Ice Age
It's cheap, highly addictive and ultra-powerful. Ice, or crystal methamphetamine, is now more popular than heroin. It plays havoc with the minds and the bodies of addicts, filling emergency wards with dangerous, psychotic patients. But little is known about the long-term effects of the drug or even how to treat the addiction.This documentary reports on the hidden, growing epidemic.
Methamphetamine has medical uses as well as the potential to cause addiction. Methamphetamine addiction typically occurs when a person begins to use the drug as a stimulant, for its powerful enhancing effects on sex, mood and energy, alertness and ability to concentrate, and weight loss and appetite suppression, among its other psychological and physical effects.
Over time tolerance develops, and users have greater difficulty functioning and experiencing pleasure than they did before, which persists indefinitely due to neurotoxicity produced by methamphetamine in long-term recovered addicts.
Any ex- meth addicts comenting here?. Just curious.
What has the government done?? What are they doing about it?
um yeah... this guys is tripping this drug is by no means cheap. propaganda at its finest.. not saying that this drug has the potential to ruin anyones life........... just like the good legal drugs alcohol and prescription drug that docs pass around.
Breaking Bad.
would like an update on those people now. :/
There was once a junky got high and made racial remarks about me on the train (I live in Sydney and I believe they're in Redfern). These people constantly receives allowance from Centrelink and Centrelink receives their money from tax payers.
I used to question the use of my tax money because I believe it can be better used on prison or forced rehab center for these people. But the sad fact is unless we violate human rights, there is nothing we can do. In addition, if we stop paying these people, we will have a much higher crime rate than before.
To me, watching this documentary is not a shock at all because I travel through Western Suburbs and City every day and you see these people every day..
we dont' have an "ice problem" in canada really.. but it's like anything else. Where you find it, there are pockets of problem users. But yeah.. i am disabled AND I work for a living. Hard. And i pay a buttload of taxes. I hate that i have to play by the rules but they do not. Oh sure.. i COULD go on disability and my doctor has suggested it but until i am unable to do my job, i WANT to continue working because i like what i do. But then i am confronted by people who, let's be brutally honest here, choose not to work. I think addiction sweeps the addict along but remaining an addict is a choice because i also know a lot of former addicts (to all kinds of things) who recovered and are leading very productive lives. My disability is truly not a choice. It resulted from an injury that i had no control over. And yet i carry on as best i can. It irks the hell out of me because pain itself has some similar symptoms as addiction. It causes you to become obsessed with managing pain on a daily basis. It causes you to become closed within a dark, sad world. where between you and the outside world, there is a wall of pain that removes you from a lot of aspects of normal life and society. It can, if you're not careful, make you selfish, bitter and destructive. It causes you to think and do things you'd never normally have considered thinking or doing. The only difference is that you truly don't have a choice. Pain is there. There is no detox. There is no talk therapy. Nothing like this can fix it. You have to find what resources you can and every case is different. And no matter how hard you want it to stop, in many cases it will only get worse with time. Yet most chronic pain sufferers i know, including myself, are expected to carry on until we fall off our feet.
let's say i WANTED to go on a disability. I don't but let's say i decided i had to and chose that path. It could happen who knows? I would have to turn myself inside out to prove that i was unable to work. Yet in my city a drug addict pretty much instantly qualifies. They are not expected to jump through the same hoops as sick or injured people.
This makes me angry in a way that few things in life bother me. And then i go out on the street and get snarky comments from addicts because i can't spare any change. I have recently taken to saying "talk to the canadian government. I gave your money to them."
aw, man, forget it, I didn't watch long enough, its explained right after..
Why is Jason on Buprenorphine therapy, Crystal meth is not an opiate?? Is he on heroin as well? I didn't hear that mentioned at all..
Yes he was on heroin too, they mentioned it several times.
The only thing preventing these addicts from overdosing is lack of money. They need less free payouts instead of more. And treating drug addiction with more drugs does not work.
@karenep: I totally support all that you said. Your critics are just convicted of the same sins you justly reproved in others. Way to go!
oops @ ryan s was supposed to be @ audiophile. sorry ryan!
@ wantsum > Crystal meth has been around since 1995 in Oz? I used to be a hardcore raver back then and all i recall was powder speed. I thought the ice came a bit later than that, but i could be wrong.
@ryan s > Yes the picture on this vid is small, it was much clearer when it was broadcast on tv many years ago.
