MARCH 27: Raw sewage testing by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has revealed the extent of illicit drug use across Australia and the penetration of ‘ice’ into rural communities.
Releasing its first National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program report on March 26, the ACIC testing identified methylamphetamine (ice) as the highest consumed illicit drug across all regions in Australia.
And, of all states tested, WA far exceeded the national ‘average’ of ice use.
The analysis tested sewerage outfalls for the presence of methamphetamine, and for 12 other illicit (and legal) substances including cocaine, MDMA, tobacco and alcohol at 51 sites across the country, covering up to 58 percent of the Australian population.
According to the ACIC report, the national daily average of methamphetamine consumption is around one dose per 28 people (a ‘dose’ being “the average amount of compound consumed in one go”).
Perth’s daily consumption average was at one dose per 17 people, with regional areas in WA recording results as high as one dose per 13 people (or 60 doses per 1000 people per day in the city, and almost 80 in country WA).
In Sydney, cocaine topped the charts for illicit drug use.
According to the ACIC report, compared to European countries with comparable reported data for MDMA, cocaine, amphetamine and methylamphetamine use, Australia has the second highest total estimated consumption overall.
Australia, in fact, ranks second of the 18 comparable countries for consumption of methylamphetamine.
Which puts the matter of the residual effects of drugs and alcohol use on workplace performance and safety, and the matter of the misuse of these substances at work, into sharp focus for employers and worker representatives.
ENDS
Tim O’Brien –ADA Australia