Tests reveal more than 30 tonnes of meth, cocaine, heroin and MDMA used by Aussies

Officials are keeping a close watch on a drug that is gaining in popularity in Australia. See why it’s so hard to keep under control.

Australia’s appetite for illicit drugs shows no signs of abating with alarming new figures showing we consumed more than 30 tonnes of meth, cocaine, heroin and MDMA in just one year.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s (ACIC) annual Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program reveals meth accounted for 85 per cent – or $10.5 billion – worth of drugs consumed in the 12 months to August last year, with Aussies spending $12.4 billion on the illicit drugs combined.

ACIC CEO Heather Cook said the money from the sale of the drugs is being “laundered domestically and out of Australia to line the pockets of serious organised crime bosses offshore”.

Cocaine, MDA, heroin and ketamine use was consumed more in capital cities, while those in regional areas opted for alcohol, nicotine, MDMA, methylamphetamine, oxycodone, fentanyl and cannabis.

More than 30 tonnes of meth, cocaine, heroin and MDMA were consumed by Australians in a year.

The report – which tested wastewater covering 57 per cent of Australia’s population – about 14.5m Aussies – found the use of cocaine and meth dropped in capital cities, but increased in regional areas where there was a record high regional consumption in August 2023.

NSW residents were the biggest consumers of meth last year – with a total of 3.290.9kgs, followed by Victorians (2798.6kg), Queenslanders with 1.953.8kg, and South Australians the fifth biggest users with 938.6kg – up 21 per cent on the previous year.

NSW also remains the cocaine capital of Australia with 1933.7kg of the white powder consumed – more than double of Victoria (974.4kg) and almost three times 2.5 times that of Queensland (705.1kg).

Victorians were the nation’s biggest heroin users – injecting or smoking 456kg of the drug, followed by NSW with 366.4kg. The use of heroin was down in all states and territories except the ACT which saw a 31 per cent increased from 17.3kg to 22.6kg last year. 

The consumption of alcohol and nicotine dropped in both capital cities and regional areas, while cannabis consumption increased in both areas.

The use of heroin and it’s pharmaceutical equivalent oxycodone – known “hillbilly heroin” also increased, while alarmingly the report also recorded the consumption of fentanyl also went up in both city and regional areas.

Billions of dollars of Australians money is flowing straight to organised crime through drug purchases.

Acting National Manager Data Analytics Shane Neilson said the cost of living crisis wasn’t disrupting our thirst for illegal drugs.

“This has come at a time people are being challenged by household budgets,” Mr Neilson said.

The billions being spent was “expenditure that only benefits serious and organised crime”.

“Australians as illicit drug users pay premium prices for most of the illicit drugs … and continue to do so. They make individual prices every day to pay these prices,” Mr Neilson said.

CEO of ACIC Heather Cook.

ACIC Acting National Manager Data Analytics Shane Neilson.

The ACIC was keeping a close watch on fentanyl use and “moving heaven and earth” to keep it from taking hold, Mr Neilson said.

He also said the use Ketamine was “something for us to keep an eye on”.

“Ketamine is one to watch because it’s been manufactured as a significant level in Asia and it can be trafficked across borders and internationally and down into Australia by the same organised crime groups that are supplying us with methamphetamine and heroin,” he said.

“The other thing we worry about with Ketamine is it is legitmately used both in the medical sector and the veterinary sector, so you have a situation like with opiods of potential diversion.”

He didn’t think it would “rival other major drugs” but it needed to be monitored.

Mr Neilson said experts were alarmed by the amount of drugs being consumed, with the report finding the differences in prices between the five drugs does not appear to be a major factor in drug choice.

MDMA use is greatest in capital cities. Picture: NSW Health

Mr Neilson said the spike in methylamphetamine use was troubling given how destructive it was to the community.

Australians forked up $10.58bn for meth in 2022-23 (up from $8.3bn the previous year), while more than $1.31bn was spent scoring cocaine (up from $1.10bn), and $99.51m on meth deals (up from $62.32,).

While the sale of heroin dropped from $538.5m in 2021-22 to $449.55m last year.

Originally published as Tests reveal more than 30 tonnes of meth, cocaine, heroin and MDMA used by Aussies