JIM Maher blames ice for the killing of his brother in-law and the stabbing of his nephew.
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That’s why the Armidale Dumaresq councillor is taking a stand against the drug and joining a march against ice in the city on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Cr Maher recalled the 5am phone call from his sister in 2006, telling him how his ice-using nephew killed his father and stabbed his brother.
It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for methylamphetamine, Cr Maher says.
“[My nephew] was a beautiful young fellow; he had never been in any trouble and no problems at school,” he said.
“He was taking ice and had a psychotic episode.
“It took a month before he’d realised what he had done.
“He was 21 years old when he did these things.
“He probably just thought he was experimenting and it’s just destroyed his life.”
While toxicology reports indicated there were no traces of amphetamines in his nephew’s system at the time of his arrest, Cr Maher said police believed ice played a role in the attack and subsequent mental illness diagnosis. “That drug is addictive,” Cr Maher said.
“About 10 per cent of [users] have a major psychotic episode.
“It’s just a scourge on our community and it destroys lives.”
The Armidale councillor is one of thousands of people touched by the tragedy that can come of ice use. At the October Community Safety Committee meeting, Carolyn Briggs told members ice was becoming a problem in the city’s Aboriginal community and suggested the march against ice be held as part of the Community Wellbeing Rally on Tuesday.
Ms Briggs said the march would “declare that locals are not going to tolerate ice destroying families and their community”.
“We all need to strengthen the connection of families.”
The rally will begin at 10.30am at Central Park, followed by a march through the Mall and a barbecue at Civic Park.
Armidale police supported the idea, with Senior Constable Stuart Gray renewing calls for residents to “dob in a dealer”.
Drug use is something the city has the power to unite against and stop, Cr Maher says.
“I think the community is going to have to stand up and be counted,” he said.
“People who know about these things should do their best to ensure that the police are notified," Cr Maher said.
“A lot of it’s manufactured in smaller communities.
“It’s not necessarily city-based.
It can be manufactured in a small room and distributed throughout a region.
Senior Constable Gray told the Community Safety Committee there was little evidence of “ice labs” in Armidale, with police intelligence suggesting drugs are transported into the city.
Any information provided to police by anonymous hotline Crime Stoppers was “invaluable”, he said.
For Cr Maher, Tuesday’s march is about sending a message to residents that ice can affect anybody.
“It can happen in any family… it happened in my extended family,” he said.
“One life was lost and another almost. I can never forget the phone call at about 5am from my sister.”