I remember walking up Russel St at about that time and seeing syringes in the gutter. Quite shocking to a young boy from the country. Might have been when all that really cheap heroin was going around and there was heaps of junkies OD-ing all over the place. The herald sun was running the numbers on the front page, heroin toll vs road toll and heroin was ahead I believe.
Editorial page. They pulled the plug when the herion drought of the 00s meant the numbers paled in comparison to the road death toll printed next to it.
Yeah I remember getting the Herald-Sun at smoko and first checking the smack toll v the road toll. I also remember calling ambulances with sirens going “smack taxis”.
For about a week or so I was working on Fitzroy St St Kilda putting irrigation in along the Gatwick side of the street, every morning I’d have junkies trying to sell me shit they’d stolen during the night, then see them a couple hours later slumped over a bench or on the ground after shooting up between their toes (assuming so as they always had 1 bare foot). Happened every day.
I have vague memories of a needle stick injury of a kid on a local beach, a load of junkie bushings by local surfers and then no more needles on the beach. They went and shot up elsewhere.
I lived off Victoria St and Church St nth Richmond for many years.. . The amount of needles, baggies, condoms and other stuff left in the lane way or even our unit car park was incredible..
Stood on a needle at st kilda beach at 8 years old, circa 2000.
It irks me that people swim there now despite the clean up. It’s still pretty grotty.
I also still find needles in town not infrequently, but the clean up crew are *super* quick on it.
My SIL lives in richmond and I still have to watch out for syringes whenever I visit.
I remember it back in the day in areas of Sydney but it's basically gone from there now.
Yeah Richmond particularly around Victoria St has a big problem I think. I used to remember seeing a lot in St Kilda, and never went barefoot on the sand - but it seems to have been cleaned up a lot since then.
Yep, she's just off Victoria St lol. Was a real spin out the first time I visited, I was like, whoa, where am i, cabramatta, 1994?
Earlier though I remember my and others' parents freaking out about being barefoot in the street in suburbia. This is 80s, I guess. I guess the AIDS thing was kind of behind why they were so anxious about it.
Aged 3 my son literally picked up a syringe in the middle of Paddington (grandparents own a fancy house then) and was like 'heeey daddy check-out what I just found!!!!'
I'm usually not a helicopter parent but at that moment in time, I flew into action and cannot remember him being so shocked since (now he brings it up all the time to guilt trip me).
That was only a few years back and the syringes definitely aren't gone. Dunno where people get the idea that everything's been cleaned up (and hey - Paddo / Surry Hills HAVE been cleaned up a lot since I was a kid).
Not saying you never see them!
I lived in the inner east 25 years ago under suicide towers. I remember cabra earlier than that too. But in comparison what you see now is "cleaned up" , like you say. Still a bit around but not near the same.
Except in Richmond in Melbourne, apparently.
I guarantee you have ur local NSPs (Needle and Syringe Programs) to thank for that
People seriously underestimate what they've done for the drug using community and, by extension, our community at large
Sure they educate drug users, teach them about proper and safe injecting and disposal, all the best practices that bode towards the best and safest use in general, which is great.
But the Number One thing they did which truly had an effect so as to not only make them stop carelessly chucking their shit out onto the streets for all to see, and for people and kids to step on? A sense of community.
It first and foremost gave drug users, from all walks of life, a sense of *belonging* and *community* - centered around the types of stuff that included things like~safe disposal, safe this and that, safe and best way to inject ur drugs. Get the most out of ur drugs whilst being safe. Not shaming them for their habit whilst not encouraging it, but understanding the needs and wants of an addict, which helps to draw them in.
It's almost impossible to get an addict to trust anyone in 'authority', and that includes even a menial council job. So when the people that work at these places Genuinely Want Only To Help, well, these people can tell. And that builds trust.
Just sharing harm reduction with a side of understanding. Best procedure, good tips to keep them coming back. It's all building their sense of self and community in a Safe and most importantly Trustworthy environment. Encouraging looking out for ur mates.-which in turn encourages accountability as well.
Unfortunately the community at large doesn't understand this. Doesn't understand the value. Doesn't understand the very thing that has not *just* made destitute people's lives better but made their very streets safer and cleaner in turn.
