Discussing Social and Economic Impact of Drug ‘Ice' in Australia (Essay Sample)

Social and Economic Impact of Drug ‘Ice’ in Australia
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Social and Economic Impact of Drug ‘Ice’ in Australia
Drug ‘ice’ abuse has gained increasing popularity in Australia. It is estimated that one out of ten Australians have tried the drug approximately half a million are current users. Drug ‘ice’ which also known as methamphetamine is an extremely addictive and destructive stimulant similar to amphetamine chemically CITATION Gro08 \p 413 \l 1033 (Grooves, 2008, p. 413). Other names of the drug are ‘base’, ‘ice’, ‘crystal’ and ‘speed. Methamphetamine releases dopamine in reward regions of the brain producing ‘flash’ or ‘rush’ experience among users. The physical and physiological effects of the ‘ice’ include short-term feeling of euphoria and excitement, increased alertness, energy and confidence and feeling of increased strength. Long-term use of methamphetamine drug causes anxiety, high blood pressure and high risk of heart attack, weight loss owing to reduced appetite, chronic sleeping problems, insomnia, confusion, mood disturbances and violent behavior. CITATION Dar08 \p 253-262 \l 1033 (Darke, 2008, pp. 253-262)Chronic use can change the chemical and molecular structure of the brain resulting in impaired verbal learning and reduced motor skills. In Australia however, it is mostly injected.
Methamphetamine labs alongside selling the drug have bred crime CITATION McK \l 1033 (McKetin, n.d.). Individuals addicted steal to get money to buy the drug. Secondly, children are neglected by parents who either ‘cook’ or affected by the drug use. Children who live near these labs are exposed to greater risks in that toxic environment. Consequently, children who live with parents who abuse drugs are exposed to emotional and physical harm. Drug ‘ice’ users are highly exposed to contracting diseases like hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. Users usually feel hypersexual and often forget to use protection. In marriages and relationships where one of the couples is a drug user, it causes hardships on the other half. A person drastically changes in personality and becomes have violent behavior, mood swings, secrecy and other extreme reactions. Use of the drug ‘ice’ can make driving dangerous and it causes wrong judgment of reaction time and distance. A person/child addicted to drug ice will impact on schooling through truanting and poor concentration to studies.
The Australian economy has also suffered due to methamphetamine addiction. Drug ice use has also affected employment. An employee who has developed methamphetamine dependence changes drastically. They change from being an efficient, smart and punctual employee to someone who is always late for work, displays unacceptable levels of behavior, shaggy in appearance and being absent from work. The employee ends up losing the job. The cost of purchasing the drugs by the users consumes resources that could have been in investment CITATION Sol07 \p 1-28 \l 1033 (Soldo S., 2007, pp. 1-28). The drug ice dependents end up spending all their money on these drugs depleting the user’s income. Also, patients who are trying to recover from the addiction incur costs for treatment while some cannot afford the treatment programs. Poverty is often associated with drug abuse. In Australia, most people who addicted the drug are from poor neighborhoods that has less access to health care and support systems. The traffickers of drug ‘ice’ have to corrupt low enforcement officials and the government.
However, methamphetamine drug abuse can be solved efficiently be the community and the government. The best answer to solve it is the treatment through Meth detox whereby the patients are offered medication to eliminate or ease the withdrawal symptoms, according to CITATION Ful07 \p 334 \l 1033 (Fulde, 2007, p. 334). After this process, the patients are taught how to stay clean and go through coubselling sessions. Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association is an association of clinicians, doctors, nurses, specialist and other professionals has offerd support and treatment drug addict including counselling and rehabilitation. The Australian state government needs to come up with drug courts that deal with the offenders. The offenders are encouraged to take medication rather than face time in jail; which is a more therapeutic approach. In April 2015, the Australian Prime Minister came up with a task force to tackle the growing methamphetamine drug scourge. The task force will be in charge of the efforts against, importation, manufacture, sale and use of the drug CITATION Jon13 \l 1033 (Steffanoni, 2013). However, regulation is not the answer but rather the primary source.
For many years now, dealing with the illicit drug ice has been consider...