MediNat Australia

methamphetamine use and addiction in Australia By Nicole Lee Associate Professor at the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction at Flinders University More commonly known by the street names speed, ice or crystal meth, both amphetamine and methamphetamine belong to a group of stimulant drugs called amphetamines. Australia has one of the highest rates of illicit methamphetamine use in the world and the highest use among English-speaking countries. Around 2.5% of Australians over 14 years – around half a million people – have used methamphetamine in the last year. This rate is three- to five-times higher than the USA, Canada (0.5%) or the UK (1%). Illicit use The illegal manufacture of street amphetamines in Australia is almost exclusively methamphetamine. Illicit methamphetamine is manufactured in local “meth labs” and also imported from South-East Asia. The drug usually comes in powder or pills (speed) or cr