The Validity of Street Terms Used to Monitor the Australian Methamphetamine Market

Aim: To validate the street terminology used to describe the various forms of methamphetamine used in Australia, namely ‘speed’ (powder methamphetamine), ‘base’ (a damp or oily product) and ‘crystal meth’ or ‘ice’ (crystalline methamphetamine). Materials and Methodology: Regular methamphetamine users (N = 309) were asked which form of methamphetamine they took on their last use occasion, and this was coded as: (a) speed/powder, (b) base, (c) crystal/ice or (d) other. Participants were then asked to identify which form of methamphetamine they used from an identification sheet that included photographs of each form of the drug. Receiver Operating Characteristics were used to determine the concordance between street terms and photographs of each form of methamphetamine. Results: Street terms identified each respective form of methamphetamine in at least 85% of cases. However, these terms were more accurate in identifying crystalline methamphetamine (specificity 97%, sensitivity 93%) than other forms of the drug (speed/powder: specificity 92%, sensitivity 89%; base: specificity 92%, sensitivity 65%). This typology missed 12% of methamphetamine use occasions. Conclusion: Street terminology can accurately identify crystalline methamphetamine in Australia, but caution is needed when using the terms ‘speed’ and ‘base’ to monitor these respective forms of the drug.