Australia: The World Today - WA crackdown on amphetamine use

ELEANOR HALL: Western Australia's Drug and Alcohol Office is about to release new guidelines for managing amphetamine users.

The move is in response to a rise in mental health problems caused by the abuse of amphetamines, particularly "ice".

WA has the highest rate of amphetamine use in Australia.

And it's estimated that amphetamine users make up more than 10 per cent of mental health admissions to hospitals.

In Perth, David Weber reports.

DAVID WEBER: The rate of amphetamine use in WA is more than four per cent of the population, where the national rate is just over three per cent.

The Executive Director of the Drug and Alcohol Office, Terry Murphy says most of the amphetamine abuse involves 'ice', which is more potent than traditional forms of speed. He says that between 60 to 80 per cent of amphetamine users are smoking ice.

Mr Murphy says there's been an attendant increase in those seeking help.

TERRY MURPHY: Our alcohol and drug treatments services, a quarter of their clients - and they saw 20,000 in this state last year - a quarter of them are there to deal with their amphetamine problem and our services are coping well.

With the mental health services, we are just about the release guidelines for mental health services to manage amphetamine related psychosis.

DAVID WEBER: Are these guidelines being developed because of the increase or is it because of the particular problems that those people have?

TERRY MURPHY: Well, it’s both. These people present the same problems as everybody else suffering their first psychosis, but they also present problems unique to their drug and alcohol use, of which amphetamines are a big part.

So, developing guidelines for mental health services helps them actually with the medical questions relate to their amphetamine use specifically.

DAVID WEBER: Is there a suggestion that people are falling through the cracks?

TERRY MURPHY: I don’t think so. I’m pretty confident that our drug and alcohol services are picking up the people who need treatment, but it’s important to always be vigilant because these people can be very difficult clients; they drop out of treatment early; they need often assertive follow up.

DAVID WEBER: The WA Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies says services have developed new levels of expertise to deal with the large numbers of amphetamine users.

The Network's Director, Jill Rundle says those who've abused amphetamines exhibit a unique mix of problems.

JILL RUNDLE: Erratic behaviour, different demands that they have on agencies. If they’re residential agencies, for example, they have sleep issues, they have a whole range of things; they often have violence or aggression issues, mood swings, a whole range of things.

DAVID WEBER: Have services been stretched?

JILL RUNDLE: They have indeed been stretched over the last few years, with the increasing numbers of amphetamine users. Absolutely.

Amphetamine users are more time consuming. There’s often more agencies that they need to work in partnership with, you know for case management, working with mental health services or working with justice or working with a whole range of other services to meet the complex needs of the consumer.

ELEANOR HALL: Jill Rundle is the Director of the Western Australian Network of Alcohol and other drug agencies. She was speaking to David Weber in Perth.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Thur, 20 April 2006
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia -Web)
Reporter: David Weber
Email: comments@your.abc.net.au
Copyright: 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Website: http://www.abc.net.au/