Amphetamines - methamphetamines (stimulants)

Amphetamines are a group of drugs made from different chemicals. Amphetamines are stimulant drugs.  Other names include speed, crystal meth, base, ice or shabu.

• NSW Government
• Australia
• International
• Factsheets

NSW Government

National Leadership Forum on Ice - On 14 December 2006, a Forum involving Ministers representing jurisdictions across Australia and New Zealand, as well as experts met to discuss solutions to the emergence of ice (crystal methamphetamine) in Australia.

Department of Education: Frequently asked questions: cannabis, amphetamine, ecstasy 2002
A pamphlet that provides information on the effects of cannabis, amphetamine and ecstasy. It also has information about the laws concerning these drugs. 

NSW Health

• Press Release
  Press release about pilot treatment programs for ice and speed users established at Sydney's St Vincent Hospital and at the Royal Newcastle Centre, as part of the NSW Government's commitment to drug prevention and treatment.
• Amphetamines,Ecstasy and Cocaine: A Prevention and Treatment Plan
  The Plan provides a framework to guide the health sector’s response to the abuse of psychostimulants.
• Amphetamines Dependence & Withdrawal
  Information for GP's developed by the Central Coast Area Health Service. February 2000
• Amphetamines in NSW
  Usage, statistics and treatment information.
• Speed Factsheet
  Information on the effects, dangers and law relating to “speed” (methamphetamine).

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: The relationship between methamphetamine use and violent behaviour

Joint NDARC and BOCSAR Crime and Justice Bulletin. August 2006.

 

NSW Parliamentary Research Service: Crystal Methamphetamine Use in New South Wales. December 2006.

 

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Australia

 

ACON – AIDS Council of New South Wales

• Crystal Methamphetamine
  Information on Crystal Methamphetamine, as well as contact details for support and treatment.

Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA)

• Amphetamine-type substances: amphetamine/methamphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine
  ADCA policy document. September 2003

Australian Insitute of Criminology (AIC)

• 2003 annual report on drug use among police detainees
  This report presents both self-report and urinalysis data from participating detainees for the calendar year 2003. It provides an overview of the characteristics of detainees, including self-reported drug use, prior criminal behaviour and treatment history. Data are presented on the use of methylamphetamine, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, LSD, street methadone, self reported alcohol use, mental illness and gambling behaviour, illicit drug use and most serious offence, prior criminal behaviour and drug and alcohol treatment history, while juvenile data are also presented for Bankstown and Parramatta. 2004

Australian National Council on Drugs:

• Methamphetamines Position Paper
  Report to Government with recommendations to tackle the problem of methamphetamines. January 2007

Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission

• Inquiry into amphetamines and other synthetic drugs
  Parliamentary inquiry into the manufacture, importation and use of Amphetamines and Other Synthetic Drugs (AOSD) in Australia.

Medical Journal of Australia

• Licit psychostimulant consumption in Australia, 1984–2000: international and jurisdictional comparison
  Trends in the licit consumption of the psychostimulants, dexamphetamine and methylphenidate in Australia and nine other countries from 1994 to 2000 and in each State and Territory of Australia from 1984 to 2000. November 2002

myDr

• Amphetamines
  myDr is an Australian healthcare Web site. This links to the myDr Web site with information on amphetamines - including information on effects, overdose, treatment, dependence, effects on pregnancy and breastfeeding, etc. It also contains information on amphetamines in Australia.

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre  (NDARC)

• Drug Policy Modelling Program:
  Working Estimates of the Social Costs per gram and per user for cannabis, cocaine, opiates and amphetamines
• IDRS Drug Trends Bulletin - December 2006
• On Thin Ice – A User’s Guide
• Australian Drug Trends 2005
  Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS)

• IDRS Drug Trends Bulletin – October 2006

  Drug use trends among injecting drug users (IDU): Findings from the Australian Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) Survey, 2001-2005

• IDRS Drug Trends Bulletin – June 2006

  Examining gender differences among regular injecting drug users (IDUs) in Australia

• Australian Trends in Ectasy and Related Drug Markets 2005

  Findings from the Party Drugs Initiative (PDI)

• IDRS Drug Trends Bulletin – April 2006

  Methamphetamine use in Melbourne. Australia's drug trend monitoring systems: the IDRS and PDI studies

• Estimating the number of regular and dependent methamphetamine users in Australia
  By Rebecca McKetin Jennifer McLaren, Erin Kelly, Wayne Hall and Matthew Hickman. 2005
• Cocaine and Methamphetamine Deaths: 2004 Edition
• Cocaine and Methamphetamine mentions in accidental drug-induced deaths in Australia, 1997-2002

The National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund (NDLERF)

