FAMILIES living in daily fear of the violent rampages fuelled by their loved ones’ addiction to the drug ice have called for a forced rehabilitation facility in the South West.
Distraught people broke down as they told their stories at a community forum to discuss the drug scourge taking place in Bunbury and across the state.
The forum, held at the Gelorup Community Centre yesterday, raised the glaring lack of drug rehabilitation facilities in the region in the face of a rapidly escalating problem.
Federal Member for Forrest Nola Marino hosted the forum with the intent of feeding information from the community back to the federal government's National Ice Taskforce.
Police, ambulance officers, school teachers and students, recovered addicts and families currently struggling with ice addiction came together to have their voices heard, with some claiming Bunbury was well-known as a “meth capital.”
At the moment there is nothing here in the South West, no detox facility, no rehab – it’s our community, we should be dealing with the issue in-house.
- WA Substance Users Association Bunbury coordinator Bj Richards.
Local families told the Bunbury Mail they were constantly terrified of violence from an ice addict who would bash them for money to fuel their habit.
While they applauded police for working hard to combat the problem, they said mandatory rehabilitation could be a better solution than the “failing court system.”
WA Substance Users Association Bunbury coordinator Bj Richards said he was working on a business plan to establish a rehabilitation facility in the city.
He said the plan was progressing rapidly with help from recovered addicts who had lived experience on how to overcome dependence.
“At the moment there is nothing here in the South West, no detox facility, no rehab – it’s our community, we should be dealing with the issue in-house,” Mr Richards said.
South West Superintendent Peter Hatch said drug seizures had increased by 37 per cent in the last financial year and while police had worked hard to shut down major drug houses, it seemed there was always another to fill the gap.
The community meeting called for a focus on protection and support for families, education through the school system and non-judgemental guidance for addicts asking for help.
The National Ice Taskforce will continue to meet regularly in the lead up to the delivery of the interim report on the ice issue in Australia in the middle of the year, with the report to be considered by the Council of Australian Governments later this year.
A final strategy will be put to COAG before the end of 2015.
Have your say. What do you think needs to happen in our region to address ice addiction? Email editor.bunburymail@fairfaxmedia.com.au and nola.marino.mp@aph.gov.au
- About 200,000 Australians used ice in the last 12 months
- Since 2010, the number of people receiving treatment for meth/amphetamine issues has more than doubled
- Compared to 2010, more than twice the number of meth/amphetamine users reported using ice in 2013
- Of detected illicit drug imports to Australia, ice has grown from five per cent in 2011 to 59 per cent in 2014
Source: National Drugs Strategy drugs.health.gov.au
