Latest waste water analysis figures show Adelaide is Australia’s ice capital

THE ice crisis gripping South Australia has deepened, as latest figures reveal another sharp spike in illegal drug use that is having a “devastating” effect on the community.

• Ice use in South Australia second-worst in nation
• Ice in Adelaide: Abundance of methamphetamine
• Sewage analysis: Adelaide’s ice usage at record high

THE ice crisis gripping South Australia has deepened, as latest figures reveal another sharp spike in illegal drug use that is having a “devastating” effect on the community.

The amount of methylamphetamine — known as meth or ice — used in regional SA doubled between August and December, and Adelaide remains the country’s ice capital.

The Federal Government analysis of waste water showed the equivalent of one in 10 people in Adelaide took one dose of the destructive drug each day during October.

But despite a small drop in use in December, Adelaide held on to its unwanted title as the country’s ice capital.

Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor said ice remained a scourge across Australia and was particularly “devastating” in SA.

In a shocking disclosure, Mr Taylor said he was told on Thursday about ice being used at a mothers’ group.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission report captured the drug use of 54 per cent of Australia’s population — about 12.7 million people. Nine of 45 sites tested were in SA.

In more positive news, SA generally recorded the lowest levels of party drug MDMA, and heroin use was well below the national average in both regional and capital city sites. Use of opioids oxycodone and fentanyl also trended down.

Mr Taylor said the data was being used by police across the country to crack down on the increasingly sophisticated organised crime groups shipping and distributing illegal drugs, including ice, around Australia. “Ice has shifted from a being a local cottage industry to a sophisticated global network of organised criminals,” he said.

Federal Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor.

“At the frontline it’s still bikies, they are at the coal face distributing networks. State and territory police will focus on that front line.

“We at the federal level need to focus on those global networks ... and we are intercepting far more of these drugs than ever before.”

Mr Taylor pointed to the seizure of 313kg of methamphetamine in January on its way to SA as a recent successful joint effort between the AFP, Border Force and SA Police. That haul stripped about $270 million worth of the drug from Adelaide streets.

The Turnbull Government announced the National Ice Action Strategy in 2015, which included a $300 million national war chest to fight the scourge. Funding under the strategy runs out next financial year. Mr Taylor said the Federal Government would remain committed to tackling the issue.

Across the country, alcohol and nicotine remain the highest consumed substances while ice continued to be the most consumed illicit drug tested.

People living in regional SA were more likely to be teetotallers, with consumption of alcohol almost half that recorded in Adelaide.

To put the size of the Australian methamphetamine market into context, the estimated weight of the drug consumed each year is now 8387kg.