ATS Literature Review, Consultations & Trial - Odyssey House

Amphetamine‐Type Stimulants: Development of a Treatment Protocol
• tolerance, defined as either a need to use larger amounts to achieve desired effect, or
decreased effect with continued use of the same amount of substance;
• withdrawal;
• increased dosage and duration of the substance use;
• unsuccessful attempts to cut down or control substance use;
• increased time spent to obtain the substance, use the drug or come down from the drug;
• giving up social, occupational and recreational activities because of substance use; and
• continued substance use despite knowledge of having an awareness of negative
consequences (e.g., physical or psychological problems) (American Psychiatric Association,
2000)
As with any drug, users of methamphetamine may do so on an occasional, regular or dependent
basis. What constitutes harmful substance use has been the subject of much debate. A traditional
view has been that drug‐related harm is mostly related to drug dependence. While those who are
dependent on substances generally do experience harm, it is now recognised that a wider
perspective needs to be addressed. A useful model highlighting this broader perspective is provided
by Thorley (1982).
1.1 Prevalence: Australia
Intoxication
Regular use Dependence
Figure 1. Thorley’s model of drug harm
The Victorian Amphetamine‐type Stimulants (ATS) and Related Drugs Strategy 2007‐2010 Discussion
Paper (2007), notes that while the use of ATS in the general community remains low, these drugs are
now the second most commonly used illicit drugs after cannabis.
The 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (2008) reports 7.7% of males (0.7 million) and
4.9% of females (0.4 million) over 14 years of age having tried meth/amphetamine over the course
of their lifetime. Three percent of males and 1.6% of females aged 14 years and over had used
meth/amphetamine for non‐medical purposes in the 12 months prior to the survey. A total of 6.3%
of the general population has used meth/amphetamine. These figures translate to approximately
1.1 million Australians having used meth/amphetamine in their lifetime. Just 2.3% of the population
have used meth/amphetamine in the past 12 months. It is important to note that both recent and
lifetime use of meth/amphetamine has dropped since the 2004 survey. These results are statistically
significant (AIHW, 2008).
Lifetime use of ecstasy is higher than meth/amphetamine use, at 8.9% of the population, and recent
use is 3.5%. Therefore, approximately 1.5 million Australians have used ecstasy at some time in their
life, and approximately 0.6 million have used ecstasy in the past 12 months.
Page 16 © Lynne Magor‐Blatch & James A. Pitts: Odyssey House McGrath Foundation 2008‐2009