12 September 2016 –
The age of people hooked on ice is getting younger and there is now a significant issue with high school-age users becoming addicted to this drug.
Across Australia desperate parents are going to extreme measures to help get their meth-addicted children off the drug, including mortgaging the family home, taking out loans and withdrawing their superannuation savings to pay for rehab.
What many people don’t realise is that it’s not just the health problems caused by the addiction but the many other damaging side-effects including committing crimes and prostitution to pay for their habit. Then there are the cases of violence and sometimes deaths of users who can’t afford to pay their drug debts.
With so few publicly-funded rehab beds available, the only option is to pay for private care costing from $15,000 to $30,000 for a three-month treatment, and some parents have paid over $60,000, according to this ABC News story.
Prevention is better than cure
Early intervention is the most effective way to limit the effects of drug addiction. It’s a common held perception that a person only has to try meth once and they’re hooked. While this may be true in some cases it’s not how the majority become addicted.
Often it’ll begin with just recreational use or at a party with friends. But the nature of the drug means that you start to need to use it more and more often to lower the effects of ‘crashing’ after the high. This is when the addiction begins.
If you suspect a loved one, perhaps a child, spouse, partner or anyone close to you is using drugs, and you want to have some proof before tackling this issue with them directly, an inexpensive surface drug test will allow you to discreetly test items that they have regular contact with such as wallet or mobile phone. This will detect drug residue left behind after contact with the item.
The same test can be used to test their vehicle as many users will smoke meth on the way to or from work or drive to a quiet location to get high. Surfaces such as the steering wheel, gear shift, stereo buttons and glove-box catch are likely to have picked up residue, as well as around the window frames.
If a surface drug test indicates a positive indication for drug residue, further confirmation can be made by conducting a personal saliva or urine drug test.
Since this is a particularly sensitive issue, we do suggest that you seek further professional help. For further information, these websites are a good starting point.
National Drugs Campaign – Australian Government Department of Health
Australian Alcohol and Drug Foundation
For more information on how to purchase Narcotect surface, saliva and urine drug test kits click here.
