Australian Doctor December 2006.

It’s cheap, addictive, has dramatic health consequences and is reaching pandemic proportions.

ICE, the high-purity crystalline form of the drug methamphetamine, has very quickly shot from relative obscurity to a party drug of choice. Australia has an estimated 102,600 regular users of methamphetamines, according to the University of NSW’s National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), which believes about 72,700 – two thirds of users – are dependent on the drug. Referred to by users on gay internet sex sites as Point and Play (PNP), Chems, etc.

And therein lies the real problem, according to Professor Nick Crofts, director of the Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Centre in Fitzroy, Melbourne: the high rate of problems such as dependence and psychotic symptoms now being observed in chronic long-term users.

Emergency psychiatric nurse Beaver Hudson, at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital, says ice-related presentations to the emergency department first began to concern him three years ago. Hallucinations, disorganised behavior and injuries such as fractures became more common-place, he says, and in the past year he has seen more and more violently disturbed patients with destructive tendencies. “Those who have been using ice for longer are showing more significant mental health problems. With methamphetamine, it’s all about frequency and duration of use as well as the means of ingestion” Mr. Hudson says.

The difference between ice and other forms of methamphetamine is largely a matter of degree. Ice is about 80% pure (though this can vary significantly) compared to other forms of methamphetamine such as speed or base, which are 10%-20% pure.

INTENSE PSYCHOSIS

Making matters worse, ice is usually smoked or injected, and the faster absorption combined with the greater purity creates an intense user experience that results in high levels of addiction, which in turn accounts for the elevated rates of psychosis found among users.

According to NDARC figures, a quarter of users have reported symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations and paranoia. That’s because methamphetamine mostly works on the neurotransmitter dopamine, high levels of which can result in strange behaviour patterns and psychosis.

Prolonged use of ice can bring on schizophrenia-like symptoms, including anger, panic, hallucinations, formication (sensation of bugs crawling over the skin) and paranoia, which can result in homicidal or suicidal thoughts. And studies have shown that heavy use of methamphetamine can permanently damage dopamine neurons and can reduce brain tissue volume.

According to University of Sydney psychopharmacologist Professor Iain McGregor, recent animal studies show that the long-term neurochemical and behavioural effects may be much worse in range and degree when ice is used intentionally or unintentionally when methamphetamine is added to ecstasy pills.

Ice use brings with it a string of other health and social problems. It affects the kidneys, liver and lungs and can cause strokes and heart attacks. Ice users also have a tendency toward high-risk behaviours, including unsafe sex and intravenous drug use, which runs the risk of contracting blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B and C. The drug can also play havoc with users’ relationships, jobs and finances.

AFTER THE HIGH, BEWARE THE LOW

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

For Help with addiction– See Your HHMP Doctor

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