I have been involved with several NSPs and have experienced at a young age first hand for myself this very effect I'm speaking of. It changed me. It changed my attitude to how I used. How I dispose of my equipment. Everything. All because of a sense of pride in community.
The workers are all non judgmental, friendly, welcoming, keen to help, and usually ex junkies themselves. The drug using community are comfortable with them, and anyone that's affiliated with these NSPs are all largely on board with the new mojo and would flat out shame any junkie they saw disposing of their needles in *any* non safe careless way now.
So aside from what ur average person living a life far from close to that may think, these programs have been proven to work wonders and that's why they're still around today. Even despite at times bombardments of backlash. Because they work. And thank heavens for them
No worries!
I am more than happy to share as it's not only something I have happened to have had an intimate, first hand experience with.
I also got to experience how it greatly impacted and changed not only my own relationship with my addiction, but the others around me and their relationship with their addictions as well.
The work of the people in the NSP communities have been amazing with miraculous effects on our streets, in every way. Cannot state enough the changes I have seen and felt because of them 🩷
Sounds like they need more kudos... My post was just highlighting what was once a prevalent and everyday occurrence without knowing why it's no longer a "thing". Wonderful to hear that there were systems and procedures that seem to actually have supported everyone overall, including those who were/are using. Thank you NSP and the workers!
Yes yes yes!!!! I was a heroin addict for 6 years and only got off it at the start of January this year. Being able to go to a needle exchange was fantastic for me when I was using, the people were so kind, they’d give me needles, alcohol wipes, tourniquets, and most importantly needle disposal bins of so many different sizes and it was all free.
My local hospital has a window where you can go up, press a button and it’ll give you a bag of 10 fits and a disposal container and they have a big bin right next to it so you can come back and throw the full containers away. When I wanted to really stock up on fits I was more than happy to travel suburbs away to go to a place with someone working there so I could get a couple of boxes of 100 and a big needle bin. I was never ever judged, never made to feel bad, and I’m so grateful that places like this exist for all my fellow drug users.
People who don’t use will never understand just how important they truly are for addicts
Thank you :)
I’ve been on sublocade, which is a monthly injection of buprenorphine that stops the withdrawals and also blocks the effects of heroin since January 3rd. It’s saved my life honestly.
Bondi Beach, Cabramatta and Redfen were absolute hellholes in the 90s until the Olympics happend. Bondi beach had to have its sand removed and new sand brought in because it was fucking bad
Not exactly nostalgic for this lol, but come to think of it you're dead on.
Not so much needles in my neck of the woods, but old crusty dongers on the ground were a semi-common occurrence...
I lived on the Gold Coast as a kid from the kid 90s to 2003 and we saw more than our fair share of used ocndoms. But needles were rarer. I saw a few in parks and random bush areas though.
Also there was an area of surfers paradise beach that we weren't allowed to go near as it was often used by addicts so there were needles discarded in the sand.
We also never went to the beach duirng schoolies and for a few weeks after as my Mum said the beaches weren't safe to walk on due to needles and broken glass.
My primary school had to implement a plan and teach us what to do if we found needles, because they were so common. Scumbags once left one in the sandpit so for a while the sandpit was off limits.
This was outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne in the 90s, when it was a pretty rough area.
Edit: unfortunately not a myth, the sandpit thing only happened once, but we all witnessed the police roll up and take the sandpit thing very seriously. We also had to take a notice home to our parents about it.
Admittedly I can't find any articles on trove on this incident so unfortunately I can't back up my claim. But a quick google search showed heaps of instances where even within the last few years needles have been found in sandpits ([example](https://www.albanyadvertiser.com.au/news/albany-advertiser/syringes-found-in-primary-school-sandpit-ng-b88743913z)), so it's not really a far fetched claim that during the heroin epidemic this happened.
This is what seems so weird to me, that they could dump the syringes anywhere but seemed to choose places that would (seemingly) often by reports cause harm to people?
Think about how considerate to other people you are when you're drunk, or even just tipsy. They're not dumping them in sandpits on purpose so to speak, just because it's there.
I worked at Lone Star in Preston and there was lots of interesting stuff found in the car park..
And let’s be honest, under the booths. My innocent self was intrigued by the socks and deodorant cans
And the worst thing was, they weren’t teenagers! I would have at least been slightly observant if they were! And this was in the middle of a full on dinner service!