@ian and graham > regarding the tooth rot factor, that also happens to crack addicts who smoke too much crack, again mainly in the usa, but we are starting to see the problems here too now, with so many meth addicts and so many smoking it daily and more than once a day alot we are seeing many problems with meth mouth, it will only get worse as so many are getting addicted to this drug, the most addictive drug in the world. And it's got no natural properties in it, it's all horrible stuff like battery acid and drain cleaner and other yucky things. No wonder it drives people insane.
old message but yes crystal meth was in aus by the mid 90s. Adelaide at least.
Vlatko,
the quality of this video was so bad that I could barely make out what was going on. Is there another source or am I doing something wrong? Thanks for your help and THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH FOR MAINTAINING THIS SITE!!!
aloha
Roxy! very nice choice of words to karenep.
so karenep......
i came from a broken home where drugs were a regular thing on the kitchen table...
So that means i have a drug problem and my 15 year old daughter is going to have 1 as well..... well i guess i should quit my 150k a year job (MASTER ELECTRICIAN IN ALBERTA CANADA)
and start doing drugs, vulgar language and i guess i should send my daughter amongst the wolves. as i don't care for my family!
what a outlook on life you must have... go back to your cave and draw on the wall.. we will let you know when they invent the wheel!!!
@ karenep.......I never involve myself in these conversations, or better yet arguments for the fact that I see them as such a waste of time and energy but in this case I couldn't help myself so here's a little tip for you..Before you publicly go on to put other people down and raise yourself onto a pedestal in regards to a subject you have absolutely no knowledge on, PLEASE use spell check or at least double ( maybe triple ) check your comments. It's spelled, and pronounced, LEARNED not learnt. Unfortunately your entire credibility is dismissed when you show your 3rd grade level of writing and spelling. And since you show such obvious disgust and hatred toward addicts maybe you should stick to documentaries that are happy and cheerful and hopefully, in your case, educational.
To wanstsum.
I'm with you.
Unfortunately, because the group of users you describe do not present themesleves as problems to society, they're not deemed 'news worthy'. Furthermore, if they were to tell their stories in a similar fashion to this they would probably end up loosing their respectable places in society.
this clip is nothing like myself. Ive used this drug for 15 years and i brush 2x a day, eat 3 meals a day, and sleep everynight. there is a different group of users that are fuctioning meth users. im a smoker but know others who put in there coffee instead. I know doctors, restate agents, insurance brokers, dentists, child psy, nurses for er. all of which keep there drug habits in check. i think most people dont think its possible but it is. We all function on this drug at our work. and in our lives.we just dont let it over power whats more important. I dont choose to get high over my responsiblites. i never miss work, or steal from my job, and wouldnt let it make or break me. i can go days, weeks, and months with out it. ive even done years of being sober. which was a personal choice to stop. its just get more enjoyment out of doing things when im high.
I am the same way but we don't represent the majority of users. I used to wonder why it didn't seem to effect me like it did everyone else, I am told for me it has to do with my being Bi-Polar, I also have ADD and have been prescribed stimulants, this is just a stronger version, I can take the ones I get from the doc and go right to sleep.
indeed, lots of people out there not blowing it or have ADHD and can handle it.
I think if more dealers self policed and cut off the estimated half or so of the population that goes off digging for gold in their back yard or living out snuff film fantasies as soon as they try it it wouldn't have the bad label it does.
A neighbor had a friend who was one of those, even a little bit and he'd get all wild eyed, his jaw started moving back and forth, and crazy events always happened. Eventually it got to the point where nobody would sell it to him or give him any. He moved to Arizona and was in med school, hadn't done any in a year, had a hot G/F, was on the straight and narrow, came out to visit with the G/F for thanksgiving and behind her back talked my neighbor (who'd forgotten how bad he would get) into getting some for them to party. 10 minutes later I heard a slammed door and screeching tires, the G/F peeled out and headed to Arizona when she got a look at "wired" Robert. (he'd never told her he'd even used it, let alone the Mr Hyde results) Robert had all the ashtrays dumped out on my neighbor's brand new leather couches, trying to roll a cigarette from about 100 butts, so my neighbor threw him out too. The neighbor said later when Robert got to Arizona by bus his G/F had thrown all his belongings on the sidewalk and changed the locks of the apartment they shared.)
Most disturbing it this guy did get through med school and I believe is now a surgeon.
