A massive war chest to fight the insidious drug ice has been parachuted into the Riverina.
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The state government has thrown $1.4 million at the problem by funding a new outreach service for Griffith and Wagga.
The Murrumbidgee region will be one of three test-beds for the new treatment service.
The service is a partnership between the Ted Noffs Foundation and ACT Directions Alcohol and Drug services.
It follows hot on the heels of a business closing thanks to rising crime attributed to crystal meth amphetamine also known as the drug ice.
That investment in treatment services was welcomed by National Council on Alcohol and Drugs chairwoman Kay Hull AM.
Mrs Hull described arrival of the new service as “very exciting”.
“We are seriously lacking in treatment services here in the Riverina,” she said.
“People will fall off the wagon and we have to have something to help pick them back up again.”
Mrs Hull credited the forums on the drug held across the region to help spur the state government into action.
While meth amphetamine was not a new problem, the crystallised form of the drug is “much stronger, a much more rapid and concentrated effect on psychosis and mental health”.
“There’s limited access to support services and GPs are not adequately equipped to deal with it,” Mrs Hull said.
She said the new service would help GPs, parents, friends and users when they sought help.
“There’s such an impact on front line services drawing in a massive amount of resources including police and paramedics,” Kay Hull said.
She applauded the state government for putting new money into the new ice treatment program.
“Rural areas have a massive problem with ice,” she said.
Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire said the funding was a sign the state government was “taking action”.
“Ice is a dreadful, dreadful drug and it causes so much dysfunction,” Mr Maguire said.