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Kids on Ice

2014, Drugs  -   21 Comments
7.62
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Ratings: 7.62/10 from 117 users.

If you think the scourge of methamphetamine abuse is limited to what you see in the hit television series Breaking Bad, think again. Meth, a highly addictive and corrosive drug which also goes by street names like "ice", "glass" and "shards", is currently infiltrating the most quaint and unassuming of communities. The harrowing new documentary titled Kids on Ice explores one such region where meth addiction has quickly become a full-scale epidemic - rural Australia.

Degraded by a booming underground methamphetamine industry, these small and otherwise close-knit communities play host to a horrifying cancer; one that's spreading at such an alarming rate that tightly-stretched local law enforcement units are rendered nearly powerless in their attempts to contain it.

Kids on Ice sets its unflinching gaze upon all aspects of the crisis that's currently paralyzing the region. This includes a treatment facility where meth-related admissions have festooned by 80% over the past 18 months. The counselors there are forced to make due with painfully limited resources, and oftentimes must turn away addicts as young as 14 because they lack adequate space to care for them. We're instructed on the methods employed by dealers to swiftly smuggle the drug from highly populated cities to the most remote outlying regions of the country, and we're shown how these same dealers ruthlessly prey upon the innocence and susceptibility of addicted youth to do their bidding.

Perhaps the most heart-wrenching element of the film is its portrayal of the addicts themselves. These are lives that have been forever damaged by the hypnotic allure of the drug. What begins as an easy high soon transforms into a way of life for each of them, resulting in violent outbursts, criminal activities, shattered relationships, and a total loss of reasoning and purpose.

When reporter Caro Meldrum-Hanna asks a young man in recovery to recall his lowest point, his response sheds devastating light on the colossal consequences of addiction. "When I tried to hang myself in my mom's shed," he replies. Addiction tears at the fabric of our society, and there are no easy fixes. But Kids on Ice shows us that salvation begins with understanding.

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21 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Steve

    This documentary isn't lame or dumb. The whole purpose of this documentary is to raise awareness and educate people on how addictive and damaging it can be to people's lives. In my experience, at the root of every person who struggles with an ice addiction is hurt. I think it is a great documentary that anyone who uses or has a family member that uses would find informative.

  2. bebe

    This is kind of a dumb documentary. Jake is obviously high as hell. Look at his pupils.

  3. H

    who is the director?

  4. Paige

    As a recovered meth addict I found this docu sub-par. It's lacking content in terms of a deeper insight into the world of teenagers/ young adults who use and the long-term effects of meth addiction. Disappointed.

  5. Jimmy

    It's all so Simple, isn't it.

  6. mark

    So there you go; don't do ice. Just don't do it. It's really that simple.

  7. bishop deville

    meth doesn't destroy lives used in moderation there are no side effects or even addiction. now abusing the stuff is where the problem is ...

  8. Entertainmentluvva

    Love Tina !

  9. Peter

    Ýou can't stop people using drugs. Why not just legalise it? The evidence from even the police seems to be conclusive that everyone that wants to be high, is getting high. So availability won't change with laws. What will change is the millions wasted on prohibition. Money better spent on rehab and drug education.
    Çrime will decrease, addicts wont need to rob your house to fund their habit and criminal gangs will lose about 80% of their income.
    Of course you will still have a lot of addicts, but we already have that problem either way. The focus should be on harm and cost minimisation.

    1. THISISNOTTHAT

      sure 'they' could that. but of course
      that would be too much like right.

  10. X

    Ballarat police sell methamphetamine back out into the community. Everyone people know here who went to court for drugs went to court for half of what they really had. We know who they are and where they live.

  11. Sony

    On average, Australian police are either pathetically incapable of doing their job, or 'on the take'.

    Sadly the priority of the government is in 'low hanging fruit' like collecting road infringements rather than spending money on investigative work. Similarly funding for preventative community programs is non existent.

    1. Peter

      Every country in the world is losing the war on drugs. So by your standards all police around the world are incapable. Maybe you should join the police and show them how its done ;)

    2. Sony

      The police force does not allow capable officers to go through the system. Anyone who rocks the boat finds themselves isolated and out in the cold. Sadly Australia's police force has an ineffective culture that has been around for a long time and survived a few attempts of cutting out the dead wood.

      The number of corrupt police who are on the take is only exceeded by the number of police officers who are too lazy to work.

    3. Martych

      And what qualifies you to make such wild accusations and assumptions ? Just another keyboard warrior.

  12. miguel pate

    Good doc. My only complaint is that the title is misleading. It's not centered on kids on the drug although it does begin by showing youngsters hooked on it.

  13. Nada nada

    "If you think the scourge of methamphetamine abuse is limited to what you see in the hit television series Breaking Bad..." Jeez what planet have you been living on? Meths everywhere. 9 out of 10 in my workplace use it. Conveniently there's a dealer among us.

    1. Vlatko

      Jeez, where do you work? In a meth lab? Not that I'm judging, but what kind of workplace is that where 9 our of 10 people are meth users?

    2. a_no_n

      i'm guessing a callcentre or something similarly soul destroying.

    3. ConcernedParent

      I am guessing truck drivers, ups, fedex, somewhere in that kind of work. AutoShops as well. It is everywhere man. Even preachers use it.

  14. Jake Harris

    What a lame documentary. What about the way ice causes youngsters to be extremely sexual. One of the most popular football players in my high school was doing crank and turning tricks with men to get cash to buy dope. He got caught in the bathroom at the park getting worked by another dude.