“Ice” Crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride

What is “ice”?
”Ice” is a street name for crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride, which is a powerful, synthetic stimulant drug. Stimulant drugs speed up the messages going to and from the brain.
Ice is more potent than other forms of amphetamines. It is more pure that the powder form of methamphetamines (“speed”).
Ice often appears as large, transparent and “sheet-like” crystals that may have a hint of pink, blue or green colour.
Other street names for ice include “meth”, “d-meth”, “crystal”, “crystal meth”, “shabu” “batu”, “tina” and “glass”.

How is it used?
Ice is known to be smoked, swallowed, snorted, injected or inserted anally (“shafting”). Some people smoke ice using a glass pipe, while others heat it on aluminium foil and inhale the vapours (“chasing”).

Ice use in Australia

• In 2004, 3.2 per cent of Australians aged 14 years and older had used amphetamines for non-medical purposes in the previous year and over 38 per cent of this group reported the type of amphetamine they used was ice
• Ice use among injecting drug users increased from 15 per cent in 2000 to 52 per cent in 2004.
• In 2004, 63 per cent of a sample of people who used ecstasy had tried ice at least once and 45 per cent had used ice in the past 6 months.

What are the effects of ice?
The effects of any drug (including ice) vary from person to person, depending on the individual’s size, weight and health, how much and how the drug is taken, whether the person is used to taking it and whether other drugs are taken.

Effects also depend on the environment in which the drug is used—such as whether the person is alone, with others or at a party.

Immediate effects
Soon after taking ice, a person may experience a number of psychological and physical effects including:

• feelings of euphoria, excitement and well being
• increased alertness, confidence and libido, more energy, feelings of increased strength, talkativeness, restlessness, repeating simple acts, and itching, picking and scratching
• tremors of the hands and fingers
• speeding up of bodily functions, such as increased breathing rate, body temperature, blood pressure, a rapid and irregular heartbeat and excessive sweating
• difficulty sleeping, reduced appetite, dilated pupils, dry mouth, stomach cramps, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision and severe headaches
• abrupt shifts in thought and speech, which can make someone using ice difficult to understand
• nervousness, panic attacks, anxiety, paranoia
• irritability, aggression, hostility and “amphetamine psychosis”, including hallucinations, paranoid delusions and bizarre behaviour.

The variable purity of each batch of ice increases the risk of negative effects and overdose.

Coming down
As the effects of ice wear off, a person may experience a range of symptoms such as tension, depression, radical mood swings, uncontrollable violence and exhaustion.