Australia is following the lead of the United States and sending ex-ice users into schools in the hope they can influence kids' attitudes towards drug use, write Nicole Lee and Nicola Newton.
The number of at-risk adolescents in drug and alcohol treatment programs who reported taking methamphetamines doubled in the five years to 2014, new research shows.
Almost 270,000 Australians are regular users of methamphetamine, with the number of young people dependent on the drug more than doubling in the past five years, UNSW research shows.
Australians significantly overestimate the popularity of ice use, skewing perceptions of the drug and the risks it poses, a survey by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre at UNSW has found.
The trend toward smoking ice is associated with elevated levels of psychosis, violence, and cardiovascular problems. Any comprehensive response must include treatment progams targeted at these problems, write Michael Farrell and Rebecca McKetin.
The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr Antonio-Maria Costa, has given an address at UNSW, suggesting that the world drug problem is being contained.
