Amphetamines: client demographics and treatment
In 2019–20, amphetamines were reported as a drug of concern in over one-third (36%) of all treatment episodes, either as a principal or additional drug of concern:
- amphetamines were the second most common principal drug of concern for the fourth consecutive year (28% of all treatment episodes), having surpassed cannabis in 2015–16 (46,281 episodes) and increasing to 60,987 episodes in 2019–20
- the most common additional drugs of concern reported with amphetamines include cannabis (33%), alcohol (20%) or nicotine (19%), but these drugs are not necessarily the subject of any treatment within the episode (Figure DRUGS1; tables SD.6–8).
Amphetamine use and harms
Amphetamines stimulate the central nervous system and can result in euphoria, increased energy, decreased appetite, paranoia and increased blood pressure (ADCA 2013). Long‑term effects include high blood pressure, extreme mood swings, depression, anxiety, psychosis and seizures.
Methamphetamine comes in a range of forms, including powder, paste, liquid, tablets and crystalline. Methamphetamines are part of a broader category of stimulants that also includes cocaine, and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Stimulants can be taken orally, smoked, snorted/inhaled and dissolved in water and injected. Some of the harms that can arise from the use of methamphetamines and other stimulants include mental illness, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular problems and overdose (NDS 2017).
The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Dataset data available for amphetamines correspond to the Australian Standard Classification of Drugs of Concern (ASCDC) for the general ‘amphetamines’ classification, in which methylamphetamine is a sub-classification. Data on different forms of amphetamines—methylamphetamine specifically—have not been separately reported over time due to the nature of the classification structure used in this collection. This report provides information on methylamphetamines as a principal drug of concern for the first time.
A client’s usual method of administering their principal drug of concern can provide an indication of the form a client used, particularly for amphetamines. For example, those smoking (clients who report either smoking or inhaling amphetamines) are most likely to be using the crystal form, and those ingesting or snorting are most likely to be using the powder form. For clients injecting amphetamines, it is less clear as each of the base, crystal, powder, or liquid forms, can all be injected. However, according to the most recent data from the Illicit Drug Reporting System, of injecting users who were injecting methamphetamines, crystal was the form most often used in the previous 6 months preceding interview, followed by powder (NDARC 2020).
According to the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (AIHW 2020), the proportion of people aged 14 and over using meth/amphetamines in the last 12 months remained stable in 2019—1.3% compared with 1.4% in 2016. Crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) continued to be the most common main form used among people who had recently used meth/amphetamines (57% in 2016 and 50% in 2019).
Reporting methamphetamine over time
The Australian Standard Classification of Drugs of Concern, 2011 (ASCDC, ABS 1248.0) is set up with 3 levels of classification which includes the broad group (e.g. Stimulants and hallucinogens), narrow group and base-level categories which are the most detailed.
Data available in the AODTS NMDS reports the narrow group ‘amphetamines’ classification. Base-level categories within this narrow group include:
- Amphetamine
- Dexamphetamine
- Methamphetamine
- Amphetamine analogues
- Amphetamines, not elsewhere classified (nec)
- Amphetamines, not further defined (nfd).
Changes to coding for methamphetamines has been difficult due to jurisdictional differences in client management systems, and the use of only broad or narrow group coding by some agencies. This has improved over time due to advancements in workforce training, agency coding practices and new system updates.
Client demographics
In 2019–20, 34,307 clients received treatment for amphetamines as a principal drug of concern, two-thirds (66%) of clients were male and about 1 in 6 (18%) clients were Indigenous Australians (tables SC.6, SC.8).
For clients whose principal drug of concern was amphetamines:
- male (69%) and female (72%) clients with amphetamines as their principal drug of concern were most likely to be aged 20–39 (70%) (Figure AMPHET1; Table SC.7)
- the rate of Indigenous clients receiving treatment increased from 782 per 100,000 people in 2015–16 to 1,051 in 2019–20 (Table SCR.26).
Figure AMPHET1: Clients with amphetamines as a principal drug of concern, by age group (years) and sex, 2019–20 (%)