Methamphetamine Symposium: Making Research Work in Practice

June 2015
Tania Steenson

The National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) hosted the National Methamphetamine Symposium: Making Research Work in Practice on 12 May 2015. The symposium was held:

  1. in response to changes in the way methamphetamine is used, particularly ice.
  2. to share advances in our knowledge about methamphetamine at both the policy and practice level
  3. showcase NCETA’s new program of work aimed at supporting the AOD treatment sector respond to methamphetamine-related issues

The Symposium focused on the identification of current patterns and trends in use, and best practice interventions with a particular emphasis on prevention and early intervention with high risk groups. The importance of early identification and finding ways to assist people to receive treatment early before problems escalate was particularly highlighted.

The Symposium was attended by over 260 participants from a wide variety of alcohol and other drug professions, including frontline health (doctors, nurses, counsellors) and community workers, supervisors and service providers, and policy makers. Feedback provided by attendees about the organisation of the conference, presentations given on the day, and the relevance of the conference to their work environments was extremely positive. Participants commented that presentations given by Associate Professors Rob Hester, Nicole Lee, and Nadine Ezard were especially valuable, and increased their knowledge about the neurological impact of methamphetamine, treatment efficacy and options available for frontline professionals.

Speaker presentations may be downloaded from the NCETA website. The presentations may be downloaded as a pdf and/or listened to via YouTube. A brief overview of key issues covered at the Symposium is also available on the NCETA website. Visit the NCETA website for more information.