Picture this: a young, vivacious, successful woman, with a successful
business, a loving family. Andrea Simmons outlined in vivid detail how she was partaking in a bit of a knees-up at a swank hotel in town. Lots of good company, banter, laughter. Somebody suggests to her “take a puff of this, it isn’t going to hurt you…” and – literally – her world of success and love goes up in the proverbial puff of smoke. A rapid descent into addiction, psychosis and other major health issues, her wealth destroyed. “I spent as much as $500 a day” she explained, “and I didn’t know any way I could get out”.
business, a loving family. Andrea Simmons outlined in vivid detail how she was partaking in a bit of a knees-up at a swank hotel in town. Lots of good company, banter, laughter. Somebody suggests to her “take a puff of this, it isn’t going to hurt you…” and – literally – her world of success and love goes up in the proverbial puff of smoke. A rapid descent into addiction, psychosis and other major health issues, her wealth destroyed. “I spent as much as $500 a day” she explained, “and I didn’t know any way I could get out”.That is just one case. Do you know that every day, on average some 27 young people become addicted to “Ice” (Crystal Methamphetamines)? Do you know the method on how to make Ice is in plain sight on the Internet?” Only some 2% come out at the other side; if successful, the withdrawal period is an excruciating 18 months. The Australian market is totally flooded with the stuff: wastewater sampling tests show an increase of as much as 480% in the six years to 2016 and it has gone worse since then. Do you know that kids as young as 12 years old are given “free samples” and then, when they inevitably become addicted, are offered a “franchise distribution”? Do you know that availability is easy? Andrea outlined an instance where, when visiting the Gold Coast, she obtained a “pipe” with great ease, just asking for it.
We hear and read daily in the news and media of cases where people crazed by Ice addiction cause serious damage to property, go berserk in hospital emergency wards. It has a massive effect across the board, from Mental Health to Police, Accident & Emergency to Hospital Services, with outrageous costs to the nation at large. Statistics prove that 1 in 3 kids who go into child protection comes from drug addicted parents. The long term effects are much similar to Parkinson’s Disease, but this one is preventable.
The Australian Ice Campaign is a Not For Profit organization, providing education at the very grass roots level, by distributing education kits to schools, providing workshops at schools and clubs and, at the other end, provides support for victims to help them to get off. A major, national fundraising event in multiple locations, ‘Walk Against Ice’ is held on Sunday week, 15th September. On the Gold Coast, it starts at 10 am at the Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. Click here to book.
Photo (from left): Harold Bush (Rotary Club of Broadbeach), Leeanne Butcher, Andrea Simmons, Adrian Crowe.