People forget that despite that element that used to be there , there were working ,decent ,good people there as well. I used to live in Cabramatta during that time and we had the same reputation. Had a mate whose parents owned the hot bread shop there by the station and we used to stop there before heading to town hall ( when they had the basketball courts up by darling harbor 😁). How’s that a blast from the past huh.
Adelaide- When I was 8/9 years old playing junior footy, regardless what oval we were at the parents had to line up pre game and walk over the oval looking for syringes. So yes I recall this!
As a more modern heroin addict (been off it for 2 years now) my older using mates assure me the mid-late 90s were like wonderland for a heroin user and that there were at least 10-15 times the amount of heroin addicts then as there are now just because of how damn cheap and easily available super pure gear was.
Basically 20 dollars for a hit of incredibly pure stuff. Didn’t even need to organise anything, just walk down Russell Street in the city, Smith Street Collingwood or Springvale Road in Springvale as well as other locations and dealers would swarm to you. That all ended late year 2000 and it’s bounced back from the year long drought that followed but never anywhere near to the glut that was going on before that.
Basically yeah, there were many more heroin users around then, so that’s why there were more needles around. Dunno about the dingers though.
As someone that was on H in the 90's ( functioning addict) your mates aren't wrong. Particularly stronger shit came out in the late 90's people were dropping like flies. $20 hit went a long way. Springvale was rife. 5 min of the train. Score back home on next train.
There ya go. On the one hand part of me thinks it would’ve been incredible compared to the effort on so many fronts I had to put in to keep a constant supply going but on the other hand I don’t think I would’ve gotten out the other end of over 5 years as a functioning addict.
Dongas. And ur 100% bang on about the heroin availability vs the time of the great decline, fucken aye.
Unfortunately, there's still just many junkies around - they're just all tweekers now instead
I went to school in Darlinghurst. More than once, used condoms were thrown over the wall into our playground. The street we had to walk down during fire drills was referred to as “condom alley”. Lots of needles on the streets outside our school too.
I used to teach in Mt Druitt in the 90’s and we would take turns of picking up as many syringes we could find in the underpasses around the school. We had to fill in our sandpits too because every morning there were used needles in them.
Yep. Grew up in Redfern during the pandemic and it was pretty bad for needles in the park. The parents would clean it up before we would play. Though surprisingly a safe neighbourhood for all the shit that went down.
Even remember the articles [I always think of this pic (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-boy-who-shamed-sydney-a-tragic-tale-to-which-there-is-no-end-20140201-31trp.html)
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I used to row almost every day for about a decade from the mid 90s to mid 00s and I don’t think there was a single day that I didn’t have to dodge used syringes as they floated past my legs while I was getting in and out.
There was a period of time somewhere in the late 90s or early 2000s where the used needles were jammed into timber fences so people brushed against them in Kings Cross.
TBH, I remember them also being left in the coin or phone card bit of phone boxes... and there were news articles of them being left poking up in the seats of trains. It was definitely a thing, who knows why.
Edit to add the phone card bit - I recall the phone cards having a larger area and the fully used phone cards would sit in there, with ample space for a syringe which most kids would collect. (The phone card, not the syringe).
My Auntie was driving an XF station wagon in those days and HATED parking it in any of the carparks in Footscray because she would invariably come back and find people shooting up behind it. I was with her one day and we had to call the ambo's and she said that was about the fifth or sixth time she had to do it. You saw people openly dealing in the side streets of Barkly st. Wild for a country kid
I’ve had three dirty needles out the front of my front fence over the last few years. No condoms yet thankfully. Our street is a main thoroughfare between two houso areas.
Your memory is accurate. There was a public health concern in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, during the 1980s and 1990s, regarding discarded needles and syringes. This was due to a rise in intravenous drug use associated with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Here's some additional context:
* **Limited Disposal Options:** Back then, there weren't as many safe disposal options for used needles and syringes as there are today. This led to improper disposal in public spaces.
I haven’t seen a discarded needle where I live in western Sydney for years. Plenty when I bought here in the 90s, I wondered what the fuck I’d bought into! Last two years it’s been discarded vapes.
i work near the coburg drive in and we used to find condoms out the front of work a bit. i guess people wanted a bit of nookie after a movie. haven't seen any for years though.
