The side-effects of methamphetamine use generally make people cringe – scabs, paranoia, heart failure, hallucinations, skin crawling and tooth rot.
But there’s one side-effect that makes the dangerous drug highly sought after – weight loss.
Australians have been turning to the highly addictive drug to lose kilos as young as 12, Triple J’s Hack reported and it’s part of rapidly growing use in Australia.
Guests on the program yesterday said abuse of the drug in regional Australia has shifted from seeking recreational highs to trying to get a model physique.
Kids as young as 12 are using ice to stay skinny. Jess told @sarah_mcv her friends recommended ice to drop weight.
Known on the street as “ice”, crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride is a powerful, synthetic stimulant drug that’s usually snorted, swallowed, inserted anally, smoked or injected, making it an incredibly diverse drug.
A guest from Melbourne, who chose to remain anonymous, told Hack she first used meth when a friend suggested she try it to lose weight.
“I would go for five or six days and then sleep for two days and smoke weed.”
She went from about 70kg to 60kg in a few months. Despite eventually managing to quit ice she told Hack she regretted her decision to try it. She also regained the weight.
“It was scary because it worked.
“I wish I never took that first puff… it’s always going to be in the back of my mind for the rest of my life,” she said.
Smoking has become the most popular form of use in Australia, according to the Australian Medical Association, and the increased heart rate, hyperactivity and reduced appetite all can contribute to weight loss.
In a report by the Department of Health released in 2009, these types of users were defined as “functional users, who tend to not recognise themselves as addicts.
“Many functional users are reluctant to see themselves as drug takers, particularly the more regular users. Instead, many see themselves as workers simply trying to get the job done or people with a goal to achieve.
“Attitudes of functional users differ markedly to that of social users. While social users readily recognise the illicit nature of their drug use, functional users are less inclined to.
“Those who use in this context self-permit methamphetamine use by justifying it as a ‘means to an end’.”
While functional users were more likely to turn to speed (the powder form) and cocaine years ago, the increased availability of ice in recent years may have contributed to the shift.
Cherie Heilbronn, Research Fellow at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, published a report in the Medical Journal of Australia discussing the increased use of the drug, saying ambulance call-outs to ice users have tripled in two years.
“Fifteen percent of ecstasy users also took ice in 2009, rising to 29 percent in 2012,” she said.
“Anecdotal reports from treatment agencies and other sources suggest changing patterns of ice consumption, with greater availability, use and associated harms in regional areas where ice use has traditionally been low.”
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