A WAGGA former drug addict who splurged $700-per-day on ice believes initiatives like ‘Dob in a Dealer’ are “useless” in deterring the epidemic.
Jay Morris has shed light on his horrifying past, revealing he prostituted himself to fuel his methamphetamine addiction.
The now-CSU student claims users and abusers can only be helped unless they want to help themselves – citing a need for prevention-over-policing.
“You can dob in a dealer all you like but people are still going to find their fix,” he said.
“I was living under a bridge and I ended up selling myself and my belongings to support the habit.”
“When somebody is that driven, you can’t force them to stop.”
Mr Morris used “hook-up” application Grindr to acquire methamphetamine.
He claims users would display symbols to indicate if they were willing to trade ice for sex.
What followed was 18 months of “hell” as he transformed from a successful young travel agent into an ice-driven “zombie” only concerned by his next hit.
He injected five times every day and consumed over a gram in 24 hours.
“It got to the point where I was so dependent on it I knew I had to quit or I would die,” he said.
The recovering Wagga man now works with other ice users to break down the cycle.
“Education is really important and it should be tackled on both a user and a family level,” he said.
“You can try force people out of a habit all you like, but to truly get them to stop is to make them realise the damage they are doing to themselves and others.”
The ‘Dob in a Dealer’ campaign was funded by the federal government, and took place across Australia.
The initiative targeted criminals who manufacture and supply ice.impact.
It comes after 113 people in the Wagga municipality were arrested in possession of amphetamines in the 12 months to June.
An alarming 268 people were arrested for possessing marijuana and 19 were found with ecstasy on them.
In the same time, 15 ice dealers were nabbed by police and 30 pot smugglers were caught red-handed.