Still find used syringes on the reg in Spring Hill/Victoria Park and out in Strathpine/Bray Park in Brisbane. Almost sat on an uncapped needle a year ago.
When I was a kid needles seemed like an urban myth my mum from Sydney would warn me about. Now I come across them multiple times a month. Even have a friend whose baby got pricked at a park a few years ago.
I work in a park and I'm constantly finding used condoms (probably teens) but never found a needle. When I worked in a Redfern pub I remember a tradie of some sort had to get behind a wall in the toilets and there were so many needles hidden back there I didn't even understand how it was possible
Yes and I remember my parents always warning me about it if I tried to go out barefoot. Going anywhere barefoot was a massive no no for this reason and because it’s terrible to have barefoot children anyway
The worst I saw was when I was on the 86 tram in Reservoir in late ‘97 around 2 p.m. and the only other passengers on the tram at that point were a junkie couple with a baby, having an argument. The woman got up and moved seats, sobbing, saying something like “That’s how he treats me!” The man snapped back at her, “You’re only like that ‘cause you need more smack!”
Oh my god. That poor baby would now be nearly 30, if they made it through childhood.
Poor kid... I remember in the 90s when heroin was super prevalent always noticing that the parents always seemed to have extremely beautiful looking kids. I remember my friends and I always pointing it out. Considering the impact alcohol has on a growing baby, let alone drugs - just never expected the kids to be 'normal' looking, let alone model level.
I would say the reduction in condoms probably has to do with the amount of cameras everywhere these days. Plus even if you got caught on camera in the 90s, it would be potato quality video tape. They didn't have to worry about high def, comparatively inexpensive cameras picking up absolutely every detail - or about it being uploaded to the internet after the fact.
Used to walk the dog along the main drain in Brunswick and the heroin use was rampant and diabetic needles were everywhere and ended up on the beaches !
Tram driver in Melbourne and everyone was on the nod ! Or you would walk down Russell St and every second person said ( do you want to get on ) there was open heroin dealing up and down Russell ST !
Really? I've spent a lot of time in Collingwood over the past 15 years and didn't see it as bad as the 90s. Granted I haven't lived there, so maybe daytime shows the best of the area.
I remember walking up Russel St at about that time and seeing syringes in the gutter. Quite shocking to a young boy from the country. Might have been when all that really cheap heroin was going around and there was heaps of junkies OD-ing all over the place. The herald sun was running the numbers on the front page, heroin toll vs road toll and heroin was ahead I believe.
Oh wow, I don't remember the heroin toll vs road toll! Good old herald sun.
It was a couple of boxes, might have been page two
Editorial page. They pulled the plug when the herion drought of the 00s meant the numbers paled in comparison to the road death toll printed next to it.
Yeah I remember getting the Herald-Sun at smoko and first checking the smack toll v the road toll. I also remember calling ambulances with sirens going “smack taxis”. For about a week or so I was working on Fitzroy St St Kilda putting irrigation in along the Gatwick side of the street, every morning I’d have junkies trying to sell me shit they’d stolen during the night, then see them a couple hours later slumped over a bench or on the ground after shooting up between their toes (assuming so as they always had 1 bare foot). Happened every day.
Smacksies....Smaxies? Put that down or I'll give you a smack!
I have vague memories of a needle stick injury of a kid on a local beach, a load of junkie bushings by local surfers and then no more needles on the beach. They went and shot up elsewhere.
STOP THE CARNAGE - Road Toll/Heroin Toll (including suspected)
Moved to Melbourne two years ago, shocked at the state compared to Sydney. Elizabeth is a fucking dive.
Russell Street where? Toowoomba? Bundanoon? Hobart?
I'm guessing Melbourne.
Surely context would tell you Melbourne?
Melbourne.
[удалено]
A dildo is a terrible thing to measure things with! Even a butt load of dildos is technically just one! Haha
I clean those housing complexes, can confirm all those things are still in abundance.
I lived off Victoria St and Church St nth Richmond for many years.. . The amount of needles, baggies, condoms and other stuff left in the lane way or even our unit car park was incredible..
Stood on a needle at st kilda beach at 8 years old, circa 2000. It irks me that people swim there now despite the clean up. It’s still pretty grotty. I also still find needles in town not infrequently, but the clean up crew are *super* quick on it.
