Australian city now smoking cannabis more than SA revealed in ACIC wastewater report

South Australia may be the nation’s meth capital – but there is another city that is now smoking more cannabis than Adelaide. See the full report.

Adelaide has been ranked as the methylamphetamine capital of Australia, according to the latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program.

Meth is also the drug of choice in regional South Australia, which has the second-highest consumption of cannabis in the country.

Across the state a total of 776 kilograms of meth was consumed in 2022. One regional town recorded the highest per capita consumption of the drug anywhere in the country, according to the report by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC).

More than 160 kilograms of cocaine was consumed last year which was also a six per cent drop on 2021. The biggest decline in drug use in South Australia was ecstasy which fell by 66 per cent – the largest fall in the country.

The consignment of ice and cocaine valued at $182 million seized by Australian Border Force.

Sites in regional South Australia had some of the highest use of the often-abused prescription drug fentanyl. Their alcohol consumption was below average.

The report showed Sydney is the cocaine capital of Australia, while Melbourne is the ecstasy capital and regional Queensland is the highest user of ketamine. Darwin had the highest use of nicotine in the country and consumed the most cannabis, while Tasmania took the most fentanyl.

The ACIC report which is researched with data collected by the Universities of Queensland and South Australia showed overall in South Australia there was eight per cent drop in total drug use, including cocaine, from 2021.

Cannabis was among items seized in a serious crime bust in SA this year. Picture: SA Police

The ACIC believes the drop in drug use, particularly for cocaine, is because of the huge drug busts that have taken place around the country last year, not because of any drop in demand for the drugs.

WA Police seized 2.4 tonnes of cocaine in Australia’s biggest drug bust cutting off supplies to the rest of the country. Picture WA Police.

Last year police seized 416kg of cocaine off Yorke Peninsula, the biggest haul of illicit drugs in South Australia, worth an estimated street value of more than $166 million dollars.

Four Filipino foreign nationals, who were crew members of an international bulk shipping carrier, were charged with illicit drug importation.

In 2022 Australians spent $10 billion on drugs buying more than 14 tonnes of just four drugs – methylamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and heroin. It was a slight decrease on the previous year according to the report.

Around the country meth remains the most consumed drug in Australia by a big margin. But during the same period there has been a jump in heroin use.

The use of MDMA, MDA, oxycodone fentanyl cannabis and ketamine increased in capital cities.

The acting ACIC CEO Matt Rippon said the drug use is a concerning amount in both economic cost and the actual expenditure.

He said the cost to the community is enormous through associated acts and incidents including drug fuelled “violence, road trauma, property crime, illness, injury and deaths”.

The report is the 18th produced by the ACIC monitoring 58 wastewater plants, covering about 57 per cent of the population.

The report compiled results from 9075 samples for 12 drugs including nicotine, alcohol, heroin, meth, amphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and MDA, prescription drugs with abuse potential oxycodone, fentanyl, as well as cannabis and ketamine.

A snapshot of drug use across the nation between April and August 2022 showed a record low in consumption of cocaine and a huge drop of 41 per cent in ecstasy.

The drop in ecstasy is attributed to a shift in overseas organised crime groups toward producing more methylamphetamine.

Cannabis consumption in regional areas continue to be much higher than capital cities.

For free advice on drug and alcohol treatment services call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.