Yahoo Finance The regions losing the most to drugs’ $9.3bn black market
Cannabis use is twice as prevalent in Australia’s regional areas, and the broader $9.3 billion illicit drug black market is showing little sign of slowing, wastewater analysis has revealed.
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has released its latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring report, finding that between August 2017 and August 2018, Australians spent $9.3 billion on illicit drugs including MDMA, cannabis, heroin and methylamphetamine.
Despite cannabis being one of the most-consumed drugs, this was the first time the Commission included it in its analysis.
It found that the drug was used twice as much in regional areas than as in capital cities – but capital city dwellers were more likely to use cocaine and heroin than their regional counterparts.
Additionally, Australians consumed more than four tonnes of cocaine, another 1.1 tonnes of MDMA and more than 700 kilograms of heroin.
And, Australians consumed more than 9.6 tonnes of methylamphetamine alone.
All of this comes to a street price of around $9.3 billion – a clear indicator of the sheer size of the illicit drug black economy, the Commission said.
“It is astounding that Australians waste over $9.3 billion a year on drugs. This is money people could be spending on legitimate goods for themselves and their families,” Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission chief executive officer, Michael Phelan said.
The figures reveal consumption of methylamphetamine and cocaine is up, while MDMA and heroin is down, and overall drug consumption has increased.
Why is use so much higher in regional areas?
A 2015 report from the National Rural Health Alliance put it down to a number of factors including distance, isolation, poor public transport and leisure activities, and a lack of confidence in the future.
“Illicit drug use is strongly associated with social disadvantage,” the researchers added.
“People living in rural and remote areas generally have lower incomes (meaning less capacity to afford basic goods and services such as health care) and lower levels of education (which can mean lower health literacy).”
This isn’t helped by limited access to support services and treatment options.
“Rural residents may also be more reluctant to disclose their drug use to healthcare professionals who are more likely to be personally known to them.”
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