Decid<strong>in</strong>g to seek helpFor both Xavier and William, long term and regular <strong>methamphetam<strong>in</strong>e</strong> use resulted <strong>in</strong> them hitt<strong>in</strong>g acrisis po<strong>in</strong>t and decid<strong>in</strong>g to seek help. For Xavier, deep depression and suicidality led him to selfharm.“I spent Christmas alone, and that brought me <strong>in</strong>to a very suicidal place. I hit the ice really bad andtried to hurt myself <strong>in</strong> different ways. I’d cut myself up, if I was bleed<strong>in</strong>g I’d bandage myself, and if itgot too serious I’d pour alcohol on it to take out the <strong>in</strong>fection and bandage that up.”After stay<strong>in</strong>g awake for two and a half weeks, he had an altercation with his dealer, which resulted <strong>in</strong>a suicide attempt.“I realised how alone I was, how wrong it was – everyth<strong>in</strong>g I’ve been do<strong>in</strong>g. Some <strong>of</strong> the memories <strong>of</strong>the th<strong>in</strong>gs I’ve done while be<strong>in</strong>g on it...”This ended up be<strong>in</strong>g the catalyst to seek help.“For me it was either get back on the right track or I was too scared I wouldn’t make it... “Both young men were referred to a residential withdrawal service, William through a local AODworker, and Xavier had previously been there to withdraw from cannabis. The service providesresidential withdrawal for young people aged up to 22, for between 10-14 days. It provides a holisticenvironment for young people, where they have access to therapeutic counsell<strong>in</strong>g, specialist AODworkers, and social and recreational programs (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g art spaces, weights room, massage etc).They describe the treatment process as hard. William, who has been <strong>of</strong>f <strong>methamphetam<strong>in</strong>e</strong> formonths notes:“I th<strong>in</strong>k people with a meth addiction, different strategies need to be put <strong>in</strong> place about how they goabout kick<strong>in</strong>g it ... If you’re see<strong>in</strong>g a counsellor about it, th<strong>in</strong>gs have to be done differently...expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g ways to quit, not just you’ve got to stop... For me, I’d do what I did, focus on the twoth<strong>in</strong>gs that before you used you loved most <strong>in</strong> the world... and use that as leverage to get out <strong>of</strong> thathole”He noted that after withdrawal, there was a lot <strong>of</strong> work to do:“I th<strong>in</strong>k any meth addict who goes to see a counsellor needs to be warned, if you want to quit, theywill, but it’s the hard yards. Don’t ever expect that it will be a smooth ride to stop us<strong>in</strong>g because it’snot.”“You get a lot <strong>of</strong> issues arise, because you’re not us<strong>in</strong>g, but you need to f<strong>in</strong>d other ways <strong>of</strong> deal<strong>in</strong>gwith them rather than go<strong>in</strong>g back to us<strong>in</strong>g. Because, ultimately, you’re go<strong>in</strong>g to feel just as shit asyou were.”58
Jordan was plann<strong>in</strong>g over a number <strong>of</strong> years to stop us<strong>in</strong>g altogether, hav<strong>in</strong>g ma<strong>in</strong>ly restricted toweekends.“I have a plan <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d, I’ve given myself ‘X’ amount <strong>of</strong> years to wean myself <strong>of</strong>f it, if I get to a certa<strong>in</strong>po<strong>in</strong>t and it hasn’t happened, you try this you try that, but if all th<strong>in</strong>gs didn’t go to plan <strong>in</strong> a timeframe, I will have to do whatever I need to get <strong>of</strong>f it.”Both young men were optimistic about be<strong>in</strong>g able to stay <strong>of</strong>f <strong>methamphetam<strong>in</strong>e</strong>. They were l<strong>in</strong>ked<strong>in</strong>to ongo<strong>in</strong>g mental health and personal supports, and Xavier was a few months away from secur<strong>in</strong>gstable hous<strong>in</strong>g for the first time <strong>in</strong> four years.SummaryThe accounts <strong>of</strong> the former and current crystal <strong>methamphetam<strong>in</strong>e</strong> users are consistent with other key<strong>in</strong>formants’ accounts concern<strong>in</strong>g the reduced availability <strong>of</strong> speed and <strong>in</strong>crease availability <strong>of</strong> ice. Thisis also consistent with police purity data also discussed earlier. In addition, they describe the periodfrom us<strong>in</strong>g it several times a week, for example, to daily use as happen<strong>in</strong>g quite quickly. Poly druguse is obviously a feature, as is <strong>in</strong>jection. The account from Xavier, who is from rural <strong>Victoria</strong>, po<strong>in</strong>tsto – at least <strong>in</strong> his impression – as the <strong>in</strong>creased availability <strong>of</strong> crystal <strong>methamphetam<strong>in</strong>e</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g abouttwo years ago. Trauma is a common underly<strong>in</strong>g factor <strong>in</strong> their drug use, which <strong>in</strong> their cases, <strong>in</strong>volveddestructive consequences <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g alienation from family and many friends.59
Change language