The NSW Police Commissioner has launched a scathing attack on the "evil" substance methamphetamine, also known as ice, agreeing on Channel 7's Sunday Night program that it is a bigger issue than terrorism for Australia. 
In an interview with broadcaster Derryn Hinch, Andrew Scipione said ice was "rampant" in country and metropolitan NSW, a substance that doesn't respect cities or postcodes.
"It is an indiscriminate killer," Mr Scipione said.
"Go and speak to any local cop in any town and ask them what the violence level's like when you engage someone who's high on ice, and they'll tell you it's off the Richter scale."
When Hinch asked if ice was a bigger issue than terrorism in Australia, the Police Commissioner answered in the affirmative.
"I think it's more likely to take lives and rob Australians of their lives, yeah," he said.
"It's all-pervasive. It's as evil as a substance can get."
The point was underscored with the case of Casey Veal, whose 10-month-old son Zayden was bashed to death in 2012 by a stranger who was high on ice and broke in to their house looking for money.
"When he was charged, that was probably one of the hardest days. The only reason they could give me was ice," Veal said.
"I'm like 'that's not a reason'. Because you're an addict isn't a reason. Because you want drugs isn't a reason to kill someone, especially a child."
The issue of drug use is dealt with every day at Sydney's Parramatta Local Court, where court 2.1 is designated as one of three drug courts in the state.
Founded in 1999, the drug court has helped reduce rates of re-offending, according to its presiding judge Roger Dive, who oversees the "report backs" of drug users.
The court's processes were filmed by the program, including its practice of giving offenders a round of applause if they have reached a milestone such as a certain period of sobriety.
"It's that affirmation," Dive said. "Sometimes they've never had a round of applause in their life before."
By his estimation, 50 per cent of people who face his court don't go back to jail.
"Now that's quite an extraordinary result," he said. "By stopping several break and enters a day, that's good for the community."
But he said, in his view, the drug court wasn't the answer to all society's drug issues.
"We need to be educating and assisting our children not to start any addictive substances."