Lockdowns behind worsening ice scourge

Victoria’s world record lockdown has spurred a spike in drug abuse, with ice use surging while the state’s residents were confined to their homes.

A report has found ice use soared during Victoria’s lengthy lockdown.

Use of the illicit drug ice jumped in Victoria as the state entered its second year of Covid lockdowns, a new report has revealed.

As the price of heroin doubled and cocaine use plateaued, the stable price and ease of access to the stimulant made it the go-to drug for regular users last year.

The latest Victorian Drug Trends Report found that recent use of methamphetamines – mainly ice – jumped from 66 per cent in 2020 to 79 per cent last year.

Frequency and duration of use also increased. The average period of use soared from 12 days to 55 days, while 70 per cent reported using ice at least weekly last year compared to 44 per cent the year before.

The report, conducted by the University of New South Wales’ National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, is based on annual surveys of about 150 Victorians who regularly inject drugs.

The findings echo results from the most recent National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, which found methylamphetamine remains the most consumed illicit drug across the country.

Turning Point director Professor Dan Lubman said his support services and hotlines had seen a “dramatic increase” in harms related to alcohol, drugs and gambling since the pandemic started.

“That relates to issues like financial insecurity, psychological distress, feelings of hopelessness,” Prof Lubman said.

“We’ve seen an upsurge in harms related to particularly alcohol and gambling; increases in hospitalisations, ambulance attendances, injuries and calls to the helpline.

“In that atmosphere of insecurity in the pandemic, as humans we tend to tend to use alcohol, drugs or gambling to help cope, to escape and manage that distress.”

With the Victorian report also revealing that just over a third of drug users were involved in drug treatment at the time of their interview last year – down from almost 60 per cent the year before – Prof Lubman said their national Rethink Addiction campaign aimed to help turn this statistic around.

“We are calling for a rethink to how we respond to addiction. They are the most stigmatised health conditions. People often struggle in silence and don’t come forward for the treatment that we know works,” Prof Lubman said.