Insidious drug is everywhere

Its insidious claws sink deep into the psyche of users and don’t let go until they’ve lost their loved ones, their dignity and, in many cases, their freedom. Ice is not just some “bogan aberration” – it’s everywhere.

Those on Tamworth’s drug front line – police officers, paramedics, counsellors – say its use in the city is widespread and increasing by the day.

Demonising drugs, of course, is a newspaper editor’s stock-in-trade. We should accept there are ice users in our community who are highly functioning users, able to straddle the middle line between addiction and normalcy.

But there are many more unable to wriggle free of the drug’s chokehold. These users are not self-indulgent, amoral monsters.

They are people with crippling self-esteem issues and an inability to manage their emotional pain. People with good self-esteem do not use ice.

Like most addicts, they are caught in a dangerous catch-22: the euphoric high ice provides makes them feel so free of themselves they will do anything to feel it again. Pursuing and prosecuting these users will only perpetuate that cycle.

Ice addiction must, therefore, be treated as a health and social problem first. Only by encouraging users to reach out for help can we stop the rising tide of ice-fuelled crime.

Thankfully, Tamworth police chief Clint Pheeney is progressive enough to recognise that, yesterday telling The Leader the force was focusing on arresting suppliers, not users.

The next step is to ensure other local authorities are equipped to deal with the enormity of the problem.

A dedicated detox facility in the region would be a starting point.

Stopping the carousel of highs and lows is a critical circuit-breaker for any addict. The city’s ice epidemic – and that’s what it is – is not just a problem for those on the “wrong side” of the river.

It’s become one of the city’s most pressing social problems. And until we see users as human beings in need of help, it will remain that way.