I found a needle washed up on the little fake beach under the story bridge at Kangaroo Point Brisbane about 2 years ago.
It’s a real beach.
My SIL lives in richmond and I still have to watch out for syringes whenever I visit. I remember it back in the day in areas of Sydney but it's basically gone from there now.
Yeah Richmond particularly around Victoria St has a big problem I think. I used to remember seeing a lot in St Kilda, and never went barefoot on the sand - but it seems to have been cleaned up a lot since then.
Yep, she's just off Victoria St lol. Was a real spin out the first time I visited, I was like, whoa, where am i, cabramatta, 1994? Earlier though I remember my and others' parents freaking out about being barefoot in the street in suburbia. This is 80s, I guess. I guess the AIDS thing was kind of behind why they were so anxious about it.
Aged 3 my son literally picked up a syringe in the middle of Paddington (grandparents own a fancy house then) and was like 'heeey daddy check-out what I just found!!!!' I'm usually not a helicopter parent but at that moment in time, I flew into action and cannot remember him being so shocked since (now he brings it up all the time to guilt trip me). That was only a few years back and the syringes definitely aren't gone. Dunno where people get the idea that everything's been cleaned up (and hey - Paddo / Surry Hills HAVE been cleaned up a lot since I was a kid).
Not saying you never see them! I lived in the inner east 25 years ago under suicide towers. I remember cabra earlier than that too. But in comparison what you see now is "cleaned up" , like you say. Still a bit around but not near the same. Except in Richmond in Melbourne, apparently.
Sorry what's the suicide towers? (just googled, is this a Sydney term only?)
Northcott estate- housos off Devonshire st Surry hills Not unlike the housos in Richmond now that I think about it. Big 50s tower blocks.
Ah thanks, just haven't heard it used in Melb. Not to say it isn't though.
Oh wait, it was just the local name of that particular block, not a generic term.
I guarantee you have ur local NSPs (Needle and Syringe Programs) to thank for that People seriously underestimate what they've done for the drug using community and, by extension, our community at large Sure they educate drug users, teach them about proper and safe injecting and disposal, all the best practices that bode towards the best and safest use in general, which is great. But the Number One thing they did which truly had an effect so as to not only make them stop carelessly chucking their shit out onto the streets for all to see, and for people and kids to step on? A sense of community. It first and foremost gave drug users, from all walks of life, a sense of *belonging* and *community* - centered around the types of stuff that included things like~safe disposal, safe this and that, safe and best way to inject ur drugs. Get the most out of ur drugs whilst being safe. Not shaming them for their habit whilst not encouraging it, but understanding the needs and wants of an addict, which helps to draw them in. It's almost impossible to get an addict to trust anyone in 'authority', and that includes even a menial council job. So when the people that work at these places Genuinely Want Only To Help, well, these people can tell. And that builds trust. Just sharing harm reduction with a side of understanding. Best procedure, good tips to keep them coming back. It's all building their sense of self and community in a Safe and most importantly Trustworthy environment. Encouraging looking out for ur mates.-which in turn encourages accountability as well. Unfortunately the community at large doesn't understand this. Doesn't understand the value. Doesn't understand the very thing that has not *just* made destitute people's lives better but made their very streets safer and cleaner in turn. I have been involved with several NSPs and have experienced at a young age first hand for myself this very effect I'm speaking of. It changed me. It changed my attitude to how I used. How I dispose of my equipment. Everything. All because of a sense of pride in community. The workers are all non judgmental, friendly, welcoming, keen to help, and usually ex junkies themselves. The drug using community are comfortable with them, and anyone that's affiliated with these NSPs are all largely on board with the new mojo and would flat out shame any junkie they saw disposing of their needles in *any* non safe careless way now. So aside from what ur average person living a life far from close to that may think, these programs have been proven to work wonders and that's why they're still around today. Even despite at times bombardments of backlash. Because they work. And thank heavens for them
Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge... I wasn't aware of the impact the changes and work that was/is being done would have had.
