This booklet forms part of a national project to provide information on
psychostimulants for a range of professional groups. It is recognised that few
psychostimulant users access specialist services for assistance with problems;
the majority present in other health care settings.
This resource has been developed for all health care professionals (except
doctors) working in community and hospital settings in metropolitan, regional,
rural and remote locations. It does not contain information specific to any
particular health profession or health care setting.
It is not assumed that workers who use this booklet will have prior alcohol and
drug knowledge. The aim of this resource is to help workers form appropriate
and informed responses to psychostimulant use among their clients.
There are three sections in this booklet:
• About psychostimulants - background information on the drugs in this
group, their effects, and the prevalence of use and types of problems
associated with their use
• Responding to psychostimulant use -includes sections on identifying
and dealing with psychostimulant intoxication, helping users reduce harm
from use, and an overview of treatment interventions
• Resources -information about available resources for clients and
workers, including alcohol and drug contacts for each state and territory
Much of this information is drawn from the recent comprehensive and expert
publication in the National Drug Strategy monograph series, Towards better
intervention and care for psychostimulant users. Readers are referred
to this publication for further information on any of the topics covered in this
booklet (details in Resources section).