The addictive and dangerous nature of this drug is no longer a matter of scientific debate. The addictive nature of the drug is a topic now for standard textbooks.
I considered that the simplest way to expand out from the above statement would be to take you directly to the Queensland Government Health Department Clinical Protocols for Detoxification in Hospitals and detoxification Facilities (2002). These protocols are circulated by the Queensland Health Department through all appropriate Hospitals and Clinics in the State (in line through the Australian National Drug Strategy and the Federal/State Ministerial Council with all other states and territories). These protocols are in current use.
Section 7 (enclosed) deals with Psychostimulant protocols. You will note on lines 5 and 6, regarding Amphetamine (which includes the widely abused methamphetamine) “This form of amphetamine has been most abused because of its more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. It is powerfully addictive.” (The emphasis is my own.)
In the second half of the second last paragraph of that page the authors (Professor John Saunders et al) note that amphetamine tends to be the first drug injected by the majority of those who have ever injected illicit drugs thus indicating a major role for methamphetamine in the induction of injecting behaviour in young users.
The principal author of this protocol on dealing with addiction to methamphetamine is Professor John B. Saunders who at the time was the Chair of Addiction Studies at the University of Queensland and at Queensland Health Department. Professor Saunders was also Principal of the World Health Organisation WHO Co-located (Sydney — Brisbane) Australian research Consortium on drugs of addiction.
For your interest I have included some other authorities.
The article, Research Report Series- Methamphetamine Abuse and Addiction (National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) from the United States of America is a very interesting article which spells out and illustrates just how potent methamphetamine is whilst impacting on the Dopamine pathways of the brain when compared to cocaine.
Throughout the article the emphasis is on the addictive consequences of abuse of methamphetamine. The article explains the latest theories of addiction focused on the Nucleus accumbens (an aggregation of grey matter at the base of the frontal lobe of the brain). This is the area of the brain to which Dr Alex Wodak and his colleague were pointing in the now widely quoted ABC television program Four Corners from which I summarise some points below:-
Methamphetamine, ICE and Addiction.
Dr Alex Wodak told the ABC TV Four Corners interviewer on 20/03/2006 that, in New South Wales at least, the synthetic drugs represented by methylamphetamine were overtaking the plant based illicit drugs such as cannabis and heroin with regard to abuse and addiction. (Independent research indicates that Queensland’s problem with psychostimulants such as methylamphetamine is at least as serious as that in New South Wales.)
Doctor Wodak noted that methylamphetamine caused severe health, social, financial, addictive and criminal problems.
He expressed the view that society would ultimately have to medicalise an approach to psychostimulants along the lines of the partial medicalisation of the heroin problem with drug substitution and relapse prevention strategies in place.
The doctor noted that there had been a 60% increase in the incidence of amphetamine/drug induced psychosis during the past 5-6 years. This is supported by the research by the National Drug Strategy.
Professor Iain McGregor, chair of the Psychopharmacology Laboratory of the University of Sydney also commented to the Four Corners Television Program.
Professor McGregor pointed out that methylamphetamine and its derivatives such as Ice cause massive nervous system surges of the nervous system signalling molecule Dopamine. Dopamine acts on the salience of experiences processed cognitively within the nervous system, Professor McGregor said. The presence of the illicit psychostimulants causes down regulation of the dopamine with the consequent inability of the addict to experience life normally. This is the underlying causation of addiction.
The Professor said that research showed that there was actual death of brain cells in amphetamine addicts with a decrease in the volume of the actual grey matter of the brain .
I have also provided you with an editorial by Dr Nora D. Volkow, M.D. Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) entitled “Methamphetamine Abuse and Addiction. Dr Volkow refers to methamphetamine as a potent and highly addictive psychostimulant.
Compulsive Body Building Behaviour and Anabolic Steroid Abuse/Addiction.
Sufferers with Muscle Dysmorphia known by its full name as Body Dysmorphic Syndrome are now thought to be suffering from a complex aberrant form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This disorder is currently believed to represent abnormal physical connectivity within the brain architecture. The explanation here for the addictive nature of the use of the steroids involves the repetition compulsive of OCD with the accompanying psychoneurosis of body image and self-doubt.
Clearly, there is a grey area where many bodybuilders consider that the cyclical use of steroids and other chemical adjuncts is simply part and parcel of the competitive ethos of bodybuilding. These people would strongly disagree with any labelling of their drug abuse as pathological. The label of psychopathology is more clear-cut when someone such as your client the defendant has multiple comorbidities (coexisting illnesses).
Dr Ian Curtis is a senior psychiatrist in full-time practice in Brisbane. Dr Ian Curtis is also a public speaker with over 30 years experience. Dr Ian Curtis as been involved in preparing and presenting workshops and lectures for Queensland Health, the Queensland Police Service, the University of Queensland Medical School, and Brisbane Churches. He has also lectured at international venues in China, India, and the USA.