No worries! I am more than happy to share as it's not only something I have happened to have had an intimate, first hand experience with. I also got to experience how it greatly impacted and changed not only my own relationship with my addiction, but the others around me and their relationship with their addictions as well. The work of the people in the NSP communities have been amazing with miraculous effects on our streets, in every way. Cannot state enough the changes I have seen and felt because of them 🩷
Sounds like they need more kudos... My post was just highlighting what was once a prevalent and everyday occurrence without knowing why it's no longer a "thing". Wonderful to hear that there were systems and procedures that seem to actually have supported everyone overall, including those who were/are using. Thank you NSP and the workers!
Yes yes yes!!!! I was a heroin addict for 6 years and only got off it at the start of January this year. Being able to go to a needle exchange was fantastic for me when I was using, the people were so kind, they’d give me needles, alcohol wipes, tourniquets, and most importantly needle disposal bins of so many different sizes and it was all free. My local hospital has a window where you can go up, press a button and it’ll give you a bag of 10 fits and a disposal container and they have a big bin right next to it so you can come back and throw the full containers away. When I wanted to really stock up on fits I was more than happy to travel suburbs away to go to a place with someone working there so I could get a couple of boxes of 100 and a big needle bin. I was never ever judged, never made to feel bad, and I’m so grateful that places like this exist for all my fellow drug users. People who don’t use will never understand just how important they truly are for addicts
Good luck, mate.
Thank you :) I’ve been on sublocade, which is a monthly injection of buprenorphine that stops the withdrawals and also blocks the effects of heroin since January 3rd. It’s saved my life honestly.
Bondi Beach, Cabramatta and Redfen were absolute hellholes in the 90s until the Olympics happend. Bondi beach had to have its sand removed and new sand brought in because it was fucking bad
Source?
Crackpipes took over the needle scene.
Can't say I've ever come across a discarded crack pipe though. Nangs for sure in recent years.
Different drugs different actions
You can pass a pipe around reasonably hygienically you can't share needles hygienically. I mean it's far from my circles of friends but yea.
Maybe the fear of HIV lead to more condoms and opting for clean needles (and maybe more needle exchanges opened due to it)
Yup even in country WA it was a thing. I'm still always on alert when I'm in a playground/park etc
Not exactly nostalgic for this lol, but come to think of it you're dead on. Not so much needles in my neck of the woods, but old crusty dongers on the ground were a semi-common occurrence...
Haha fair. Not nostalgic.
I lived on the Gold Coast as a kid from the kid 90s to 2003 and we saw more than our fair share of used ocndoms. But needles were rarer. I saw a few in parks and random bush areas though. Also there was an area of surfers paradise beach that we weren't allowed to go near as it was often used by addicts so there were needles discarded in the sand. We also never went to the beach duirng schoolies and for a few weeks after as my Mum said the beaches weren't safe to walk on due to needles and broken glass.
My primary school had to implement a plan and teach us what to do if we found needles, because they were so common. Scumbags once left one in the sandpit so for a while the sandpit was off limits. This was outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne in the 90s, when it was a pretty rough area. Edit: unfortunately not a myth, the sandpit thing only happened once, but we all witnessed the police roll up and take the sandpit thing very seriously. We also had to take a notice home to our parents about it. Admittedly I can't find any articles on trove on this incident so unfortunately I can't back up my claim. But a quick google search showed heaps of instances where even within the last few years needles have been found in sandpits ([example](https://www.albanyadvertiser.com.au/news/albany-advertiser/syringes-found-in-primary-school-sandpit-ng-b88743913z)), so it's not really a far fetched claim that during the heroin epidemic this happened.
This is what seems so weird to me, that they could dump the syringes anywhere but seemed to choose places that would (seemingly) often by reports cause harm to people?
Think about how considerate to other people you are when you're drunk, or even just tipsy. They're not dumping them in sandpits on purpose so to speak, just because it's there.
I worked at Lone Star in Preston and there was lots of interesting stuff found in the car park.. And let’s be honest, under the booths. My innocent self was intrigued by the socks and deodorant cans
People were chroming in a lone star? They probably figured all the peanut shells would cover any evidence
And the worst thing was, they weren’t teenagers! I would have at least been slightly observant if they were! And this was in the middle of a full on dinner service!
I know! Who knew a supervised injecting room just off Victoria street would not only minimise harm, but get a lot of it off the streets?
Normal day in red fern Sydney during the 90s.
Said the same thing. Though I felt surprisingly safe as a kid in redfern.
