We are very familiar at the Register about the impact this drug has had and the trail of wreckage it continues to leave in its wake.

In recent years, we have chronicled the despair felt by parents who have watched their children fall into the grip of addiction, their personalities warped out of recognition and their potential ruined.

We’ve covered the courts, through which has traipsed a seemingly endless trail of users, distributors and dealers. We’ve reported on road accidents in which innocent lives have been snatched away by drivers high on the drug.

We’ve joined public awareness campaigns and forums where the dreadful toll of crystal meth has been laid bare by tearful mothers who have had nowhere to turn.

The conversations have been important because we have always believed ice addiction had to be brought out of the shadows.

Tom Abood’s documentary is part of that conversation. The fact he has chosen Nowra should not be interpreted as dumping on the town. He says he chose to focus on our community because, having grown up here, he cares about it. It could be any other town in regional Australia, such is the extent of the ice problem.

The frank nature of the documentary – no one’s face is blurred, no one’s identity masked – is important. When the ice problem first emerged in Nowra, parents spoke of the shame of having children addicted to the drug and out of control. This added to their sense of powerlessness and isolation.

Being up front and open about the problem will help in the search for solutions and the medium-term treatment. 

We know there is a long way to go before we tackle this problem. It will involve a whole of community effort, not just policing. As we have seen, drug networks can be shut down one day, only to re-emerge with different players the next. 

We have made some inroads. Funding was secured by federal MP Ann Sudmalis, who convened the first big community ice forum in Nowra, to improve rehabilitation services. 

This documentary serves to keep the conversation going.