CANBERRA, Oct 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australians are among the biggest users of methylamphetamine in the world, a report found.
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) today published the 14th report from the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Programme, which measures drug use by analysing sewage.
It found that consumption of methylamphetamine – also known as ice – in Australia, ranked second among 24 Sewage Core Group Europe (SCORE) countries.
Australia ranked seventh for cannabis and MDMA (Ecstacy/Molly) use, and 16th for cocaine consumption, which fell significantly amid COVID-19 restrictions.
Use of heroin continued to decline and consumption of prescription opioids fentanyl and oxycodone decreased to the lowest level on record.
Michael Phelan, chief executive of ACIC, said, wastewater monitoring provided key insights on areas of high drug use.
“The results confirm the strong preference in world terms by Australian illicit drug users for illicit stimulants, (in particular methylamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine) and the domination of our domestic stimulant market by methylamphetamine,” he said in a statement.
“Much of the harm that Australians suffer at the hands of organised crime is due to illicit drugs,” he said. “Serious and organised crime groups profit from the importation, manufacture, trafficking and sale of drugs that cause harm to the community.”
Wastewater samples were collected in Apr, 2021, from areas that covered 56 percent of Australia’s population.– NNN-AGENCIES