The Narrabri Community Drug Action Team has invited a nationally recognised drug support provider to hold information sessions in Narrabri next week.
Mr Tony Trimmingham is the CEO of Family Drug Support (FDS), an organisation he formed in 1997 after losing his son to a heroine overdose.
He will present information on binge drinking at Narrabri and Wee Waa High Schools, as well as a session for adults focusing on drug abuse, which will be held on Thursday, November 20 at 6.30 pm at the Crossing Theatre.
Chairperson of the Narrabri Community Drug Action Team, Cigdem Watson, hopes the sessions will educate families on how to respond to substance abuse issues that may be arising in Narrabri.
“Families need to be able to survive intact because it is a long process, It’s not just something that goes away with one quick fix,” she said.
“As you can see with the recent letters to The Courier, families truly do need support and this is just a starting point to raise the awareness, and then if people want to know more we can go from there.”
She hopes there will be enough interest to start a drug support group in Narrabri, similar to Alcoholics Anonymous.
“FDS wanted to start a support group here 10 years ago and they asked me if there was a need for it at the time and I didn’t think we’d get the numbers, but now with this sudden surge in public interest, they could provide regular support meetings,” she said.
“I just thought how better to address the local concerns around ‘ice’ and education around what it is, they have all these support stepping stones and programs designed to help parents and loved ones understand the different stages that a family member might go through and educate themselves around how they can support and cope at the same time.
“It would be wonderful if a local support group could start up here, I honestly can see there would be a benefit around Narrabri.”
Mr Trimmingham hopes to use his visit to dispel myths around ‘ice’ addiction, and provide families with the information and tools they need to recover.
“There currently is a reported increase in crystal methamphetamine use in the area, it’s affecting a number of people there, particularly aboriginal people, so I’m going up to talk about that,” he said.
“Across the country there’s been quite a lot of very negative media about crystal meth, some of it is accurate but a lot of it isn’t so one of the aims is to put the record straight about the problems associated with crystal meth, which for the families is difficult to deal with but not impossible.
“Some of the misrepresentation is that it’s the most addictive drug, but it isn’t by a long shot.
“Another myth is that once you’re on it it’s very difficult to give up but that is quite wrong, the prognosis for giving it up is a lot better than for alcohol or opiates or even cannabis, but it does require determination and in the mean time the families are suffering a lot of aggression and even violence.”
He said Narrabri is not unique in experiencing a reported drug surge.
“Narrabri is fairly typical of rural and remote areas, I was up there 10 years ago and I think it’s true to say that alcohol and cannabis were the two big drugs then, but I think it’s switched now and cannabis is less of a problem but crystal meth is, and it’s cheap and it’s available. It comes down to the marketing and the resources and the bikie networks and the fact that there’s money to be made, more money than in cannabis.
“There’s actually nowhere in Australia that’s free of every drug. You can get anything anywhere, but obviously when there is something that’s on the rise like crystal meth, they’ll be there fulfilling the demand and making money.”
Family Drug Support has a 24/7 phone line, 1300 368 186, and information is also available on their website www.fds.org.au.
The Victorian government’s ‘What are you doing on ice?’ online initiative has also been recognised by the Penington Institute as a very effective drug support tool.
The Narrabri Community Drug Action Team is open to all community members, and meets monthly. Next meeting is on November 24. Cidgem Watson can be contacted at Centacare for more information about Family Drug Support Sessions next week.