Crystal Meth in Perth: Western Australia’s Regional Methamphetamine Challenge

Crystal Meth in Perth: Western Australia’s Regional Methamphetamine Challenge

Methamphetamine (commonly referred to as ‘Ice’) poses a severe drug threat throughout Western Australia. Perth, as the state’s capital, has experienced intense and sustained challenges with meth, often ranking among the highest users of ‘ice’ nationally. The state’s isolation, coupled with the high market price, has historically made its ports (like Geraldton) vulnerable points for large-scale methamphetamine seizures, even when the drugs were destined for the East Coast. Consumption is high, and regional areas of Western Australia show the highest rates of methamphetamine-related hospital care.

Regional Usage and Sourcing

• National Context:
Australia’s overall methamphetamine consumption per capita is among the highest globally. Western Australia is consistently identified as a high-use state for ice.
• Regional Harms:
Methamphetamine-related hospitalisations are highly prevalent in Western Australia, particularly in outer regional areas, highlighting a severe problem beyond the Perth metropolitan area.
• Sourcing and Trafficking:
Methamphetamine is imported via sea cargo and mail, primarily originating from China, Hong Kong, and increasingly, Canada. TCOs exploit the isolation of WA ports to move large shipments of drugs.

Severe Health and Social Consequences

The use of high-purity crystal meth is strongly associated with severe chronic and acute health problems, impacting individuals, families, and communities, and incurring significant societal costs.

Physical Effects

• Cardiovascular Damage:
Methamphetamine is a potent stimulant that causes immediate and chronic cardiovascular damage. Use is strongly associated with life-threatening conditions including accelerated atherosclerosis, stroke, heart attack, and heart failure (cardiomyopathies). Deaths involving psychostimulants have risen four-fold in Australia since 2000.
• Systemic Toxicity:
High doses risk fatal or non-fatal overdose (‘overamping’), severe seizures, and dangerous overheating (hyperthermia).
• Dental and Infections:
Users frequently suffer from severe weight loss, poor nutrition, and debilitating dental problems (“meth mouth”). Injecting meth significantly increases the risk of blood-borne viruses like Hepatitis C and HIV, as well as severe skin and heart infections (endocarditis).

Psychological Effects

• Psychosis and Paranoia:
Long-term use causes severe functional and structural changes in the brain’s dopamine system, leading to impaired verbal learning and memory. Users frequently experience severe psychological distress and methamphetamine-induced psychosis, often featuring paranoid delusions and visual or auditory hallucinations. This psychosis can lead to aggression and major safety issues.
• Cognitive Impairment:
Users may suffer from reduced motor speed and significant deficits in memory, attention, and verbal learning.
• Chronic Distress:
Many dependent users experience high levels of anxiety, confusion, insomnia, and mood disturbances.

Social and Community Impact

• Criminal Justice Burden:
The criminal justice system accounts for the largest single cost domain of methamphetamine in Australia. Use is associated with acquisitive and violent offending, increasing the strain on police and courts.
• Societal Costs:
The drug incurs massive costs in healthcare (hospital admissions, treatment for blood-borne diseases), lost productivity (absenteeism), and child maltreatment.
• Treatment Access:
Methamphetamine accounts for over 80% of amphetamine treatment episodes in Australian AOD services. Stigma and discrimination are significant barriers to users seeking help.

Legality and Penalties in Australia (Western Australia)

Methamphetamine is classified as a prohibited drug in Western Australia under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 (WA), carrying some of the toughest state penalties in Australia, including life imprisonment for commercial quantities.

• Possession Penalties (Simple Offence):
Possession or use carries a maximum penalty of a fine of $$2,000$ or imprisonment for 2 years or both.
• Trafficking/Supply (Trafficable Quantity):
Supplying or manufacturing 28g or more of methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
• Federal Importation:
Importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine (a border controlled drug) carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.