Drugs forum hears ice scourge has spread to desperate mothers at home

THE ice epidemic has cut so deeply into Australian society that even housewives are turning to the drug to help them get through the day.

DESPERATE mothers are getting hooked on danger drug ice because they believe they need it to become “super mums” and to get through the day.

Community forums have heard frightening claims that some women are taking ice — the common name for crystal methamphetamine — just to get through the day, while drug counsellors have seen first-hand women using ice to “cope with the kids”.

In many cases they are aged in their 30s and ice is the first drug they have used.

Jack Nagle, himself an ice survivor and now drug counsellor with Melbourne-based DayHab, told news.com.au mothers using ice was something he saw regularly.

“I see young women or women in their middle years who have children and who are most definitely using ice to deal with the day-to-day duties with the kids or deal with the kids and go to work as well. They feel like they can’t get through the day.”

Mr Nagle said it was scary but “quite common thing”.

“It’s finding enough hours in the day to do everything,” he said. “The mothers feel by smoking ice it keeps them awake for longer to do all the things they feel they need to do. I guess what happens to them over a period of time is that’s of course not sustainable and they end up crashing and burning and wrecking everything.”

Disturbingly, these users didn’t fit the profile of a typical drug user.

The drug crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, seized in police raid.

“That’s the scary thing. What we’re seeing with ice is, with most other drugs, mostly it starts with young age, but this might start after hearing about it and its people that haven’t used drugs before and get hooked to it.”

At least six new mothers per month came in to seek treatment, mainly aged in their 30s and 40s. He feared the actual number of users was far, far higher.

“It begs the question, how many are not getting help for it?” Mr Nagle said.

A big problem for mother addicts was the stigma and shame attached to it. In many cases, just finding someone to look after the children was a barrier to seeking help.

Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash told news.com.au she was stunned when community workers told her it was happening.

“They were saying mums they knew of were taking the drugs … The words she said was that housewives were taking it to be super mums,” Senator Nash said.

“They were the words actually used. So they could cope better and [the discussion] was all off the back of the impacts of this drug and why people were taking it and what they were doing. It’s so concerning.”

The revelations follow the formation of a National Taskforce to combat the problem and a growing realisation that more radical thinking was needed to smash the ice epidemic.

It’s believed at least 7 per cent of the Australian population aged 14 years or older have reported using amphetamine or methamphetamine at least once and those that are hooked are using it more often.

A scene from a government ice campaign. Ice use among young mothers is said to be happening in Australia.

The government has started a National Taskforce to deal with the ice epidemic.

“I suppose there’s various things that help various people get through the day that are in difficult circumstances or hard circumstances or whatever; ice isn’t the only thing people turn to. But what has become clear is the rapid escalation of this,” Senator Nash said.

Since she began investigating the issue, there had been some feedback the ice problem was being overblown.

But at the grassroots level, she’d been left in no doubt of the havoc the drug was creating.

“I’ve been around the country and I’ve talked to people literally across the community from police to social workers, indigenous community members, community workers, schools, and churches — a real broad spectrum,” she said.

It was through those discussions the level of concern came through.

“It’s like a jigsaw. With all these piece of the puzzle once you put it together you get the whole picture,” she said.

She pointed to the recent disclosure from the Australian Crime Commission that regional and rural communities were being targeted by drug dealers, which explained why drug activity was being talked about in those areas.

“So it’s like, hang on, this is happening [and in places] where we haven’t seen it before,” Senator Nash said.

It was impossible to know how widespread the issue was. Senator Nash cautioned against an overreaction, but said the news was troubling, as mums were the last group you’d expect to become hooked.

“I mean, it was feedback from a community forum. I don’t want to be alarmist that women around the country in their lounge rooms are doing this, but the fact is it was raised as an issue. It’s of concern at least at some level, and points to the fact that broad cohort of people are getting involved.”

The important thing to consider was the reach of the drug. “That is the key thing,” she said.

In March, Australian Crime Commission chief executive Chris Dawson said ice was a destructive drug and posed a massive risk to Australia.

“Ice is causing untold harm to communities,” he said.

The disturbing report showed the use of ice increasing, as was its purity and the number of related seizures.

It was not only homegrown drug labs — both the gang-operated labs and the smaller Breaking Bad-style cooks — that was spreading addictions, but more international criminals sending their product to our shores because of the high price they can get here.

If you need help with drugs, phone DayHab on 1800 329 422 or visit the website.

Originally published as Drugs forum hears ice scourge has spread to desperate mothers at home