Most research on drug use is like taking a snapshot – you see someone at one moment in time and try to understand their whole story. But what if we could actually follow the same people for decades? That’s exactly what researchers have been doing, and their findings challenge everything we thought we knew about drug use trajectories in Melbourne.

The SuperMIX study has been tracking over 3,000 people who inject drugs since the early 2000s. Some participants have been returning year after year for nearly two decades. What they’ve uncovered about drug use trajectories in Melbourne isn’t what anyone expected.

The Changing Face of Drug Use

Back in 1996, when similar research first started, the typical participant was 28 years old. Most had only been using drugs for a few years. Everyone assumed they’d either get clean quickly or… well, they didn’t like to think about the alternative.

Fast forward to today, and those same researchers are still meeting people every week. Except now, the average age is mid-40s. Nearly a quarter of new people joining the study are over 50. These aren’t kids experimenting behind the bike sheds – these are adults who’ve been using drugs longer than some of their children have been alive.

Peter Hicks, who’s been running this research for over 25 years, puts it bluntly: “It’s fair to say that drug use often follows extended substance use patterns rather than brief episodes.”

What Does Long-Term Drug Use Actually Look Like?

Growing Old with Addiction

The most shocking finding? People don’t just “age out” of drug use like everyone hoped. In fact, those over 50 in the study were more likely to have injected drugs in the previous month than younger participants.

But here’s the twist – they were also more likely to have stable housing and see a GP regularly. They were less likely to get arrested. It’s almost as if they’d learned to manage their lives around their drug use, rather than despite it.

“Helen” (not her real name), one of the participants, summed it up: “It takes several hours just to have a shot now.”

The Health Reality Check

The researchers have started testing lung function because so many participants show signs of serious breathing problems. When you’re smoking cigarettes and using other substances for decades, your lungs don’t forgive you. Neither does the rest of your body.

85% of participants over 50 still smoke cigarettes. Half are on methadone or similar programmes. They’re seeing doctors more often because they have to, not because they want to.

The Loneliness Crisis Nobody Talks About

Week after week, the research team hears the same thing from different people: they’re lonely. Desperately, achingly lonely.

“Social isolation and loneliness for many of the participants that we talk to is really having a massive impact on their lives,” explains Hicks.

Think about it – when your life revolves around something society considers shameful, you lose friends. Family members distance themselves. Employment becomes difficult. Before you know it, the only people who understand you are other people using drugs.

Why People Keep Coming Back to the Study

The researchers were curious about why people kept participating year after year, so they asked. The answers were telling:

• The $20 payment helped, obviously
• They felt like they were contributing to something important
• But most importantly, it was often the only non-judgmental conversation they had all month

One participant described their annual interview as “like a check-in for themselves” – almost therapeutic.

The Postcode Lottery of Addiction

Here’s something that should make us all uncomfortable: where you’re born largely determines your risk. The study shows a clear “postcode lottery” – people from poorer suburbs are far more likely to end up in prison, more likely to struggle with Drug Use Trajectories in Melbourne that spiral downward.

It’s not about moral failing. It’s about opportunity, support, and the presence or absence of hope.

What This Means for Prevention

Getting Real About Timescales

If we’re serious about prevention, we need to get honest about what we’re trying to prevent. This isn’t about stopping a brief phase of teenage rebellion. For many people, this is a decades-long journey.

Traditional approaches assume people will get clean within months or years. The data suggests we might need to think in terms of decades instead.

The Human Touch Matters

The research team has learned something crucial: being non-judgmental isn’t just nice to have – it’s essential. Participants consistently said that feeling treated as equals and actually being listened to made the biggest difference.

“It sounds kind of simple,” notes Hicks, “but it’s not always easy to do.”

Address the Root Causes

The substance use patterns they’re seeing don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re tied to:

• Housing instability
• Unemployment
• Untreated mental health problems
• Social isolation
• Trauma

You can’t solve drug problems without addressing these underlying issues.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Perhaps the most challenging finding is this: not everyone who uses drugs long-term is doing so “problematically.” Some have found ways to maintain relationships, housing, and even employment while continuing to use.

This doesn’t mean drug use is safe or recommended. But it does mean our one-size-fits-all approaches might be missing the mark.

Where Do We Go From Here?

After 25 years of following the same people, the researchers have learned that drug use trajectories in Melbourne are far more complex than anyone imagined. Some people do get clean. Some die. But many exist in a grey area that our current systems aren’t designed to address.

The study continues because the participants keep showing up. They come back year after year, even when they’re sick, even when they’re struggling, because someone finally treats them like a human being worth understanding.

Maybe that’s the real lesson here. Before we can prevent something, we need to understand it. And before we can understand it, we need to see the people affected as worthy of our time, attention, and compassion.

As one participant put it: “You lot are the only ones who don’t look at me like I’m scum.”

That’s both heartbreaking and hopeful. If we can figure out how to bottle that non-judgmental approach and scale it up, we might actually make a difference.

Source: Turning Point