By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
TOUGH law and order policies won’t be enough to dent the appeal of ice – which is fast becoming the most popular and damaging illegal drug, says Noble Park counsellor Gerard Koe.
“It’s the highest use it’s ever been – about seven per cent of over-14s have tried ice.
“There’s a whole generation of young people trying it and the incidence of mental illness is already quite high in Western society.
“That number is going to increase dramatically.”
Mr Koe, based at the Catholic-backed Cyrene Centre in Douglas Street, is not surprised by the State Opposition’s punative ice policy released last week.
Four new ice-related crimes would be created under a state Labor government, punishable by up to 25 years’ jail.
Mr Koe said cracking down on ice’s supply however wouldn’t affect the underlying demand.
Though young people could be educated about ice’s destructiveness, “bigger things” need to be addressed, he said.
“It’s a psycho-spiritual thing. Young people are looking for excitement, to fill up their boredom because they don’t have a higher meaning.
“By that I mean, you realise there’s more to life than enjoyment. Life is about growing, being the best you can be and helping society realise its fullest potential.”
Mr Koe, who describes his own beliefs as Catholic-Buddhist, helps up to five families a day cope with drug-addicted loved ones. Most of the cases involve alcohol, followed by cannabis and ice.
Nearly half of his clients are drug addicted themselves.
He says ice does 4-5 times more damage to a person’s neurochemistry than speed – activating 12 times the normal amount of hormone dopamine.
“When you push the dopamine system too much, something snaps,” Mr Koes says. “You can get dopamine overflows, and your anxiety goes through the roof.”
The next step is psychosis, or more permanently, schizophrenia.
Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said as part of his ice policy, the youth unemployment “crisis” needed to be ended to get “young people back on track”.
