THE head of the nation’s major organisation supporting Aboriginal people with drug and alcohol issues has put out a blunt warning about crystal methamphetamine.
Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council chief executive officer Scott Wilson said it was terrifying to learn that in many parts of Australia the drug ice is now cheaper to buy than ordering a take away pizza.
Now as cheap as $5, Mr Wilson said Australia’s ice problem was significantly bigger than the community realises and is being under reported.
“It’s absolutely terrifying – so many people in indigenous communities are using the drug recreationally and, put bluntly, shock tactics trying to put people off ice are virtually having no effect,” he said.
“What also alarms us is that the amount of ice being seized by police seems to be making little difference, it’s not stopping crystal meth being out there on the street.”
Mr Wilson is calling for the development of rapid response teams across Australia to deal with the problem as it “has got completely out of hand”.
“We believe passionately that there need to be new ways forward when it comes to tackling ice, we need more peer support workers in this field,” he said.
“You have to take the moralistic tone out of this debate, telling people on ice they are doing something stupid isn’t really going to cut it.
“We know that people on ice are much more likely to listen to people who have had problems themselves and understand where a person might be with the issue.
“Our biggest concern is as simple as this – the practical support isn’t out there to help people, the problems are massive and many indigenous communities are being torn apart.”