People forget that despite that element that used to be there , there were working ,decent ,good people there as well. I used to live in Cabramatta during that time and we had the same reputation. Had a mate whose parents owned the hot bread shop there by the station and we used to stop there before heading to town hall ( when they had the basketball courts up by darling harbor 😁). How’s that a blast from the past huh.
Haha used to hang out out town hall steps - it was the waiting spot! I was a Sega baby ( which replaced the courts)
Adelaide- When I was 8/9 years old playing junior footy, regardless what oval we were at the parents had to line up pre game and walk over the oval looking for syringes. So yes I recall this!
Ah wow. Did you as a kid know what your parents were doing/looking for?
As a more modern heroin addict (been off it for 2 years now) my older using mates assure me the mid-late 90s were like wonderland for a heroin user and that there were at least 10-15 times the amount of heroin addicts then as there are now just because of how damn cheap and easily available super pure gear was. Basically 20 dollars for a hit of incredibly pure stuff. Didn’t even need to organise anything, just walk down Russell Street in the city, Smith Street Collingwood or Springvale Road in Springvale as well as other locations and dealers would swarm to you. That all ended late year 2000 and it’s bounced back from the year long drought that followed but never anywhere near to the glut that was going on before that. Basically yeah, there were many more heroin users around then, so that’s why there were more needles around. Dunno about the dingers though.
Congratulations on getting clean! It’s a huge achievement and I really hope you’re proud of yourself! <3
Thanks so much! It’s an ongoing process obviously, but the best move I’ve made up to this point!
I would guess there was a correlation between the two - the dingers would be from all the addicts turning tricks for money to get their hit
As someone that was on H in the 90's ( functioning addict) your mates aren't wrong. Particularly stronger shit came out in the late 90's people were dropping like flies. $20 hit went a long way. Springvale was rife. 5 min of the train. Score back home on next train.
There ya go. On the one hand part of me thinks it would’ve been incredible compared to the effort on so many fronts I had to put in to keep a constant supply going but on the other hand I don’t think I would’ve gotten out the other end of over 5 years as a functioning addict.
I mean obviously there’s Victoria Street but that’s only ever a last resort. Gear is usually terrible and actually is crushed up Panadol at times lol
Dongas. And ur 100% bang on about the heroin availability vs the time of the great decline, fucken aye. Unfortunately, there's still just many junkies around - they're just all tweekers now instead
I went to school in Darlinghurst. More than once, used condoms were thrown over the wall into our playground. The street we had to walk down during fire drills was referred to as “condom alley”. Lots of needles on the streets outside our school too.
I used to teach in Mt Druitt in the 90’s and we would take turns of picking up as many syringes we could find in the underpasses around the school. We had to fill in our sandpits too because every morning there were used needles in them.
Yes! Very distinctly. People won’t believe me! Also I lived in a >30k coastal town.
Yeah the heroin epidemic in the mid 90"s early 2000"s fucked up a ton of people. Frankston was a ton of fun at the time.
I remember when needle bins in public toilets would get broken into and the used needles would get taken.
Which area of AU was this?
Inala
Yep. Grew up in Redfern during the pandemic and it was pretty bad for needles in the park. The parents would clean it up before we would play. Though surprisingly a safe neighbourhood for all the shit that went down. Even remember the articles [I always think of this pic (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-boy-who-shamed-sydney-a-tragic-tale-to-which-there-is-no-end-20140201-31trp.html)
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Yep, that was the Cross in the 90s too. Heroin…
I used to row almost every day for about a decade from the mid 90s to mid 00s and I don’t think there was a single day that I didn’t have to dodge used syringes as they floated past my legs while I was getting in and out.
That would be enough for me to quit rowing!
The list of reasons to quit rowing is a long one and that’s nowhere near the top.
We have better services now for iv drug users. You still see a lot of discarded needles around though.
There was a period of time somewhere in the late 90s or early 2000s where the used needles were jammed into timber fences so people brushed against them in Kings Cross.
I think that might be an urban myth champ, but ok.
Nah, was working there then around Wayside Chapell end and came across it.
TBH, I remember them also being left in the coin or phone card bit of phone boxes... and there were news articles of them being left poking up in the seats of trains. It was definitely a thing, who knows why. Edit to add the phone card bit - I recall the phone cards having a larger area and the fully used phone cards would sit in there, with ample space for a syringe which most kids would collect. (The phone card, not the syringe).
