THE entire Bacchus Marsh community needs to wake up to the scourge of local drug abuse, police say.
Spearheading a community forum on the growing problem of ‘ice’ or crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride use last Thursday night, Bacchus Marsh police’s youth resource officer and Leading Senior Constable Jim Ross said the time had come for all residents to be aware of what was going on in town.
‘‘If you think it’s not a problem in Bacchus Marsh, in our community, you have your head in the sand,’’ he told an audience of more than 200 people at Bacchus Marsh Hall.
‘‘It’s an evil drug, a devil drug. It’s a problem in our community. If you stick your head in the sand and not stand up and seek the help you need, it will be too late.’’
He said part of the problem was a lack of statistics on drug use.
‘‘We don’t have drug addicts that are registered to any one organisation that provide the stats,’’ he said.
‘‘The only stats are the drug and alcohol workers who have the files of cases. In our community, there are addicts who are not registered, so I have no stats to give you, I have no numbers to give you.’’
A number of speakers addressed the signs of abuse, types of users, long-term effects of use and the methods of coping with an addict.
Senior Constable Ross said Bacchus Marsh police’s priority was helping addicts, not locking them up.
‘‘We don’t go in and arrest them and drag them off to court, that’s not our priority.
‘‘[Bacchus Marsh] Police’s priority is to save lives. If you’re at risk, it doesn’t matter who it is, call us.
‘‘We’re not going to arrest them for possession or use, or drag them to court, we arrest under the Mental Health Act and get them to hospital and get them help.
‘‘So don’t be afraid to call the police. I’m not interested in seeing [drug] raids like the one in Underbank [February 13], that’s great that we did that but if we can lessen the want, it’s a supply and demand type of arrangement.’’
– Do you have a story to tell on the scourge of ‘ice’ in the region? Email bcameron@mmpgroup.com.au
– Look out for more in the Moorabool Weekly in your letterbox on Tuesday – including an interview with a recovering ‘ice’ addict.
– Keep an eye on our website for more on this important story.
