surprising that more young people are getting caught up in the mental health system and that there is debate over the best forms of treatment for them.
The latest mood-altering drugs are sending some teenagers to hospital, reports John Stapleton
BEN is starting to get better. Just the other day he muttered the words "Burger King". But, although those close to him notice certain improvements, the 18-year-old remains in a Sydney hospital, heavily medicated and under psychiatric care.
There aren't many teenagers who would think that after a weekend partying on the latest generation of designer drugs and high- potency amphetamines they could end up facing electric shock treatment. But it happened to Ben.
Although he hasn't been a saint as a teenager, those close to Ben say he went significantly downhill once he started using "ice" -- a particular kind of amphetamine known to the authorities as crystalline methamphetamine.
Social workers, psychiatrists and police are expressing concerns over the increase in psychotic episodes after use of the new drug. In some people, such as Ben, the super-strong amphetamine produces symptoms almost identical to schizophrenia.
Ben's mother says he was a good youngster, playing in a band and representing his district in basketball.
"He was very clever, good creatively," she says. "Once he got into ice, when he was 17, that was when things got worse. It was the ice that made him feel like someone was about to kill him, that people were after him, the phone was bugged. He would hide under thebed, think his food had been poisoned. That was nothing like him."
Ben is one of an increasing number of young people enmeshed in the mental health system after coming a cropper on the latest generation of street or recreational drugs -- ice, shabu and new forms of ecstasy. For the first time, last year there were more arrests for amphetamine use than for heroin use.
The latest figures show heroin-associated arrests slumping to 1995 levels and heroin overdoses dropping dramatically, while amphetamine usage goes through the roof. Five years ago, police dismantled 58 clandestine amphetamine laboratories. Last year it was 201. The growing number of amphetamine users is being linked with increases in violent crimes.
Australian Bureau of Crime Intelligence Commissioner Malcolm Hyde says Australia's drug market has reached a level of dynamism not seen for years, with the use of high-potency amphetamine increasing.
"This is of significant concern not only in respect of the harm users do to themselves but the increased risk that they will pose a danger to the community when under the influence of a drug that has the potential to induce episodes akin to psychosis," Hyde says.
Exactly what sort of treatment Ben and hundreds like him should receive is a matter of debate.
National Drug and Alcohol Information Centre information manager Paul Dillon says with the recent heroin drought there appears to have been a dramatic increase in the use of ice, which is cheaper and easier to produce than heroin. Dillon says it is not surprising that more young people are getting caught up in the mental health system and that there is debate over the best forms of treatment for them.
"There have been anecdotal reports from police, ambulance officers, alcohol and other drug workers and even teachers stating that there has been an increase in violent behaviour, which they believe has been linked to drugs other than alcohol," he says.
"Some attribute this directly to the use of the more potent forms of amphetamine known as ice or shabu.
"If we look at the overseas experience, particularly some areas of Asia, where these drugs have been available for some time, there has been an increase in the number of violent crimes."
Forensic psychiatrist Gordon Davies says ice is designed to be smoked and injecting it "really causes problems".
"With amphetamines, a proportion of people who use them develop schizophrenia-like illness," Davies says. "It is not just dose related. You can stop the drug and for weeks or months they can be quite mad. The problem is that ice seems more prone to produce psychotic reactions. The people are difficult and can be dangerous to deal with.
"For treatment, you stop them using the drug and then treat them as though they were schizophrenic, with the same medication. But, unlike schizophrenia, they do well if they don't go back to the ice."
Davies says a lot of ice users are ending up in jail because they are difficult patients and hospitals are reluctant to take them. They end up in prison hallucinating and delusional, "adding to the burden of mental illness in prisons".
Australian Drug Foundation chief executive Bill Stronach says young people getting into difficulty with amphetamines have worse problems than "your standard heroin addict".
"When you come off them, you come down in a screaming heap," Stronach says.
The Family Drug Support Service, which is funded by the NSW Government to run an information line, has noticed a significant increase in calls relating to amphetamines -- up from four to 18 per cent in one year.
"We are hearing a lot more about ice and these more potent forms of amphetamines," founder Tony Trimingham says. "There are definitely indications that the damage they are causing is much more severe. The flow-on for the family is they are dealing with everything from aggression to some extremes of violence. People using amphetamines can be very difficult to manage."
Illustration
Caption: Mind games: An increasing number of young people are landing in psychiatric care after coming a cropper on ice, shabu and new forms of ecstasy; Photo: Photo
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