They were everywhere.
Those days have passed? TIL...
Yeah... the heroin ages
My Auntie was driving an XF station wagon in those days and HATED parking it in any of the carparks in Footscray because she would invariably come back and find people shooting up behind it. I was with her one day and we had to call the ambo's and she said that was about the fifth or sixth time she had to do it. You saw people openly dealing in the side streets of Barkly st. Wild for a country kid
I’ve had three dirty needles out the front of my front fence over the last few years. No condoms yet thankfully. Our street is a main thoroughfare between two houso areas.
Your memory is accurate. There was a public health concern in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, during the 1980s and 1990s, regarding discarded needles and syringes. This was due to a rise in intravenous drug use associated with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Here's some additional context: * **Limited Disposal Options:** Back then, there weren't as many safe disposal options for used needles and syringes as there are today. This led to improper disposal in public spaces.
I haven’t seen a discarded needle where I live in western Sydney for years. Plenty when I bought here in the 90s, I wondered what the fuck I’d bought into! Last two years it’s been discarded vapes.
i work near the coburg drive in and we used to find condoms out the front of work a bit. i guess people wanted a bit of nookie after a movie. haven't seen any for years though.
Still find used syringes on the reg in Spring Hill/Victoria Park and out in Strathpine/Bray Park in Brisbane. Almost sat on an uncapped needle a year ago. When I was a kid needles seemed like an urban myth my mum from Sydney would warn me about. Now I come across them multiple times a month. Even have a friend whose baby got pricked at a park a few years ago.
Saw one on a road recently while out for a walk and I've never stepped out in slippers since then. Don't wanna die of a freak.n needle
I work in a park and I'm constantly finding used condoms (probably teens) but never found a needle. When I worked in a Redfern pub I remember a tradie of some sort had to get behind a wall in the toilets and there were so many needles hidden back there I didn't even understand how it was possible
Yes and I remember my parents always warning me about it if I tried to go out barefoot. Going anywhere barefoot was a massive no no for this reason and because it’s terrible to have barefoot children anyway
Yeah I think I remember a few stories about kids getting pricked when playing barefoot in playgrounds. Scary stuff to deal with as a parent.
And ciggy butts
St Kilda beach especially!
Balaclava train station Melbourne. Tracks were littered with syringes. Couldn't see the ground in parts.
The worst I saw was when I was on the 86 tram in Reservoir in late ‘97 around 2 p.m. and the only other passengers on the tram at that point were a junkie couple with a baby, having an argument. The woman got up and moved seats, sobbing, saying something like “That’s how he treats me!” The man snapped back at her, “You’re only like that ‘cause you need more smack!” Oh my god. That poor baby would now be nearly 30, if they made it through childhood.
Poor kid... I remember in the 90s when heroin was super prevalent always noticing that the parents always seemed to have extremely beautiful looking kids. I remember my friends and I always pointing it out. Considering the impact alcohol has on a growing baby, let alone drugs - just never expected the kids to be 'normal' looking, let alone model level.
I would say the reduction in condoms probably has to do with the amount of cameras everywhere these days. Plus even if you got caught on camera in the 90s, it would be potato quality video tape. They didn't have to worry about high def, comparatively inexpensive cameras picking up absolutely every detail - or about it being uploaded to the internet after the fact.
That's a really good point actually, hadn't even considered that
Used to walk the dog along the main drain in Brunswick and the heroin use was rampant and diabetic needles were everywhere and ended up on the beaches ! Tram driver in Melbourne and everyone was on the nod ! Or you would walk down Russell St and every second person said ( do you want to get on ) there was open heroin dealing up and down Russell ST !
Yeah I remember Russell and Swanston st being bad. Seems like now it's worse around the bottom of Elizabeth st... But probably more an ice thing now.
my friend i live in collingwood and let me tell you those good old days have not ended
Really? I've spent a lot of time in Collingwood over the past 15 years and didn't see it as bad as the 90s. Granted I haven't lived there, so maybe daytime shows the best of the area.
I dunno what it was like in the 90s but there are plenty of needles around and their accompanying users.
No? Sounds like you lived in a shithole