Use of the drug ice is on the rise in Maitland according to one of Central Hunter’s top police officers.
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The warning comes after an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report said that more than 10 per cent of people over the age of 14 in the Hunter Valley, excluding Newcastle, had used illicit drugs in 2013.
Data suggested that the proportion of amphetamine users in NSW now using ice, which is the crystal form of methamphetamine, had tripled since 2010.
Central Hunter crime manager Detective Inspector John Zdrilic said police had noticed a greater frequency of ice in the Maitland area.
“There has certainly been what appears to be more prevalence of ice in the area,” he said.
“Illicit drug usage and the subsequent sale is an ongoing problem.
“From time to time we see those drugs change.
“We’ve seen periods where heroin has come to prominence, then there was synthetic drugs and now we’re seeing a period where it’s ice.
“Drug usage will always be a problem because it is not cheap and needs to be funded somehow.
“Generally speaking, it is funded illegally through people engaging in illegal activities.”
Inspector Zdrilic said the source of drugs into the area had changed.
“It’s a bit different from the days of heroin where it was all imported,” he said.
“Ice is a phenomenon because it can be produced locally, there is a greater capacity to produce ice or things they call ice, because quite often the stuff sold as ice isn’t necessarily that.
“There is always the inherent danger that of using any drug that you don’t know what you’re getting.”
Penington Institute CEO John Ryan said he believed Maitland would be comparable to elsewhere in NSW.
“There is no hard data for the Hunter Valley but, based on our experience, it would reflect the NSW trend overall,” he said.
“Ice is a serious and worsening problem nationally, in part because our treatment systems are not geared up for it.”
Mr Ryan said he expected NSW to experience similar challenges to those faced in Victoria.
“In Victoria health, police and welfare services have been stretched by the onset of high purity ice and its consequences,” he said.
“Purity levels in NSW have risen so, if the regional Victorian experience is any guide, major challenges lie ahead for the Hunter Valley area.”
Inspector Zdrilic said police needed community help to combat ice.
“As we do now, we develop strategies to target the problem,” he said.
“We continue to encourage information from the community.
“As I always say, you are the best person to tell us what’s going on in your area.
“The community are our eyes and ears, the strongest tool in identifying potential issues with relation to drugs is
co-operation from the community.”
Mr Ryan agreed a community-based approach was necessary.
“Police cannot arrest their way out of this,” he said.
“Education is vital and it must be factual. It needs a community-wide approach that has local responses involving health including doctors and drug treatment, police, business, youth services and educators.
“More investment in drug treatment is needed because it’s more effective and cheaper than prisons.”