The litmus test you must pass: Can you go straight to work in the morning, or must you detour to the adult video store, and get to work whenever?
My experience with crystal is she is an enticing liar. There is the short term promise of getting more things (work?) done, being more creative, ambitious projects. If you have discipline they can be realized. You can be more outgoing, stay out late, going to parties, shut down the bars, bring the girls home.
Over time however it becomes a matter of diminishing returns and in the end often left with less of any of the above than you ever had before. You are an introvert. You have no ambition or creativity.
It's not all bad I guess, one way to look at it is packing 60 years of living into 30. Just have to deal with the fact at 50 parts of you would be more commonly found on an 80 year old.
You only hear about the bad addicts cause they are the ones in the news and the only ones the public see
In answer to the dentistry question
- We have a slighty better public and private health systems over here. It doesn't cost as much to see a dentist.
Other factors could be the availability of different types of food, living conditions and even the types of advertising and level of awareness in regard to other health issues. However this seemes to document the use of ice intravenously.
This is a great vid from 4 corners.
No bulls^it with the ABC!
It freaks me out ... the lifestyle you can end up with, after attempting in the first instance to have a good time!
Yo vlatko :D
Is it just me, or does the video quit at 15 minutes or so..?
Maybe some anti-embed thingy Joost may have gotten this month, could you look into it (cause it's a great docu).
Grtz
@Nielsch probably it's just you. Everything seems fine with the video. Playing flawlessly. Sorry.
Oh yeah, meth addicts usually don't worry themselves with the topic of sleeping on the streets. This is because they don't sleep much...anywhere.
Yes, smoking meth is mostly where the tooth decay comes from. The chemicals swirl around the teeth again and again. The mouth produces less saliva, leaving the mouth with high acidity levels. Not eating for days on end is harmful to teeth as well, plus when people are high on meth they don't usually brush their teeth.
an additional factor is meth creates a craving for simple carbohydrates, AKA sugar. A soda habit wreaks havoc on teeth. I know some people that went from drinking a 12 pack of beer a day to using meth and drinking a 12 pack of Mountain Dew instead.
This documentary reiterated that there are no benefits of a life in drugs. Drug addicts seem to be in the world of dismal and gloom. They don't have peace and joy in their lives and are pathetic. They are selfish individuals who don't care about their families and society. I learnt one thing, a life of vices/sin can only reproduce more vices/sin e.g. vulgar language, drinking, smoking, fornication, illegitimate children, not holding a job, committing crimes, filthy homes etc. Best not to be a fool and get into this demonic bondage!
while i distrust the heavily religious undertones of this speech (because taking drugs is YOUR choice unless you're forced-fed drugs) And i also am offended by the whole idea that illegitimate children are a direct result of being a drug-addict (pfft.. please..) or that "not holding a job" is symbolic of drug addiction (ever been disabled??) and lots of addicts live seemingly clean lives on the surface (in short, i dislike your self-righteous assumptions based on knowledge of pretty much nothing except your own stereotypes and sense of self-satisfaction - of what i can't tell) I agree with you. Addicts ARE selfish and lead pathetic lives. It's part of the description of addiction. If your loved one is addicted, it is shallow and evil to stop loving them but it is survival to stop contacting them regularly. They will drag you down. Addiction produces a sense of short-term sociopathy in most cases. You will be manipulated and fooled and humiliated and harmed over and over again by addicts. Most cannot be trusted and the ones who can are the truly tragic stories of addiction.
Do i have a source for any of this? You bet your ass i do (look.. i swore and i'm not an addict.. holyshit!) My uncle was a drunk. A gentleman drunk which means he only drank the best alcohol and held a steady and good job but a drunk nonetheless. My best friend was, and still is, an addict and while a very, VERY good person and an very honest person, he turns his psychotic harmful nature inwards and does terrible things to himself.
However, here's where you get to go to school. You can't always blame addiction on the addict. To do so is shortisghted, foolish and naive. If you hurt yourself badly, (car accident, let's say) you sound like the kind of person who would do exactly what your doctors tell you. This is how most prescription drug addicts are made. Did you know that? There are still people in this world who stupidly and blindly believe Big Pharmacy gives a crap about them. They want your money and, especially in the USA, addiction is a business for them and they are TOLD to get injured patients addicted to whatever they can. Fools follow and the only thing you can blame them for is being too stupid, or in too much pain from their illness or injuries, to not do their relevant research first, or not being smart enough or sophisticated enough to be able t discern what research is good and what is not.
