Beating Addiction
Illicit drugs
Harmful drug use is one of Australia’s major social and health problems, placing strain on public health, community services, and law enforcement resources and contributing to the breakdown of families and relationships. Governments, here in Australia and overseas, recognise that illicit drug use is placing fiscal pressures on the state but leaving a legacy of social dislocation and psychological and physical harm for future generations.
Extent of use
The 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey revealed that an estimated 2.6 million Australians or 16.9% of people aged 14 and over had used an illicit drug in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Cannabis was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 39% of the population aged over 14 years having tried it at some time, 12.9% having used the drug in the last 12 months, 7.8% having used in the last month and 5.6% having used in the past week. Amphetamines were tried by 9% of the population over 14 at some time with 3.4% using them in the last 12 months, while 2.9% had used ecstasy/designer drugs in the last 12 months, and 2% of the population had tried heroin at some time with less than 1% using it or injecting an illegal drug during the previous 12 months.2
Deaths from illicit drug use
In 2001 there were 1083 drug-induced deaths. This represents a fall from 1739 registered drug-induced deaths in 1999 (representing 1.4% of all registered deaths).2
In 1999, 77% of drug-related deaths were due to the use of opiates such as heroin. This fell to 58% in 2001. The drug related death rate for females has been relatively low during the past 20 years, but for males the trend has been alarming.
In 1980 male and female deaths were equal (about 5 deaths per 100,000); by 1990 the male rate had grown close to 7 deaths per 100,000. After remaining stable during the 1990s, it rapidly doubled to 14 deaths per 100,000 in 1999, falling to 12 deaths per 100,000 males in 2000.3
In 2001 there were 285 suicides by drugs, accounting for 12% of all suicides in that year (26% of female suicides and 8% of male suicides).
Health
It is estimated that 1.6% of intravenous drug users are HIV positive, 50% test positive for Hepatitis C virus and 30–60% test positive to Hepatitis B virus.4
In 2000, one in three drug-induced deaths occurred in people aged 25–34 with the highest death rate being young men in the 25–29 age range at around 8 per 100,000 of the population.2
In 2000, NSW had the largest number of drug-induced deaths registered (532) followed by Victoria (485) and Queensland (245).5
The cost of illicit drugs to society
While illicit drugs have a physiological and psychological impact on individuals, they also take their toll on families and communities. Crime, violence and social breakdown have become the signposts of a society struggling with widespread illicit drug use.
In 1998, Collins and Lapsley (2002) estimated the tangible and intangible cost of illicit drug use was more than $6 billion. This includes losses caused by death, pain and suffering (the intangible costs) as well as tangible costs such as public expenditure on police, hospitals and health care.5
The social costs of drug abuse in Australia6
| TANGIBLE | $AUD MILLION |
|---|---|
| Labour costs | 1033.1 |
| Health care | 64.7 |
| Road accidents | 245.1 |
| Crime | 2372.1 |
| Resources used in abusive consumption | 1392.0 |
| INTANGIBLE | |
|---|---|
| Loss of life | 926.8 |
| Pain and suffering | 42.0 |
| Total | 6075.8 |
The Australian Federal Police estimate that one-kilogram of heroin causes $1 million of harm (Calculations based on the 1998 Collins and Lapsley data and adjusted for inflation).
The second highest social cost ($88,357 per kilogram) can be attributed to stimulants such as ecstasy, speed and cocaine. Cannabis was calculated to cost $24,000 a kilogram.5
Another cost of drugs is years of potential life lost which is a measure of premature mortality, and is calculated based on deaths between the ages of 1 and 75 years. In 2001 a massive 37,356 years of potential life was lost due to drug-induced deaths. Drug-induced deaths accounted for 0.8% of registered deaths of all ages and 1.9% of deaths between the ages of 1 and 75. Because drug-induced deaths usually occur in younger age groups, they represented 4.5% of the total years of potential life lost from all causes.2
Since its launch in 1997, the Commonwealth Government has allocated $1 billion7 to the National Illicit Drug Strategy.
This strategy falls under the guidance of the National Drug Strategy and supplies funding to a range of measures covering law enforcement, education and treatment, rehabilitation and counselling.8
In relation to treatment services, efforts have been made to increase the availability of drug and alcohol services throughout NSW. This has involved additional drug and alcohol positions, the enhancement of existing services and the establishment of new services, particularly for non-government organisations.
Underpinning the expansion of treatment services is the focus on developing and implementing evidence-based practice models of treatment.
The recently released naltrexone, methadone and detoxification clinical guidelines reflect current best practice and in order to expand treatment services for people with opiate dependence, trials of new alternative pharmacotherapies have begun. Attempts to increase the participation of mainstream and allied health in more general drug and alcohol issues include the development of the NSW Nurses’ Strategic Plan and the Service Delivery Guidelines for the Management of People with Co-Existing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.
Shared care projects involving general practitioners and mental health services have been developed throughout NSW and specialist training for medical officers in the field of drug and alcohol is expanding. Endeavours to further the involvement of mainstream health services to detect and manage substance use problems are under way and preventive strategies targeting secondary schools are being developed.
To provide more effective treatment and care for non-violent drug offenders, the NSW Government has established a Drug Court trial. This two-year trial is a criminal justice initiative. It brings together the criminal justice and health systems and when offenders are faced with probable imprisonment they are encouraged to seek treatment.9
John’s story
“I’m learning patience and to push through my problems.”
John believed his addiction to drugs would eventually lead to his death. Coming from a broken family and an abusive childhood, he began using recreational drugs in his early teens, although much later he used them to cover his emotional pain. There were many times he wanted to stop his drug use but felt powerless to do so.
He moved from Tasmania to Sydney to start a new life but because of his loneliness and addiction, he soon found himself gravitating towards the city’s drug centre, Kings Cross.
John’s turning point came when he discovered Wesley Rehabilitation Services (WRS) and was attracted to the program due to its Christian focus and its 12-step program.
Since joining WRS, John’s life and state of mind has changed dramatically. The support, independence and trust given to him encouraged a sense of empowerment as well as peace of heart and mind. For the first time, he is facing his fears without running and hiding and has regained an interest in activities, like going to the beach, surfing and playing golf, which were never possible when he was under the influence of drugs.
John believes the freedom to make his own financial decisions has been an important step in recovery and growth. The WRS program gives him the autonomy, which he believes is vital for his integration back into the community.
“I’m learning patience and to push through my problems,” he said. “I’m learning on a daily basis to deal with whatever is thrown at me. Now I’ve got a sense of peace and I’m enjoying the small things. I came here to find myself.”
Today, John is living life simply. His motto is “Today is today, I’m dealing with what I’ve got today, tomorrow will take care of itself and yesterday is the past.” John is thankful for being at WRS and is now living with hope for his future.
“If you stick with the hard times you eventually get through it,” he said.
He attributes the change to the holistic nature of WRS, which encompasses a physical, psychological and spiritual approach to beating addiction.
“My faith in Christ has set me free,” he said.
“As an addict by nature it’s very hard to ask for help. My Christian faith has given me a peace and a confidence so that if I can’t handle something I can give it to God and he can give me the tools to deal with it.
“It’s a real assurance that I have someone on my side who’s 100 percent trustworthy and never going to let me down.”
