Ice, cocaine, heroin consumption highest on record
Australians are putting a record amount of meth, cocaine and heroin through their bodies, latest wastewater testing shows, with nicotine use also rising.
Australiaâs insatiable appetite for illicit drugs is fuelling demand from international crime groups and drug dealers cashing in on the lucrative market.
Analysis of wastewater by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, in partnership with universities, detected a growth in consumption of major illicit drugs around the nation.
Methylamphetamine (ice), cocaine and heroin were all found at record highs in the latest analysis, which began in 2016.
More than 22 tonnes of those three drugs, as well as MDMA (ecstasy), was consumed in Australia in the year to August 2024, according to the wastewater analysis.
It has boosted the illicit drug trade and the profits for organised criminals, with an estimated $11.5 billion being spent.
Ice consumption rose to an estimated 12.8 tonnes.
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Cocaine use increased almost 70 per cent, MDMA almost 50 per cent, and heroin almost 15 per cent.
The commissionâs drug specialist Shane Neilson said the market was rebounding after consumption dropped amid tighter border controls and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Large profits from a consumer base willing and able to pay higher prices than other global markets are driving the business.
Drug traffickers will throw tonnes of product at Australiaâs borders, knowing whatever gets through will make enough money to outweigh losses from seizures, some of which outweigh total detected annual consumption, Mr Neilson said.
âItâs just a relentless determination of transnational and domestic serious and organised crime groups to continue to supply the Australian market,â he said.
Organised crime groups are also thought to be fuelling a rise in illicit tobacco, but while nicotine consumption reversed a decline in the second half of 2024, itâs impossible to determine what proportion of it was obtained on the black market.
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Ketamine use is also on the rise.
Forensic analysts believe the majority of the general anaesthetic being consumed is imported and illicit, with the drugâs use in medical and veterinary settings less prevalent.
Itâs the same for cannabis, despite thousands of people being medically prescribed.
âAlthough the number of users of medicinal cannabis is increasing, itâs small relative to the overall use of cannabis,â Neilson said.
The nationâs multi-billion-dollar splurge on illicit drugs sends profits solely to organised criminals, the crime commission said.
âThere is no taxation on these profits, and economically it does have an impact,â Neilson said.
The latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey suggests nearly one-in-two Australians aged 14 and over (10.2 million people) had illicitly used a drug at some point in their lifetime including the non-medical use of pharmaceuticals.
An estimated one in five (3.9 million) used in the past 12 months.
-with AAP
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