Name

Address

Occupation

Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug 'Ice'

STATEMENT OF ANDREW HOUSE

4th July 2019

Andrew House

AOD Clinician, Royal Flying Doctor Service

On _ July 2019, I, Andrew House state:

1. This statement made by me accurately sets out the evidence that I would be

prepared, if necessary, to give in court as a witness. The statement is true to the

best of my knowledge and belief.

2. I have lived in Broken Hill for just over 2 years. I am 55 years of age. I grew up in

Condobolin and Griffith, and completed Year 10 schooling. I am currently employed

as an AOD Clinician at the Royal Flying Doctors Service. I have no partner or

children. My parents are in their mid to late 80s.

3. The first drug I tried was alcohol, just before I turned 15 years old. At around 15 to

16 years old, I tried cannabis. Not long after that, at age 16, I started using speed.

4. I started using drugs because I was curious. I remember seeing cartons of alcohol in

the laundry at home, and like anyone that age, I was interested in trying it. When I

tried that first drug, it was like turning on a switch. I don't know why, but I felt like it

did something for me that I couldn't do for myself. I thought I had discovered a

better version of myself, and I experienced that same feeling each time I tried a new

drug.

5. The first time I had alcohol, I got drunk on three beers and vomited, and ended up

rolling my mum's car. Looking back, I think my drug use was out of control from that

very first experience. My life from that point revolved around getting the next drug.

it didn't matter what I tried or how much - I couldn't find what I was looking for.

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6. Curiosity led me to try pot as well. I remember there was a guy at school who I

knew smoked it. I was curious to try it, so I sought him out, and we smoked it

together. I remember lying on the floor, listening to Pink Floyd and getting stoned.

From that first experience, I fell in love with pot.

7. My first experience of using speed was mixing powder into Coca-Cola and drinking it.

Once I drank it once, I realised it was awesome so I tried snorting it. Within a few

months, I was injecting it.

8. Before I tried drugs, I had rules for myself of things I thought I would never do. I

said I'd never try cigarettes, never pot, never powders, never needles. But once I

tried it, I moved on to the next best thing. I didn't think I was doing a bad thing. I

remember thinking it was great, and it felt awesome.

9. The group of friends with whom I had experimented with alcohol and marijuana in

my teens moved to Melbourne, and their use had progressed to amphetamines.

When I moved down there, it felt like I was part of a community. Growing up, I had

always felt like I was on the outside looking in. I kept waiting from an alien to come

and pick me up and take me home. I didn't get this world. When I was using, I felt

connected to the world. It created an illusion that I had discovered the 'real' me.

10. Over the years, I also used heroin, Serapax (a benzodiazepine), mushrooms and

acid. I never had an ecstasy tablet. At one stage I was eating 30-40 Serapax a day. I

was living in Queensland, and got driven out of town by the Police for doctor

shopping.

11. I got paranoid and psychotic using speed, because I was using so much. It was not

uncommon for me to inject 20-30 times a day. Back when I was using in the early

80s, there were no needle syringe programs, or public health campaigns raising

awareness around the dangers of sharing needles. One needle could be passed

around to 10 people.

12. We used to use up near the water tank in Griffith and discard our used needles up

there - so if I was desperate for a needle, I would go up there and find a used one. I

knew a pharmacist who knew I was an injecting drug user - she offered to give me

cl n needles, so I wouldn't use dirty ones. But I didn't take her up on it. I didn't

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care back then. I lived with Hepatitis C for over 30 years. I went on the new

treatment program, and cured that which was a relief.

13. A few things happened when I was 7 years old, which had an impact on me growing

up. I found out I was adopted. That made me feel like I had no family, and wasn't

wanted by my own family, so I shut myself off from any relationships. Around that

age, I also moved town and had to repeat year 2 at school; not because of academic

ability, but because of my age. Once I was being taught things I already knew, I

gave up. I didn't realise what was happening to me, or how those experiences were

affecting me. I just acted out, ran away from school and stopped trying to learn. As

a result I was continually punished including getting hit with the cane, which pushed

me further away.

14. It took 7 admissions to rehab before I managed to get away from drugs. My first

admission happened after I robbed a house and tried to kill myself. That crisis

motivated me to seek help. After three months in rehab, I decided I didn't want to

be there anymore. I thought, "as long as I don't use needles, I will be fine". So

another resident and I both escaped from rehab. That night, we few of us shot up

200 Ritalin tablets ..

15. Everything I thought I'd never do, I did. I was totally powerless over what was

happening to me. My addiction was running the show, and what I wanted was

irrelevant.

16. I didn't understand the nature of who I was, or the addiction I had. I needed to learn

more. I eventually worked out that everything I was told in rehab about what would

happen to me if I continued to use was happening. I needed to find out the truth

myself though. Each time I left rehab, it answered another question for me. I got to

the point where I realised for me to have a better life, I couldn't have that first drug.

