Thomas*, 21, "pops" around seven pills every weekend, usually Ecstasy. His best friend died from an overdose last year at the age of 18, and yet he still continues with his possibly fatal recreational habits. And the most shocking turh is - he's not alone.
Above: A poster for the government program - "No more. It's the Law!"
In previous years, binge drinking was seen as the problem faced for the younger generations and so the government introducced their campaign - "No More, It's the Law!" where it is the responsibility of bars and clubs to stop serving alcohol to an intoxicated person. However now, it seems generation Y (those born in 1976 - 91) has found a new way to "take the edge off the week" - "party drugs".
Above: Numbers of use of stimulant drugs such as Ecatasy are increasing dramatically
Recreational drugs such as Ecstasy, Crystal Meth (also known as Ice) and Speed are amongst some of the drugs being taken as stimulants at the weekend, often associated with trance and rock music, and those numbers are continuing to rise. The National Drug & Alcohol Research centre recently revealed a 58% increase in hospital admissions for stimulant drug-related psychosis and St Vincent's Hospital has had to install two padded rooms to house psychotic methamphetamine users admitted to the hospital.
A recent survey taken at a university housing area showed taht of 20 students questioned 16 of them had "dabbled" before and 14 of these people regularly "dropped" several pills and went to the city's clubs.
I probably started in grade 6... it was all about experimenting for me... I was unhappy at home and wanted to be rebellious but now its about experiencing everything life offers to you, says Jade*, 17.
However, ecstasy, which seems to be the favourite amonst these teenagers, does have negative aspects which they simply seem to ignore.
Bruce*, 19, reflects, "It makes me feel amazing while I'm high, I'm not gonna deny that.. but it has caused a lot of problems when it starts to affect my routine... my family and of course myself.... but it takes a while to notice."
This is something which is fairly common describes Jeanette, a Ddrugs and Alcohol councillor at St Vincent's Hospital. She has been working there for three years and over the course of that period has aided addicts as well as their concerned friends and families in the Drugs Rehabilitation Centre.
"To say that Sydney youth has a drugs problem is a loaded question... Drugs can be a problem in the city... there is definately a concern..."
The problem is getting youth generations to listen to some of the important facts. Jeanette describes how the drugs being taken are stimulants so they are the drugs that would cause wild hallucinations and the feeling of being "uplifted".
The lines between clubs and drugs are being blurred even more
However, there are the negative aspects to consider such as blood pressure increases and heart rate rising. Users often find that they become dehydrated rapidly especially when they are in a club atmosphere and are dancing constantly. Also she describes how brain activity is affected as well.
With long term consequences being depression, anxiety and mental health, Jeanette worries that young people won't see the warning signs and urges anyone that thinks they or a friend might have a problem to go to the clinic. She adds, "Sydney's hospitals aim to minimise harm to society and the specific individual. We focus on harm intnervention... we know drugs exist and so we aim to help put things in place to create a safer environment for the public as a while with clinics like our Rehabilitation centre."
This is not the first time the government have aided supervising hard druge use, however no solutions have yet been established for party drugs.
Five years ago, there was great controversy when the Sydney Medically Supervised Inject Centre (MSIC) was established in Kings Cross. A centre designed for people to come and inject themselves recieving supervised aid was seen by some as a solution to the growing drugs problem.
Tracey Brown, who is the press spokesperson for the MSIC says, "We don't ask for any formal identification... as long as you are over 18 and have used drugs before... must talk to a councillor prior to supervision..." However, her tone conveys the idea that this is the company line thrown to anyone who asks for information on the centre. And wen pressed for more information, she becomes busy at a remarkable pace.
One man that is combating the war on stimulant drug abuse is Tony Trimingham. Following the death of his son to an overdose in 1997, he formed a group called Family Drug Support. The organisation has helped thousands of uses' families who are affected by a loved one's drug addiction. However at the moment, no solution has been found for decreasing the numbers of party drug users.
"I'll stop in the future but for now its what keeps me happy and feeling energised and I'm gonna keep that around for a while," concludes Thomas.
With young adults like Thomas regularly taking a sufficient amount of drugs that it could be fatal, there seems to be nothing we can do but sit back and watch their demise. Unwilling to help themselves and with the government not acknowledgeing that there is a problem with stimulant drugs, the future seems bleak for the youth generation of Sydney.
(For Further information contact Family Drug Support on 1300 368 186 or you can visit their website at www.fds.org.au)
*I wrote this article several months ago and names have been changed to protect the participants anonomously.
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