In the first minute the following claims were made…

1. “Its more destructive than any other drug Australia has ever seen”
2. “It’s highly addictive”
3. “its powerful high can last for days or even weeks”
4. “It’s a hidden epidemic”

My quesions related to each point above…

1. You mean more destructive than alcohol? the statistics would prove you wrong on that surely? Could the documentary makers provide some meth-related death/injury/violence statistics and some for alcohol related death/injury/violence? Are you saying meth is worse than this http://ama.com.au/node/4762?

2. This statement is based on what exactly? Meth appears to be addictive but compared to what? Worse than alcohol? not as bad as nicotine?

3. on what scale are you rating the power of the high? most websites say that the effects last a few hours and the total effect on the body (after mild usage) is gone after 2-3 days (wiki). Prolonged excessive intake could keep the effect going for possibly days or weeks, but so can prolonged excessive intake of anything from alcohol to caffeine, so what are you saying?

4. the documentary mentioned a hidden epidemic that was a ticking time bomb… back in 2006. Here we are 6 years later and what happened to the epidemic? I see no news items (and almost all drug deaths/violence gets reported) on an epidemic. In fact the only time we hear about meth now is when there is a bust at the border or in the city. So there must be meth around. What happened to the epidemic?

The Big Meth Epidemic was the trashmedia (ABC etc) scare story of the mid-naughties. It was high on sensationalist reporting and low on any actual research and probably copied directly from a similar one on the US version of government sponsored programming – 60 minutes.

p.s. I did meth on and off for a few years (a small bit every now and then) and never found it addictive or damaging in any way. Now I can take it or leave it. I had a harder time giving up smoking cigarettes.

Of course mental illness is real. But for every 1 person who is severely mentally ill, you have a thousand people who use it as an excuse. And doctors and pharmacists ready to exploit that. I can absolutely admit that there are truly unfortunate people out there. Are you really saying you’re unable to admit that it’s also an easy system to cheat? These are not mutually exclusive truths. They both exist in tandem.

You’re equally as judgmental as anyone else. You just choose to judge differently.

let’s say i WANTED to go on a disability. I don’t but let’s say i decided i had to and chose that path. It could happen who knows? I would have to turn myself inside out to prove that i was unable to work. Yet in my city a drug addict pretty much instantly qualifies. They are not expected to jump through the same hoops as sick or injured people.

This makes me angry in a way that few things in life bother me. And then i go out on the street and get snarky comments from addicts because i can’t spare any change. I have recently taken to saying “talk to the canadian government. I gave your money to them.”

The doctors pumped me full of painkillers. And i, madam, did NOT stop working. I did not do my family or loved ones harm or steal money or other drugs. Sure, i sat around cussing and my dear you will too when your turn comes (and it will.. we all eventually are crippled if we’re lucky enough to live that long) I have no children, i have no criminal record and my home is immaculate. I was never on welfare and the only time i didn’t work was the time i took off because i was paralyzed and unable to get out of bed. I am a professional and a good person. Were these drugs a vice? You bet! Because i was seeking a life of no pain. And i began to crutch on the drugs as a means to that end.

Did i stop taking them? yes. I did. I realized that my life was a cloud of opium-induced pain-avoidance and i flushed them. And spent the next YEAR learning not only how to manage my disability (internal martial arts, acupuncture, water therapy and stretching – eastern medicine is the ONLY thing that can treat chronic, non-terminal pain – and i am pleased to say i am not only pain free but also a pretty serious martial arts student now – and i have my Sifu to thank for most of my recovery) but learning how to get free of a drug that truly does stop ALL KINDS of pain and is blindingly addictive.

I have something that i reckon you do not when it comes to this subject. Education.

Like i say, i agree with everything you say. Meth amphetamine is especially a dirty and dangerous drug and addicts do terrible and destructive things to get more of it. That is non-contestable. But your self-righteous attitude is going to come back and bite you in the ass. Hard. Either one day when you face your own pain or mortality or when one of your children, twisted from your high expectations, winds up in a facility of some kind for their rebellious and bad choices.

Have some empathy for your fellow human beings. You’ll find people will detest you less. Don’t be so openminded that your brain falls out but you’re only human. And you have no idea what tomorrow holds. I didn’t either.

Do i have a source for any of this? You bet your ass i do (look.. i swore and i’m not an addict.. holyshit!) My uncle was a drunk. A gentleman drunk which means he only drank the best alcohol and held a steady and good job but a drunk nonetheless. My best friend was, and still is, an addict and while a very, VERY good person and an very honest person, he turns his psychotic harmful nature inwards and does terrible things to himself.

However, here’s where you get to go to school. You can’t always blame addiction on the addict. To do so is shortisghted, foolish and naive. If you hurt yourself badly, (car accident, let’s say) you sound like the kind of person who would do exactly what your doctors tell you. This is how most prescription drug addicts are made. Did you know that? There are still people in this world who stupidly and blindly believe Big Pharmacy gives a crap about them. They want your money and, especially in the USA, addiction is a business for them and they are TOLD to get injured patients addicted to whatever they can. Fools follow and the only thing you can blame them for is being too stupid, or in too much pain from their illness or injuries, to not do their relevant research first, or not being smart enough or sophisticated enough to be able t discern what research is good and what is not.

I used to question the use of my tax money because I believe it can be better used on prison or forced rehab center for these people. But the sad fact is unless we violate human rights, there is nothing we can do. In addition, if we stop paying these people, we will have a much higher crime rate than before.

To me, watching this documentary is not a shock at all because I travel through Western Suburbs and City every day and you see these people every day..