While all three consciously took the pernicious drug “ice”, they could never have known the ripple effect that decision would have on their lives.

As aftershocks reverberate following this week’s drug arrests in Wagga, their stories offer a powerful reminder of the dangers of ice.

Not all drugs are created equal and ice – a highly potent, highly addictive form of methamphetamine – is to illegal stimulants what heroin is to illegal opiates. When heroin was released onto the streets in the early ’80s, the effect was both swift and savage.

Thousands of naive young Australians experimented with the drug and soon found themselves hopelessly hooked. 

Their descent into a personal abyss was accompanied by a spate of overdose deaths and a dramatic spike in the crime rate. Ice’s choke-hold on users is equally as powerful. It makes users ugly inside and out.

That the drug is freely available and freely abused in Wagga and surrounds is a given, writ large on the front page of this newspaper during the week.

Raising awareness of this filthy drug – the way it’s made, the way it grabs hold of individuals and its easy accessibility – is the first step. But education is not enough.

Desperate, angry people who are in a self-medicating trap are not in a position to make rational decisions.

We, as a community, must do all we can to help them squeeze out of that trap.