Ice Age: Crystal Meth Addicts In Australia

Documentary - Investigation from Awarded for both Best News/Reference and Best Cross-Platform Integration at the 2006 Australian Interactive Multimedia Industry Association (AIMIA) Awards, Four Corners:


Its cheap, highly addictive and ultra-powerful.


"Ice", or crystal methamphetamine, is now more popular than heroin. It plays havoc with the minds and the bodies of addicts, filling emergency wards with dangerous, psychotic patients.


But little is known about the long term effects of the drug or even how to treat the addiction.


And health services are not prepared for the chaos ice has just started to unleash. This weeks documentary reports on the hidden epidemic.


Journalist Matthew Carney follows a group of ice users including hard core addicts over several weeks. This confronting report looks at the extent of the methamphetamine problem (also known as 'meth' or 'chalk') and the dependence of an estimated 73,000 Australians.