Expert warns of risks involved with use of methamphetamine

The unprecedented increase in the use of the stimulant drug, methamphetamine in the country, has prompted calls for Papua New Guineans to be wary of the health and other risks associated with it.

While clear statistics of the extent and number of users in the country is yet to be ascertained, it is evident the use and consumption of the drug is fast becoming a problem.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Associate Professor Rebecca McKetin from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales says when people are on this drug - they are very industrious, won't sleep and eat and once it wears off, the depression and paranoia sets in.

Professor McKetin says while some people may casually take this drug at parties, a lot of young people between 17-23 years develop dependency on the drug - which is very difficult to break

"We start to see a lot of mental health problems with this drug. So, people say when they're using it, they feel great, they feel high, they feel confident, they feel energised and alert and they're able to work better and that's why they take it.

" However, when they come down, that's the terminology, after a couple of days the drug wares off, they go into a deep depression and they feel like everyone's looking at them, that they're out to get them, that they're giving them a hard time, and they become quite irritable and moody ", Professor McKetin said.

The Professor says for those who use the drug on a weekly or daily basis, the recovery from its hangover can take between 3-5 days or even weeks.

She adds that the harms associated with methamphetamine use on young people are significant.

"The harms that we see with methamphetamine in young people who become less engaged in their schooling are less likely to attain as higher levels of schooling as they would if they weren't involved with using substances regularly and because of that they don't necessarily achieve the same occupational outcomes.

"They tend to not do as well in the employment field, they're more likely to be unemployed or underemployed.

Drug use can affect both parents and children

Professor McKetin says Methamphetamine use is intergenerational and can affect both parents and their children in the long run.

"And they often don't realise that it's a problem or seek help for about another five or ten years. That's a really critical period in development, the late teens, early twenties and then because they are still using when they're adults, their children will be impacted by that as well.

"So, you're looking at families, and intergenerational issues will come up because you've got parents that will hook up with other people who use the drug as well and they will have children and then you're trying to help them to manage their family as well as their drug use, and then that is having a secondary impact on the family".

PNG's limited border policing makes it an easy target

Moreso, the geography and massive landscape of the country, with its scarcely or unmanned borders places it in a vulnerable state for drug traffickers to exploit and take advantage of.

Like others in the region, Australian Methamphetamine expert Professor Rebecca McKetin highlights this poses a huge challenge in curbing the illegal movement of these illicit substances.

She says, the weak systems and even conflicts contribute to this as well:

'Even in Southeast Asia where you have a lot more developed countries with good systems, it's still challenging to police drugs being trafficked in the region critically through countries where there might be weak governance or conflicts or poorest borders because of the conflicts that are going on around those borders.

"What I noticed in the pacific is that it's especially challenging in that you have a lot of borders, the water around you is a big challenge in terms of policing and regulations and the resources required that are competing with a lot of other development priorities so limited resources are a massive challenge", the professor told NBC News.

Professor McKetin adds that PNG while a signatory to the United Nations 1961 Single convention on Narcotic drugs and the 1971 Convention on Pyschoptropic substances is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Illicit traffic in Narcotic durgs and psychotropic substances which provides the legal mechanisms for enforcing the other two drug control treaties: