“It was almost a fantasy that I imagined what life would be like if I didn’t have to use drugs today," he said. “It was horrible, lonely, miserable, depressing, riddled with anxiety, fearful. I was taking ice as many times as I could at the end.” Greg, who wanted his last name withheld, told his story to persuade people now taking ice to get help, because addiction would follow ice usage as sure as night follows day. “I started using drugs as a kid (on the Gold Coast). The area where I grew up it was quite common and it sort of snowballed from there,” he said. The 51-year-old said older anti-drug campaigns based around the message “drugs are bad; don’t do drugs” simply missed the mark.

“I tried many different drugs for the first time and that simply wasn’t my experience,” he said. “In some cases I had a great time and it just reeled me in slowly over time. “But that ‘drugs are bad; don’t do drugs' head-in-the-sand type of approach led me to believe it was perhaps an urban myth and a bit of a lie. Former ice addict Greg talks with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk after launch of new anti-ice campaign in Queensland. Credit:Tony Moore “That is why I carried on.

“I think to be honest and aware in our society and to realise that addiction is a problem in our society and to promote recovery - as opposed to ‘stay away from drugs’ - is a much more important message.” Greg was never told recovering from drug addiction was possible. “I never knew of anyone to become clean and sober or remain abstinent from drug use and finding help was just difficult,” he said. The decision to ask for help was the hardest for any addict, he said, saying the single thing that helped him quit was realising he was not the only person suffering addiction. “The thing that helped me was to be part of the journey of recovery with other people,” he said.

“I felt really isolated and alone and felt that I was the only one who suffered the issues I was having at the time.” “To move into recovery and learn that there was a whole bunch of people who had the same experience as me – and were already years into recovery and were willing to tell me their stories. “I could relate to them and slowly but surely they gave me a little bit of hope that recovery was possible.” For others, that help could come from the Queensland government’s new five-year $100 million Ice Help campaign beginning on Sunday. It features six former addicts telling their stories.

It aims to choke off the supply of ice at a grassroots level, to offer targeted counselling and run a $3 million television and social media campaign to let former ice addicts tell their story. The campaign was launched in Brisbane on Sunday by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Police Commissioner Ian Stewart. Ms Palaszczuk urged everyone to take note of the campaign because the ice epidemic “is insidious.” How a drug lab would look in your neighbours garage Credit:Tony Moore “If you have a loved one who is currently experiencing ice addiction there is a path to recovery,” she said.