New statistics show majority of drug trafficking convictions in the District Court involve meth
METH is the top choice of drug to peddle in SA, with almost 70 per cent of trafficking convictions imposed by the District Court over a 13-month period involving the devastating drug.
METH is the top choice of drug to peddle in South Australia, with almost 70 per cent of trafficking convictions imposed by the District Court over a 13-month period involving the devastating drug.
The consumption of the drug in SA has been likened to casually drinking a beer — “a routine fact of life to which many become accustomed”.
Statistics show that of the 193 District Court drug trafficking convictions between May 1, 2017, and April 6, 2018, 134 involved methamphetamine as the dominant drug.
A further eight cases involved a small amount of the drug.
It was followed by MDMA and ecstasy, with 28 and 11 convictions respectively.
Culshaw Miller Criminal Lawyers compiled the data — which excludes cannabis — as part of an appeal for a convicted heroin trafficker.
The sentencing judge noted the social harm caused by heroin and the figures were used in a bid to prove that methamphetamine had, in fact, saturated the SA illicit drug market.
“The ground of appeal, in essence, was that heroin is not prevalent nor is it responsible for the same sort of havoc or harm as methamphetamine,” lawyer Tom Cuthbertson told The Advertiser.
“The appeal was successful on other grounds relating to home detention.”
Cannabis did not form part of the analysis because a section of the Controlled Substances Act excludes it from the general principle that a sentencing judge must determine penalty based on how harmful the drug is.
According to the data, convictions for trafficking methamphetamine during that time involved quantities ranging from 0.1g to 4kg.
At one end of the scale, a young woman was given a fully suspended jail sentence of one year and nine months with a non-parole period of 12 months for doing a 0.1g deal to fund her own addiction.
At the other end of the scale, Sydney drug mule Leo Trinh was busted with about 4kg of high-purity methamphetamine — with a street value of up to $700,000 — when his car was stopped on South Eastern Freeway.
He was given an eight year sentence with a non-parole period of four years and three months.
In another case, Ebony Lerra Holland-Harris was jailed for at least 18 months for her $50,000 drug trafficking business, which included meth and MDMA.
She was busted after being caught by police in a car that was fitted with fake police lights.
Flinders University criminologist Andrew Goldsmith said the conviction statistics were consistent with those found in the March 2018 National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program report.
He said it found Adelaide had one of the highest levels of consumption of ice in Australia.
“The high incidence of court matters related to ice in SA is consistent also with trends observed over the past five years or so of rising seizures and arrests related to ice possession, use, and trafficking,” he said.
“The results suggest that for every kilogram of heroin consumed, ten or more kilograms of ice is consumed.
“Ice’s highly addictive nature combined with its low price relative to other drugs has made it a drug of choice for many consumers of illicit drugs, and hence a popular product for traffickers to deal in.”
He said the largest ever Australian meth seizure — 1.2 tonnes — occurred in WA but involved South Australians.
Mr Cuthbertson said in his experience, the use of methamphetamine in certain circles would be surprising to many.
“It’s consumption can be as casual as a beer, a routine fact of life to which many become accustomed,” he said.
“This is true of the middle class as much as anyone else.
“It has become almost pedestrian in the criminal courts to see one offence or another sheeted home to the trade or use of meth.”
Mr Cuthbertson said meth was highly accessible and cheap — 0.1g (a point) could be bought for about $50.
But he said the prevalence of trading meth — as significant as they were — could be misleading because the drug was also behind serious assaults, domestic violence, theft and fraud.
This week, the District Court was told Liam Steven White bashed a stranger with a bat while high on the drug.
Derek Kordick, for White, told Judge Paul Slattery that his client first used methamphetamine at age 18 and his dependence has plagued him ever since.
“It is obvious from the psychological report that he has difficulty grappling with the effects of the drug,” he said.
“As Your Honour probably sees on a daily basis, methamphetamine has caused or is present in much offending these days.”
Another violent case involving meth was that of Bo Olsson, who bashed his partner, Sherril Pountney, and strangled her mother, Patricia Phillips, to death in Millicent last May.
Bill Boucaut SC, for Olsson, said the incident came down to drug use.
“This was, apparently, a senseless and inexplicable act of violence, but the key to it is the drug ice,” he said.
“It’s yet another example of how the drug can bring out in people bizarre, sudden acts of violence.”
District Court drug trafficking convictions
From May 1, 2017, to April 6, 2018
METHAMPHETAMINE: 134
MDMA: 28
ECSTASY: 11
HEROIN: 7
COCAINE: 5
OTHER: 8
*Some cases involved more than one drug, but statistics are based on dominant quantity
**Statistics compiled by Culshaw Miller Criminal Lawyers