My source on THAT? I have extensive sciatic nerve damage due to pro-track performance as a girl and became addicted to the medications that my doctors told me to take. They told me a daily dose of this drug was the only way to manage crippling pain (as in couldn't get to the toilet on my own - sometimes for months at a time. Lie in bed and had to be dressed by family. Upper body shakes from spasms caused by nerve damage etc..)
The doctors pumped me full of painkillers. And i, madam, did NOT stop working. I did not do my family or loved ones harm or steal money or other drugs. Sure, i sat around cussing and my dear you will too when your turn comes (and it will.. we all eventually are crippled if we're lucky enough to live that long) I have no children, i have no criminal record and my home is immaculate. I was never on welfare and the only time i didn't work was the time i took off because i was paralyzed and unable to get out of bed. I am a professional and a good person. Were these drugs a vice? You bet! Because i was seeking a life of no pain. And i began to crutch on the drugs as a means to that end.
Did i stop taking them? yes. I did. I realized that my life was a cloud of opium-induced pain-avoidance and i flushed them. And spent the next YEAR learning not only how to manage my disability (internal martial arts, acupuncture, water therapy and stretching - eastern medicine is the ONLY thing that can treat chronic, non-terminal pain - and i am pleased to say i am not only pain free but also a pretty serious martial arts student now - and i have my Sifu to thank for most of my recovery) but learning how to get free of a drug that truly does stop ALL KINDS of pain and is blindingly addictive.
I have something that i reckon you do not when it comes to this subject. Education.
Like i say, i agree with everything you say. Meth amphetamine is especially a dirty and dangerous drug and addicts do terrible and destructive things to get more of it. That is non-contestable. But your self-righteous attitude is going to come back and bite you in the ass. Hard. Either one day when you face your own pain or mortality or when one of your children, twisted from your high expectations, winds up in a facility of some kind for their rebellious and bad choices.
Have some empathy for your fellow human beings. You'll find people will detest you less. Don't be so openminded that your brain falls out but you're only human. And you have no idea what tomorrow holds. I didn't either.
I recently developed Sciatica. it SUCKS.
how nice for you that you have been able to through what you have to deal with. mental illness is real and it, like any other problem, occurs to varying degrees. much like cancer, some who get it die while others do not. not everyone can decide to stop using drugs--but it really is a miracle when people can and do. it's also a miracle that you, with all that you have to handle, are so resilient. why not judge less and understand more?
Those who have been there are the only ones who are in any position to judge. Airheads who never have (and i'm not implying that you are one of those.. just a general observation about people) are in no position to judge those who have been baptized by fire.
You're equally as judgmental as anyone else. You just choose to judge differently.
Let's look at this rationally for a moment. A guatamalan heroin addict doesn't really have much choice. But in some very lucky corners of the world, we have options available to us that most of the planet can only dream of. If you wish to get help it's as simple as getting help.
Of course mental illness is real. But for every 1 person who is severely mentally ill, you have a thousand people who use it as an excuse. And doctors and pharmacists ready to exploit that. I can absolutely admit that there are truly unfortunate people out there. Are you really saying you're unable to admit that it's also an easy system to cheat? These are not mutually exclusive truths. They both exist in tandem.
this was meant to be a reply to the first thing i wrote.. i moved it into a reply section. It's probably one of the most important things i've written on this site.. i wanted it to be in context. Sorry..
That's one thing I was also wondering about.. Perhaps it just wasn't shown graphically like the US documentary or Aussies know to take better care of their teeth and drink plenty of water while "skating". I thought also the factor that none of those people were driven to sleeping on the streets and deprived of having and home and money for neccessities. Or maybe shooting up meth instead of smoking it has a better effect on your teeth?
This doc shows how the effects of certain hard narcotics will DESTROY your sense of self preservation as well as a persons natural ability to judge 'normal,' from insane. It's a drug in a class all it's own. Methamphetamine is more corrosive than any other drug I've ever seen documented. I still wonder how the Aussies get away w/o having the severe dental problems the crystal users have in the US. Is the difference in hygiene or the ingredients of the drug.
Wow this is a great documentary to scare you out of doing ice. I had a weekly habit a few years ago and still crave the drug but this was a good wake up call to show me the spiral I could slip in to if I pick up that old lifestyle again.