It took me a while to understand that about myself. I had always blamed something

external.

17. Each visit, each intervention, was significant in my recovery, regardless of how long I

as there or what happened. I felt misunderstood my whole life. From the first time

ent to rehab, it planted a seed. I realised there were people the same as me, who

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got in trouble, and who had the same uncontrollable desire to keep using despite the

consequences. I was introduced to a peer group who understood what I was going

through. It was a big relief to finally feel understood and feel that connection.

18. The whole time I was using, behind the drama of what I was experiencing day to

day, I knew there had to be something better. I knew at some level that I wasn't

being true to myself. It's not a lifestyle that anyone chooses. It was living hell.

19. I have been abstinent for 34 years, since 19 August 1985. For me, it was about

learning to live with myself, rather than 'staying away' from drugs.

20. I believe strongly in the self-help movement. I went to NA meetings for a while, and

am still involved. When I stopped using, the self-help movement was alive and well.

But now there is a lot of anti-self-help sentiment, which is disappointing. When harm

minimisation was first introduced, abstinence was part of that. Over the years, I feel

like there has been less of an emphasis on abstinence, and more emphasis on

minimising harms around use. I think people should have access to all available

options to reduce the harms associated with drugs, including abstinence. If

abstinence isn't an option for someone, then they might consider a different

approach.

21. I remember my parents took me to see a doctor once, around the time of my 5th or

6th admission to rehab. The doctor was talking about controlling my money, as a

way of trying to control my drug habit. I knew inside me that wasn't going to work.

After that appointment, I went straight over to my friend's house and used. That was

when I realised I was using the drugs as medication, to cover up the pain I was

experiencing.

22. I still have periods now of feeling separate. It's part of my personality. My continual

goal is to stay in a surrender place, to give in, and work on intimacy.

23. I started working as a peer support worker in 1994 at the rehab I went through, 8

years after I finished the program there. I had done a lot of things before I took on

that job; driving trucks, working for Telstra, bumming around surfing. When I started

working at the rehab, it just felt right. I felt comfortable doing that job.

24. it makes a difference working with people with addiction, when they know I

m a similar background. From my experience, it's a relief when people come

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across someone who can articulate what they are feeling and thinking. It helps them

realise they aren't crazy, it's just part of who they are.

25. Having worked with a lot of people in addiction, I have realised that addiction is a

personality type. There is a myriad of factors that make up the person that has an

addiction - intimacy issues, self-esteem issues, issues with authority, need for instant

gratification, poor impulse control, depression and anxiety.

26. I am in the process of started a Crystal Meth Anonymous group here in Broken Hill.

CMA is a support group of people who have used/or are still struggling with using

drugs who can meet regularly to help each other stay drug free. It is an abstinence

based program and you don't have to be drug free to attend. It does not cost any

thing and anyone is welcome regardless of their backgrounds or experiences. CMA is

not affiliated with any other organisation and has no opinion on social issues. It's

free from distractions so users can help each other in a safe place.

27. I think there is too much attention placed on the drug itself. There is this idea that

drug users are normal people doing bad things. For people with addictions, it's not

just behaviour, it's part of their personality. Especially with chronic addictions where

people are in a place where their use is out of control, they're using a dangerous

drug, involved in stuff which has catastrophic impacts on themselves and their

families lives. People don't wake up one day and decide to use ice.

28. I believe more people would seek help if addiction was accepted, and it was not

criminalised. We can't just keep locking people up. People with addiction feel shut

out and separated from the world already - more punishment feeds their condition

and illness. Drug use should be not a criminal issue, you can't expect people to keep

jumping in the pool and expect them not to get wet.

29. The nature and symptoms of addiction should be explained to people growing up.

Drug education teaches kids about what a standard drink is. They should be teaching

kids about the symptoms of alcoholism, addiction and self-destructive behaviour, as

well as teaching them about their own personalities. If people are equipped to

recognise the signs of self-destructive behaviour early, they might have a better

chance of reaching out and seeking help earlier, as opposed to ending up in justice

s stem and losing everything. It takes most people until their mid to late 30s to

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30. If alcohol caused alcoholism everyone who had a drink would be an alcoholic. There

is something in that person which makes them more prone to forming an addiction.

If I had a drink today, I would become a drunk. If I had a line of speed today, I'd

become a drug addict. It's not something that goes away. If someone can be

exposed to the truth, and accept it, they have a chance at recovery.

31. The criminalisation of drug use is hypocritical. Drugs are available on every street

corner. People can walk into a pub at 8 or 9am in morning and drink 20 schooners.

But if someone gets caught at party with one pill, they're a criminal. Not only is that

confusing for people, but it makes it much less likely that they will reach out and

seek help.

Signature of Andrew House Sign~~

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Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug 'Ice'

Signature of Andrew House

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