The stimulant methamphetamine is linked to a heightened risk of stroke among young people, a review by researchers at UNSW’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre has found.
Significant increases in mortality rates between 2009 and 2015 indicate a major methamphetamine problem in Australia, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre researchers say.
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 spread of HIV from injecting drug use in Australia has been contained, largely through the success of needle and syringe programs, according to a 20-year report released by the Kirby Institute at UNSW.
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.
Deaths involving methamphetamine are on the rise in Australia with its use among injecting drug users up 50% in ten years, an analysis from UNSW's National Drug and Alcholol Research Centre has found.
