Crystal meth addict 'gouged out his eyes and ate them' while high on drug, Australian MP claims

Dobell Federal Liberal MP Karen McNamara recounted the horrifying story at a summit aimed at tackling growing substance abuse

Heather Saul
Friday 22 May 2015 09:53 EDT
Comments
Two rocks of crystal meth seized by police
Two rocks of crystal meth seized by police (Getty Images )

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An Australian MP shocked hundreds gathered at an anti-drugs summit by describing an incident where a young man gouged his own eyes out and ate them while high on methamphetamines.

Australia's Central Coast is battling growing use of the drug methamphetamine, which is also known as crystal meth or 'ice'.

Law enforcement officers, health providers and community workers gathered at the Central Coast Ice Summit to discuss ways of tackling the epidemic on Friday, which was organised by Dobell Federal Liberal MP Karen McNamara.

“We have to get these kinds of stories out to young people — this is not a recreational drug."

A spokeswoman for Ms McNamara later said the alleged incident she referred to had occurred at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, according to The Australian. The spokeswoman said the story had been related to Ms McNamara by a frontline emergency services officer who asked not to be identified.

A John Hunter Hospital spokeswoman said she could not find a recent record of the incident described by the MP, but did find a record of a similar event from ten years before.

“There was a similar incident in the hospital’s Emergency Department more than a decade ago,” she told the newspaper. “However in the interest of their privacy, we are unable to provide any further information or confirm a link to the drug crystal methamphetamine without the patient’s consent.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in