Impacts-of-methamphetamine-in-Victoria-Community-Assessment-Penington-Institute

Reasons for increased useKey informants were asked to identify reasons for increased use of crystal methamphetamine in theircommunities. A number of factors were considered relevant, and these are outlined below.“Other drugs becoming scarce or having reduced quality”A number of workers believed that changes in the availability and quality of other illicit drugs had ledclients to begin using methamphetamine.Workers in regional areas noted they were seeing people who had a history of using speed (eitherrecently or historically), but were now using crystal methamphetamine. An AOD worker in BarwonSouth West region noted:“It’s the only thing available, there’s no speed anymore.”Another worker stated that in Melbourne heroin had become more expensive and less pure and thishad driven people to use crystal methamphetamine:“... there was a lack of access to a high grade cheap heroin... then there was a change to peopleusing bupe [buprenorphine] and injecting it, and I think because bupe and methadone was such aleveller it became ‘I can use ice, because it gives me a good buzz”- (AOD worker, metropolitanMelbourne)Increased availability and accessibilityDriving the increased use of methamphetamine was its increased availability and increasedaccessibility. A regional youth worker noted:“A client [said] ‘I haven’t had it in three months, but I could go to 13 different houses now in [thisregional centre] and they’d give it to me without money, because they know I’m a frequent flyer’...and she’s from Melbourne.”In a small town, a youth worker reported that the number of people dealing methamphetamine hadincreased:“It was one, but now there’s multiple [dealers].”There was a sense that, in the past, when there was a single dealer, accessibility ofmethamphetamine was limited to a smaller, vulnerable group. However, with a higher number ofdealers it was much more available to a wider range of people.Most workers interviewed for the project said they were able to identify some local locations of bothmethamphetamine manufacturing and distribution points. This intelligence was obtained throughdiscussions with clients, their own family members or local networks.A small number of people interviewed linked increasing levels of methamphetamine with OutlawMotorcycle Gangs (OMCG).33