ONE IN FIVE YOUNG AUSSIES TRIED METH

METHAMPHETAMINE use is rife among Australians in their 20s with new
figures showing more than one in five have tried the dangerous stimulants.

About 100,000 Australians of all ages have used methamphetamines -
which includes speed, ice or crystal meth - in the past week and more
than 500,000 have used the drugs in the past year, an Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report says.

The number of arrests for methamphetamine use and trafficking has also
shot up - from 3900 in 1996-97 to more than 10,000 in 2004-05.

Alarmingly, most users had taken the stimulant with a cocktail of
other drugs.

The report, Statistics on Drug Use in Australia 2006, released today,
found about 87 per cent of users drank alcohol at the same time, 68
per cent smoked marijuana and almost half had used ecstasy at the same
time as using methamphetamine.

Only 3.8 per cent said they never took anything else while using
methamphetamines.

Experts warn that mixing methamphetamines with other stimulants such
as ecstasy or cocaine can put extra strain on the heart, giving a
greater risk of heart attack and stroke.

The user also risks dangerously raising their body temperature and
overheating or suffering dehydration.

Mixing the stimulant with depressants such as marijuana can increase
the risk of psychotic and depressive episodes, as both drugs pose a
risk to mental health.

"Using drugs comes with a lot of risks, so if you use multiple drugs
you multiply the risks and potential harm," head of clinical research
Nicole Lee at drug research and treatment centre Turning Point said.

"I think that people need to be really aware of the dangers of mixing
drugs, particularly illicit drugs where you don't know what the
content is in the first place. You could be getting anything really."

Overall, the AIHW report found almost one in 10 Australians aged 14
and older have tried methamphetamines.

More than one in 10 recent users reported taking the drug in a park or
other public place, and almost as many reported taking the drug at
work, school or university.

Use was most common among people aged 20 to 29, but almost one in six
Australians in their thirties have also tried the drugs at some point
in their life.

About three per cent of all Australians had used methamphetamines in
the past 12 months, a figure Ms Lee said was "in some ways good news"
because it has not increased in recent years.

The AIHW snapshot of drug use also highlights the widespread harm from
legal and illegal drug use.

Tobacco causes about eight per cent of diseases in Australia, the
report finds, while alcohol and illicit drugs each cause two per cent.

Almost one-third of drinkers are putting their health in danger from
alcohol.

And drug use remains much higher among indigenous communities.

Although smoking rates among the general population have declined to a
low of 17 per cent, more than half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders smoke.

And about 28 per cent of indigenous Australians had used an illicit
drug in the past 12 months.

The figures also reveal the Government collected more than $5.1
billion from alcohol sales in 2004-05, and more than $6.7 billion from
the importation and sale of tobacco products.