Young Gold Coasters are risking their health by using prescription drugs to come down from binges
DRUG use is rife on the Gold Coast and it can be revealed young users are not just using the standard illegal substances. Now they are turning to something else to keep the high going.
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GOLD Coast youth are abusing prescription medication as they come down from massive binges on recreational drugs.
Kieran Palmer, clinical services manager and psychologist with the Noffs Foundation, said the young people he saw at Southport rarely used prescription meds as their drug of choice.
“We find they commonly used them as a secondary drug, to help with coming down and to level things out after a binge on ice that lasted a couple of days,” he said.
Mr Palmer said a recent study by the Australian Institute Of Health And Welfare (AIHW) showed that in the past three years, ice use had dropped, while prescription meds and cocaine abuse had shown the largest increases.
“The latter are generally used by people in more middle-class, higher socio-economic groups, which highlights the importance of prioritising funding for treatment and prevention services,” he said.
“It also highlights the fact that it’s not just lower socio-economic groups who are having difficulties with substance abuse, which brings into question proposed initiatives such as
mandatory drug testing and potentially cutting off welfare payments.
“These would further disadvantage a group already facing many social and economic challenges.
“The issue is that there are not enough treatment facilities and programs and an increase in funding for them is the way to go.”
Noffs works with youth aged 12-25 who are generally from lower socio-economic backgrounds and face a range of challenges such as poverty and mental health.
Their programs show significant improvements in substance abuse, mental health and quality of life.
For more details or help, phone 1800 753 300 or visit noffs.org.au.
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