Australian Institute of Criminology report reveals an abundance of methamphetamine in Adelaide
ICE is flooding the Adelaide drug market and is readily available, according to police detainees who were interviewed during a recent study.
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ICE is flooding the Adelaide drug market and is readily available, according to police detainees who were interviewed during a recent study.
Between January and May 2015, the Australian Institute of Criminology interviewed 239 people who had been arrested by SA Police and placed in the Adelaide watch house.
Of the 239 detainees interviewed, 21 per cent tested positive to methamphetamine after agreeing to a urine test.
The study found crystal methamphetamine — or ice — was the most common form of meth used by Adelaide police detainees with 60 per cent having consumed the more potent substance on the last occasion.
Detainees were asked to rate the availability of methamphetamine in Adelaide.
According to the study, methamphetamine’s availability was rated at eight on a 10-point scale, indicating an abundance of the drug.
One detainee said: “Methamphetamine is everywhere in Adelaide. It’s huge.”
While another detainee described the Adelaide drug market as saturated with methamphetamine and ice.
Comments included: “(It is a) flooded market at the moment” and “Ice is flooding the market”.
“Based on police detainee reports, it appears the high level of availability is being maintained over time,” the study said.
The study showed the quality of methamphetamine in Adelaide had not changed, while the drug had become cheaper because of greater competition in the market.
“One detainee who reported the price had decreased stated: ‘Dealers are dropping prices in order to compete and by making it weaker or (in) smaller quantities’,” the AIC report stated.
“Over one third of Adelaide police detainees — 38 per cent — who had used methamphetamine reported having overdosed, ‘over-amped’ or burnt out in the last 12 months.”
It also found about 47 per cent of methamphetamine users at the Adelaide watch house reported having injected the drug in the last 12 months.
“Therefore, police in contact with methamphetamine users are at increased risk of exposure to bloodborne diseases,” the study stated.
It said the half-life — or the amount of time it takes for half of the meth dose consumed to be eliminated from the body — is up to 13 hours.
“For police, this means they will be required to manage the effects of intoxication and withdrawal experienced by users in custody over a much longer period of time,” the report said.
“Being armed with information about what methamphetamine is, the nature and extent of use of methamphetamine among Adelaide police detainees, and details of the Adelaide meth market can assist police to identify risks to themselves and others.”