How Ice Nearly Killed Me
Emily Duncan on the Gold Coast on May 14. Photo: WHO
Emily Duncan tried ice for the first time when she was 17.
Having lived an itinerant childhood as the daughter of a travelling Christian pastor, Duncan finally felt settled in Melbourne when her parents told her the family was moving back to their home country of New Zealand. The news shattered her.
“I remember sitting in my room full of anger, hate and pain,” says Duncan. “I was on the search for drugs and alcohol and that began my journey of escapism.”
In Auckland, she tried ice with some colleagues from the café where she worked. “They said it would make me feel better,” she says. “I smoked it in a pipe and I instantly felt everything was going to be OK.”
Emily in party mode. Photo: WHO
Ten years later, Duncan was addicted to the stimulant that is now one of Australia’s biggest drug problems. In a shocking cautionary tale, the now recovered Gold Coast beauty therapist shares with WHO her ice addiction nightmare.
“By the time I was 27, I was taking ice all of the time,” says Duncan, now 32. “I started to get anxiety attacks. I wasn’t eating. I had pins and needles in my hands and feet. My hands curled up like claws—I had to run them under hot water to make them function. I would put makeup on several times a day to cover up my bad skin.”
It also affected her mental state. “I became very paranoid,” she says. “I’d smoke pot to calm my nerves throughout the day. My eyes were always red.”
As her dependency on the drug grew, her health dangerously deteriorated. “I had infections in all my nail beds, like boils on my fingers,” she says. “I was bleeding from every orifice, every day. It was killing me.”
For more on Emily’s story and how she managed to free herself of ice, pick up a copy of WHO on sale now.
Emily on the Gold Coast on May 14. Photo: WHO