Courtrooms tell the tale of drug’s terrible grip on Geelong

A GEELONG magistrate was this week dealing with a young man who had admitted selling the drug ice, when he stopped to talk about this newspaper.

“On the front page of the Geelong Advertiser on Saturday was ice problems being particularly highlighted,” he told the courtroom. “These are serious issues in the community, and that’s certainly my experience in the situation.”

He’s not alone. Other magistrates in recent times have described the drug as a “poison” and a “scourge in our community”.

One only needs to spend a day inside a Geelong courtroom to realise how ice plays a role in so much criminal activity within our region.

Burglaries, family violence, dangerous driving — you name it, ice contributes to all sorts of offending.

It has the power to turn decent, law-abiding citizens into prolific crooks. The Addy has seen countless examples of this over the years and, sadly, will continue to see more.

Lawyers often tell stories of clients who started dabbling in other drugs, but once it came to using ice everything changed.

Living with a drug addiction comes at a huge financial cost and leads people to commit crimes to fund their own habit.

Disturbingly, many choose to do this by selling drugs to others. Such was the case with that young man this week, who pleaded guilty to trafficking ice.

His lawyer said the teen had become hooked on the drug and was dealing it so he could feed his own addiction.

It prompted the magistrate to ask, with more than a hint of frustration: “So he’s happy to feed his drug habit by taking advantage of others?”

He didn’t get an answer.

But it’s worth noting that young man wasn’t born a drug dealer or addict.

Not so long ago, someone else introduced him to that world when they gave him his first taste of illicit substances.

Now it’s him doing the same for others.

It’s a tragic cycle that shows no sign of slowing down.