Trends in amphetamine-related harms in Victoria

To the Editor: In the 21 November 2011 issue of the Journal, Sara and colleagues identified 97 000 Australians as heavy stimulant users,1 and McKetin and Lubman detailed the public health importance of heavy stimulant consumption, emphasising impacts of “ice”(crystal methamphetamine).2 In addition, there has been growing concern over rising ice use in Australia and related harms, including psychosis, stroke and cardiac abnormalities.2 In Victoria, there is evidence of significant increases in ice use among people who inject drugs (from 36% in 2010 to 53% in 2011)3 and regular “ecstasy” (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine; MDMA) users (from 18% in 2010 to 38% in 2011).4 To examine this issue, we conducted an exploratory study using multiple indicators of amphetamine-related harm from July 2010 to June 2012.