New cocaine hotspot: Aussies now have white lines parties at home

Aussies are finding cheaper ways to party than the traditional night out, says a convicted drug dealer whose former buyers included “tradies, lawyers and professional footballers”.

The crippling price of pints has snuffed out Australia’s nightlife as people party at home with cocaine because it’s cheaper.

Beer prices have hit up to $18 a pint, and along with the cost of Ubers, revellers are heading to their mates’ place instead of the local pub.

Convicted drug dealer Andrew Hamilton revealed the stay-at-home trend in the Cocaine Inc. podcast - a joint investigation into the global drug trade produced by True Crime Australia and the UK’s Times and Sunday Times.

Hamilton, who had sold drugs to “tradies, lawyers and professional footballers”, said going to the pub had become too expensive.

“People were like, well, the night life here is shit and I’ve got a higher chance of getting picked up with a bag of coke if I’m out,” Hamilton said.

“So why don’t we just go to a friend’s house where we can relax?

“And so now you’ve got people that are saving a fortune on alcohol because they’re not spending it at a bar. And with that extra money, what are they doing? They’re spending it on cocaine.”

Watch the video above to see more in our Cocaine Inc. investigation.

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Comedian Andrew Hamilton. Picture: Newswire / Gaye Gerard

Drug detector dogs are everywhere. Picture: Supplied

Sydney is Australia’s cocaine capital, with a gram selling for around $350.

Some users were paying that price for just 0.7 of a gram of cocaine, with Australia’s prices the highest in the world with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

Alcohol consumption has hit record lows in some parts of Australia, with younger people drinking less than previous generations.

Hamilton said high drinks prices meant that sharing cocaine with friends was now similar to the cost of going out.

“At a nightclub you’re buying a bunch of (beers), it’s $50 for cigarettes or a vape and then you buy a kebab on the way out,that’s $250, that’s about the money you spend to buy a bag of coke,” he said.

“We’ve just shot ourselves in the foot by killing our own nightlife.”

Watch Andrew Hamilton talk about cocaine in our video below:

Hamilton, 37, was convicted in 2021 of selling MDMA and magic mushrooms following a raid by the New South Wales police Raptor Squad.

He spent four months inside but was released on an Intensive Corrections Order, which expires at the end of 2024.

Hamilton was dealing to support his own drug use and a gambling addiction but has since been able to kick those habits.

He has turned his former prison life into a comedy show, which has toured at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

“I started doing comedy when I was under house arrest. My first stand up night I had to bring my mum along because I wasn’t allowed out of the house otherwise,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton also said sniffer dogs were making partying in Sydney much less attractive.

Listen to the Cocaine Inc. podcast below:

There were almost 100,000 sniffer dog inspections in New South Wales between 2013 and June 30, 2023.

Some of those detections can also result in strip searches, and have been deployed widely at music festivals and train stations.

“They’re everywhere. They’ll go walking into pubs and clubs, and then walk up to everyone,” Hamilton said.

“It makes the whole, makes the whole situation of trying to have a relaxed drug experience so much worse.”

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has raised issues with sniffer dogs being used.

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has campaigned against the use of sniffer dogs, raising questions about the accuracy of their detections.

“Thousands of people in New South Wales have been subjected to searches, including strip searches, and no drugs have been found on them,” she said.

“It’s not stopping people taking drugs into music festivals, taking drugs into pubs, it’s just making drug taking, more dangerous,actually.”

NSW police has previously said the checks were “very effective”.