Ice Addiction:Australians travelling to Thailand 4 Treatment
Apr 22, 2015 15:59:18 GMT 7
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2015 15:59:18 GMT 7
After 15 years of addiction to the drug crystal methamphetamine — commonly known as ice — Ryan had recently lost his girlfriend and almost died from an overdose.
On the brink of despair, he typed the words "rehab" into a search engine and began a journey that took him to a rehabilitation centre in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The 28-year-old Brisbane man had joined a growing number of desperate Australians travelling to Thai centres seeking an end to long-term chronic addiction.
Those running the centres that offer cheap, anonymous treatment say they are plugging the gaps in Australia's failing approach to ice addiction.
The country that has long been a rite of passage for young Australians has now also become a destination for Australians trying to overcome an addiction typically associated with youth.
Ryan first tried methamphetamine when he was 13 years old and by the time he was 15 he had begun to inject ice.
"The first time I injected it was definitely unmanageable from that time. I knew that was what I wanted to do," he said.
He spent the next 15 years in the grip of the drug, using three or four times a week.
He dropped out of school to work full-time to fund his habit, spending a few months in a job before being fired for not turning up.
He said he became angry and erratic and would intimidate anyone who questioned him on his drug use.
My thoughts were: I couldn't live without it," Ryan said.
"I would get very anxious, very focused just on that, I couldn't function until I had what I wanted."
He said he made unsuccessful attempts to quit ice by trying to limit the amounts he injected. He even tried substituting other substances.
"Instead of injecting meth I would inject Epsom Salts, just so I could still inject and not have any of the consequences," he said.
'Methamphetamine is definitely the number one'
Eventually, fearful an addiction he could not beat would soon claim his life, Ryan sought help.
"It just got to the point where my life had no meaning," he said.
"I had no girlfriend, I had no job and I felt worthless, and I knew it was all because of my addiction.
"I basically wanted to go out of my room and not be scared."
Alastair Mordey, the program director at the Cabin Chiang Mai, said Ryan's story was not uncommon.
He said increasing numbers of young Australian ice addicts are seeking the centre's help and more than half the centre's 50 clients are from Australia.
Read more here: www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-22/australians-addicted-to-ice-seeking-rehabilitation-in-thailand/6397992
On the brink of despair, he typed the words "rehab" into a search engine and began a journey that took him to a rehabilitation centre in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The 28-year-old Brisbane man had joined a growing number of desperate Australians travelling to Thai centres seeking an end to long-term chronic addiction.
Those running the centres that offer cheap, anonymous treatment say they are plugging the gaps in Australia's failing approach to ice addiction.
The country that has long been a rite of passage for young Australians has now also become a destination for Australians trying to overcome an addiction typically associated with youth.
Ryan first tried methamphetamine when he was 13 years old and by the time he was 15 he had begun to inject ice.
"The first time I injected it was definitely unmanageable from that time. I knew that was what I wanted to do," he said.
He spent the next 15 years in the grip of the drug, using three or four times a week.
He dropped out of school to work full-time to fund his habit, spending a few months in a job before being fired for not turning up.
He said he became angry and erratic and would intimidate anyone who questioned him on his drug use.
My thoughts were: I couldn't live without it," Ryan said.
"I would get very anxious, very focused just on that, I couldn't function until I had what I wanted."
He said he made unsuccessful attempts to quit ice by trying to limit the amounts he injected. He even tried substituting other substances.
"Instead of injecting meth I would inject Epsom Salts, just so I could still inject and not have any of the consequences," he said.
'Methamphetamine is definitely the number one'
Eventually, fearful an addiction he could not beat would soon claim his life, Ryan sought help.
"It just got to the point where my life had no meaning," he said.
"I had no girlfriend, I had no job and I felt worthless, and I knew it was all because of my addiction.
"I basically wanted to go out of my room and not be scared."
Alastair Mordey, the program director at the Cabin Chiang Mai, said Ryan's story was not uncommon.
He said increasing numbers of young Australian ice addicts are seeking the centre's help and more than half the centre's 50 clients are from Australia.
Read more here: www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-22/australians-addicted-to-ice-seeking-rehabilitation-in-thailand/6397992
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