National Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Strategy Background Paper

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in designing the Resilience Education and Drug Information program. Peer education
approaches have been used both to prevent the uptake of drug use and to reduce problems
in those already using. Evidence suggests peer education is particularly suited to younger
persons and in accessing populations that would not otherwise present to health or drug
specialist services. AIVL has developed a framework for peer education and an example
of such an initiative is RaveSafe, delivered by VIVAIDS in Victoria. With regard to ATS,
campaigns are needed that specifically target young people; certain workplaces; Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people and CALD populations; parents and families; and the
general community.
Harm reduction strategies generally target risks and harms of drug use associated with
particular routes of administration, intoxication, regularity of use and dependence. Within these
categories, strategies may be aimed at developmental effects, physical or health outcomes,
personal safety issues, mental health consequences or impacts on social wellbeing. As with
prevention strategies, particular groups and/or behaviours are associated with higher risks
and harms. With regards to ATS, some targets that have been identified include gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender populations; injecting behaviours; and regular users of ecstasy and
related drugs. Also of consideration in harm reduction is the potential role of methods to
assess the risks of illicitly manufactured drugs, such as tests of purity and content.
There are a number of challenges to applying prevention and harm reduction strategies to
ATS use and related problems. Of note is the large number of ATS users who do not identify
themselves as drug users and are therefore unlikely to access services or resources.
Another issue in designing strategies is the need to target a diverse range of ATS users,
using environments and user practices. At present, there is limited evidence to guide
activities targeting ATS use.
A related issue is the need to build the capacity of the workforce to engage in and
successfully implement prevention and harm reduction strategies. Again, this is complicated
by the absence of contact many ATS users have with health and other services, and
therefore a range of professionals need to be informed and trained in relation to ATS.
Both the literature and experience of many involved in the consultations indicate that the
development of campaigns must anticipate outcomes which are evidence based. Strategies
need to be targeted to particular populations (e.g., injecting users, professionals, long distance
drivers), regions (e.g., urban, rural and remote), contexts of use (e.g., nightclub scene,
home use) and specific types of ATS (e.g., campaigns will be different for ecstasy than for
methamphetamine). They need to be informed by theories of attitudinal and behavioural
change, and may benefit from the involvement of current or ex- ATS users in developing
campaigns. Finally, a variety of media outlets including night venues, internet and other new
technologies (e.g., mobile phones) should be used for wide dissemination of materials.