Crystal Meth in Adelaide: South Australia’s Drug Market Vulnerability

Crystal Meth in Adelaide: South Australia’s Drug Market Vulnerability

Methamphetamine (commonly referred to as ‘Ice’) poses a severe drug threat throughout South Australia. Adelaide, the state capital, has been consistently identified as a region with high levels of ‘ice’ use nationally. The state’s drug laws are notable for including a specific Police Drug Diversion Program for simple possession offenses, reflecting an emphasis on health intervention over immediate criminalisation for low-level users. However, the broader crisis continues, with high rates of hospital care for meth-related issues in both the capital and outer regional areas.

Regional Usage and Sourcing

• National Context:
Australia’s overall methamphetamine consumption per capita is among the highest globally. South Australia is consistently identified as a high-use state for ice.
• Consumption Trends:
The impact of ice is significant across the state, with high rates of hospital care for meth-related issues in both the capital and outer regional areas.
• Sourcing and Trafficking:
Methamphetamine is imported via sea cargo and mail, primarily originating from China, Hong Kong, and increasingly, Canada. TCOs actively target the lucrative Australian market.

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 vasoconstrictor, leading to acute effects like stroke, heart attack, hypertensive crises, and chronic conditions like cardiomyopathy (heart failure). 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 aggression.
• 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 (South Australia)

Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule 8 controlled drug in Australia. The legal framework operates under the state-based Controlled Substances Act 1984 (SA) and federal law for importation.

• Possession Penalties (Simple Offence):
Simple possession or consumption carries a maximum penalty of $$2,000$ or imprisonment for 2 years, or both. A Police Drug Diversion Program is available for first-time simple possession offenders to avoid court.
• Trafficking/Supply (Trafficable Quantity):
Basic trafficking offences carry maximum penalties of 10 years imprisonment or a fine of $$50,000$, escalating with commercial quantities to maximum penalties of life imprisonment.
• Federal Importation:
Importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment