Queensland ice epidemic escalates behind bars, with almost half of inmates testing positive

PRISONS are supposed to be one of the places where illegal drugs are inaccessible, yet a damning report shows more prisoners than ever in Queensland are testing positive for ice.

T Police Forensic Science Branch member Kelsey McGorman examines the drug "Ice" in the Forensics laboratory.

USE of the drug ice by prisoners held in Brisbane’s police cells has reached epidemic proportions with almost half of all inmates testing positive to the drug this year.

The annual report by the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program showed the highest recorded rate of methylamphetamine use by Brisbane detainees since the program began in 2002, suggesting the drug has become cheaper and more available in southeast Queensland.

DUMA representatives interviewed and collected urine samples from 381 adult prisoners at the Brisbane Police Watchhouse on two occasions this year, from January to February and April to May. The results showed 43 per cent tested positive for ice, an increase of 31 per cent since 2009, and two-thirds had injected it in the past 12 months.

FILE: Police Forensic Science Branch member Kelsey McGorman examines the drug "Ice" in the Forensics laboratory.

The report, which was released yesterday, attributed the epidemic to an increase in sellers, who forced the price down and cheapened the product to remain competitive.

On average prisoners rated the availability of crystal meth in Brisbane a nine out of 10, with some saying ice was often adulterated with products such as store-bought degreaser.

“Meth is getting cheaper and there is a lot more of it around. Currently you can get 1.5 points for $50. It was $100 for this amount originally,” one Brisbane prisoner told DUMA. “The quality of methamphetamine has greatly declined. Producers of it are using degreaser in their products,” another said.

Half said the number of sellers had risen in the past three months. “Ice is extremely cheap at the moment at about $30 a point,” a prisoner said.

The Australian Institute of Criminology, which commissioned the report, projected the level of ice use would remain high among Brisbane prisoners due to the cheap and competitive market.

Police are concerned the level of use means officers are spending a substantial proportion of time controlling and managing agitated ice users who can pose health and physical risks to police.