Most Australian ice users - 70 per cent - take the drug less than once a month.Īnd like Mr O'Loughlin, a number of those who use ice are engaging in chemsex: the practice of deliberately taking certain illicit drugs, such as ice, for the specific purpose of enhancing sexual pleasure. Mr O'Loughlin went on to use the drug ice every few months over a number of years to enhance his sex life.Ībout 1 per cent of the population report using ice recreationally, according to the latest National Drug and Household Survey. 'I thought I was going through some sort of hormone surge or something … speed had never made me open up and become as sensual and as intimate as ice did,' he said. He bought what he thought was speed at a dance party and became sexually aroused for the next few days. He first smoked ice - also called methamphetamine or crystal meth - by accident in the late 90s. The 62-year-old consultant has spent much of his career advocating for drug users at various non-profit organisations including the Victorian AIDS Council. He is a world removed from the emaciated, scab-scarred face of heavy ice users we frequently see in mug shots in the media. Bill O'Loughlin doesn't fit the stereotype of a crystal meth user.
