TRUTH is the first casualty of war.

So when Tim Badrick (Letters, Aug 25) calls for mandatory jail sentences in the war on drugs, on the basis that "many ice addicts start out smoking cannabis", that ice is "the second worst drug on the planet" and opines about an "ice epidemic", then a reality check is long overdue.

According to the latest government statistics, only 2.1 per cent of Australians reported using methamphetamine in the 12 months prior to the survey - hardly an "epidemic" since use has remained stable for at least the last 10 years.

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