•  The Methamphetamine Situation in Australia: A Review of Routine Data Sources
  2004 (Adobe Acrobat PDF 1.04MB)
• The Sydney methamphetamine market: Patterns of supply, use, personal harms and social consequences
  By Rebecca McKetin, Jennifer McLaren and Erin Kelly. 2005

National Drug Strategy

• Psychostimulants – Management of Acute Behavioural Disturbances. Guidelines for Police Services
  Their purpose is to provide generic guidelines for police services throughout Australia to assist them to effectively and safely manage individuals who present with psychostimulant toxicity, and pose a significant risk to themselves or others.
• Management of Patients with Psychostimulant Use Problems. Guidelines for General Practitioners. 2004 
  Guidelines for general practitioners throughout Australia to effectively and safely manage individuals who are experiencing problems related to the use of psychostimulants, including psychostimulant and serotonin toxicity.
• Models of intervention and care for psychostimulant users. April 2004
  This monograph aims to to document the prevalence and risks associated with psychostimulant use, describe the pharmacology of psychostimulants, identify best practice in detoxification and clinical interventions for psychostimulant use, identify gaps in the literature and make suggestions for interventions and further research.
• A brief cognitive behavioural intervention for regular amphetamine users: A treatment guide
  In 2001,the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing funded a project entitled “An evaluation of cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT)among regular amphetamine users ”. This project evaluated the effectiveness of a two-and four-session cognitive behavioural intervention. The four-session intervention is detailed in this publication; however practitioners may choose to offer a two-session intervention according to client needs. The development of the CBT intervention was informed by various treatment approaches that have been utilised for users of other illicit drugs. 2003

Parliament of Australia
Joint Standing Committee on The Australian Crime Commission Inquiry into Amphetamines and Other Synthetic Drugs

The Salvation Army: Dangers of Drugs
A booklet about the dangers of alcohol abuse and using illicit drugs such as ecstasy. This booklet targets teenagers and parents and is designed to generate awareness regarding the dangers of illicit drugs and alcohol. 2004

Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Centre Inc
Methamphetamine Dependence and Treatment

Victorian Government: Inquiry into Amphetamine and Party Drug Use in Victoria: final report
A report to the Victorian Parliament on the use of amphetamines and ‘party drugs’ in Victoria. This report examines the nature and extent of use, the consequences of use, and the strategies employed to restrict use and provide suitable treatment. May 2004

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International

CEDRO: Amphetamine users in Amsterdam: Patterns of use and modes of self-regulation
by Justus Uitermark and Peter Cohen
After identifying some omissions in existing literature on research on amphetamine use, this paper sets forth to answer some questions with respect to (1) use patterns, (2) advantages and disadvantages of amphetamine use as experienced by users (3) the formal and informal modes of control that users employ to reduce or negate negative side-effects of amphetamine use, and (4) the role of context variables in fostering in facilitating these modes of control. 2004

National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI): Publications
Amphetamine publications

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

• Methamphetamine Publications
  Publications, reports, research notes, etc.
• Mind Over Matter Series: The Brain's Response to Methamphetamine
  This is part of a series designed to encourage young people in grades five through nine to learn about the effects of drug abuse on the body and the brain.

Scotland - Government: Psychostimulants: A practical guide
This guide explores the use of psychostimulants in Scotland , examines the problems
associated with their use and discusses the evidence on interventions and service design. The guide includes a description of how services have been designed, or reconfigured, to address the needs of psychostimulant users. October 2002

US Department of Justice:

• Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force - Final Report
  Comprehensive methamphetamine information report that covers law enforcement, treatment, prevention, education, etc. This report is on the US Department of Justice website.(PDF)
• Methamphetamine Use: Lessons Learned
  This report provides an overview of the methamphetamine problem in the United States. It looks at the history of the problem, trends in use, characteristics of users, adverse effects, trafficking and production and treatment issues. The analysis relies on extensive review of extant literature on the drug, analysis of existing datasets relevant to methamphetamine use, and conversations with law enforcement treatment, and government personnel dealing with the problem.2005

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Ecstasy and Amphetamines - Global Survey 2003
The purpose of this survey is to review the size and nature of the amphetamine-type stimulants threat, with the view of exploring what society can do to overcome the problem.  September 2003. Summary

World Health Organization

• Ecstasy - MDMA and other ring-substituted amphetamines
  Some consideration is given to structurally related ring-substituted amphetamines, particularly those that are used or sold as ecstasy, either intentionally or through manufacturing errors. 2001
• Systematic review of treatment for amphetamine-related disorders
  The objective of this review is to search and determine risks, benefits and costs for a variety of treatments for amphetamine dependence or abuse, psychosis and withdrawal. 2001

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Factsheets

NSW Health

American Council for Drug Education

Druginfo - ADF

Family Drug Support (FDS)

Indiana Prevention Resource Center (IPRC)

NDARC

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

Queensland Health (ATODs)

Reach Out

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