Amphetamines: Harm Minimisation Strategies

General safety tips

Understand your substance

• Unregulated supply: Non-prescribed drug supply is toxic and unregulated. There is no way to be sure of the drug, the amount, or the strength that you think you are taking.
• Avoid mixing other drugs with amphetamines, because this can ‘mask’ effects and can be dangerous.
• Educate yourself: understand the risks, standard doses, and signs of overamping or overdose to stay informed.
• Test your substance: use reagent testing kits to confirm the purity and identity of your substance. While not foolproof, they help reduce the risk of ingesting harmful adulterants.

Measure and test your substance

• Start low, go slow. Everyone reacts differently. Start with a small amount, especially with a new batch.
• Use reagent test kits or drug checking services where possible to check for harmful adulterants.
• Set personal limits: think about how much and how often you want to use before starting to avoid impulsive re-dosing or bingeing.
• Avoid stacking doses: taking a lot at once or re-dosing frequently increases risks, builds tolerance, and can strain your body over time.
• Track your use: keep note of how much you take and how it feels. This can help you spot patterns, changes in tolerance, or emerging issues.

Look after yourself

• Hydration: sip water regularly - about 1 cup (250 mL) per hour when resting, or up to 2 cups (500 mL) per hour when dancing or exercising. Swap in electrolytes to stay balanced but avoid overhydration.
• Food: amphetamines can make you feel not so hungry. If you can't manage a full meal, try a smoothie or meal replacement drink.
• Prioritise sleep: many of the undesirable side effects of amphetamines – like irritability or feeling scattered – get worse when you’re sleep deprived.
• Look after your teeth: amphetamines can cause dry mouth and teeth grinding which can damage your teeth and gums. Drinking water and chewing sugar-free gum can help.
• Take breaks: give your body and mind time to recover between use.
• Reach out: if your use is starting to worry you, talk to someone you trust – like friends, family or a counsellor.

Set and setting

Your mindset (set) and environment (setting) significantly shape how amphetamines will affect you. Both can influence how intense the experience is—and how safe or risky it feels.

Set = Your body and mind

This includes:

• Current mood and mental health
• Life stressors or emotional load
• How safe and supported you feel
• Your physical state (sleep, food, hydration, illness)
• How familiar you are with amphetamines
• Any prescribed medications or other substances you've taken

Amphetamines can amplify your current state. If you're anxious, overwhelmed, or not in a good headspace, you may feel scattered, wired, or uncomfortable. A stable mood, rest, and food can help reduce negative effects.

Setting = Your surroundings

Think about:

• Where you are: is it a familiar or unfamiliar space?
• Lighting, sound, temperature, and smells
• Who you're with and whether you trust them
• The time of day, if you're indoors or outdoors, the weather

Being in a calm, physically comfortable space with people you trust can help lower the risk of anxiety, panic, or unsafe decisions. Environments with high stimulation (like clubs or festivals) can feel overwhelming—especially if you're new to amphetamines.

Mixing and masking

Knowing what happens when you mix certain substances is important, to help minimise harm when you’re using amphetamines. Some combinations cause unpredictable effects, while others can mask how intoxicated you really are—making it easier to misjudge your limits.

• Mixing: avoid mixing with other drugs, especially alcohol, stimulants, or depressants. Mixing can lead to unpredictable and often dangerous effects.
• Masking: mixing a depressant and a stimulant can ‘mask’ effects of each drug, making you feel less intoxicated than you are - but your body still feels both. This can lead to: overestimating how much you can safely take, dangerous crashes when one substance wears off first, increased risk of overamping, overdose, or sudden distress.

Risky mixes with amphetamines

• Amphetamines and alcohol: this mix can mask the effects of alcohol and how intoxicated you feel, which can lead you to have more than you intended. This can increase your risk-taking bheaviour, or increase risk of overdose or respitory depression.
• Amphetamines or benzos or opioids:increases the risk of respiratory depression and blackouts – especially if taken to “come down”.
• Amphetamines and other stimulants: this is a dangerous combination that can lead to severe cardiovascular stress, heightened anxiety, and the risk of stroke or heart attack.
• Amphetamines and hallucinogens: can intensify hallucinogen effects, which can increase paranoia, anxiety or psychosis.

Ways to use amphetamines: from lower to higher risk

Oral

• Swallowing amphetamines has a slower onset and longer duration. It’s generally considered lower risk because it gives you more time to gauge the effects.
• Examples: swallowing dexamphetamine tablets, diluted powder or caps.

Smoking

• Inhaling amphetamines produces an intense, fast-onset high. It increases the risk of compulsive re-dosing and can damage the lungs.
• Examples: smoking methamphetamine using a glass pipe.

Snorting

• Snorting leads to a faster onset and a more intense high. It can irritate or damage your nasal passages and makes it harder to control your dose.
• Examples: snorting speed or methamphetamine.

Plugging or shelving (rectal use)

• Plugging leads to a moderate onset and smoother come-up compared to snorting or smoking. It bypasses digestion, which can make effects feel stronger.
• Examples: diluted amphetamine solution administered rectally with a syringe (no needle)

Injection

• Injecting amphetamines has the fastest and most intense onset, but also the highest risk. It increases the chance of overdose, infection, and vein damage.
• Avoid if possible. If injecting, always use sterile equipment and never share.

Safer Use Tips

• Weigh or measure doses instead of guessing
• Start with small amounts (e.g. bumps, not lines)
• Use your own equipment—don’t share pipes, straws, or syringes
• Avoid homemade equipment or using foil when smoking — use purpose-built glass or metal tools
• Regularly clean your equipment
• Avoid using with depressants like alcohol, benzos or opioids
• Let someone know what you've taken if using alone

Understanding and managing overamping

Sometimes you might experience overamping. This is similar to an overdose but overamping can happen even if you haven’t had a large amount. Overamping can be unpredictable, and can happen when your body is run down, or if you have been using for a few days in a row.

Physical symptoms of overamping

• Tremors, nausea, rapid breathing, hyperthermia (over-heating), seizures, headaches, heart stress.

Psychological symptoms of overamping

• Paranoia, agitation, aggression, anxiety, hallucinations, and confusion.

Safe management of overamping

• Seek medical help: if you have severe symptoms like seizures or acute psychosis, seek immediate medical assistance.
• Calm and cool environment: reduce stimulation by moving to a quiet, cool and ventilated area to help manage anxiety and overheating.
• Hydration and rest: drink water and electrolytes, and rest in a comfortable position to help stabilise your body.

Amphetamines overdose

Signs of an amphetamines overdose:

• agitation and paranoia
• severe hyperthermia (overheating) and sweating
• risk of self-harm or aggression towards others
• irregular heartbreat or chest pain
• seizures
• stroke
• unconsciousness or severe disorientation

What to do if you’re with someone who has overdosed

• Call emergency services (000) immediately: tell them clearly what substance was taken, and what symptoms are showing. Severe symptoms need immediate medical attention.
• Stay with the person: keep them calm and monitor their condition. Move them to a calming, familiar environment if possible.
• Cool down: move to a cooler environment, and use cool wet cloths under the armpits, on the back of the knees or on the forehead to reduce body temperature if the person is overheating.
• Put them in the recovery position: if they are unconscious but breathing, turn them on their side to keep their airway open.