Shock price drop of deadly drug in Melbourne

Melbourne’s heavy drug users reveal which horror substance halved in price, plus the dangerous drug now easier to buy than weed.

Heroin was the most popular drug among the people interviewed.

Three-quarters of regular illicit intravenous drug users in Melbourne with a license have admitted to driving within three hours of taking an illegal substance, new data shows.

The University of New South Wales National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre interviewed 151 Melbourne adults who had injected illicit drugs at least once a month for the past six months, with their findings revealing serious health and safety risks.

One-in-five participants had suffered a non-fatal overdose in the past year, while more than a third had shared injecting equipment, according to a Victorian Drug Trends 2022 report.

The Illicit Drug Reporting System paper, published last month, found heroin was the most common “drug of choice” — chosen by 55 per cent of participants — followed by methamphetamine, which was favoured by a third of the group.

Participants also reported the price of heroin had halved, dropping from $100 for a point in 2021 to $50 last year.

One-in-five regular intravenous drug users in Melbourne had survived an overdose in the past year. Picture: Nicole Garmston

But more people used cannabis on a weekly basis than any other substance (68 per cent), though heroin was only a few percentage points behind at 61 per cent.

On the day they were interviewed, 97 per cent of people had taken one or more drugs (excluding legal substances) the previous day.

More than half of participants reported a recent mental health problem, while 90 per cent were unemployed and one-in-five were homeless.

Just below half had received drug treatment in the past six months, while a similar number confessed to recently committing crime.

One third said they had driven a motor vehicle in the past six months, 77 per cent of whom said it was within three hours of taking an illegal drug.

This number was much lower for drink-driving, which only 16 per cent reported.

A second UNSW report, based on researchers’ interviews with 100 Melbourne adults who regularly use MDMA or illicit stimulants, also revealed concerning findings.

The 2022 Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System recorded the “highest” percentage of recent cocaine use since EDRS began in 2003, with more than 90 per cent of participants taking the stimulant.

Recent methamphetamine use was reported by one in two participants — having steadily declined since 2003, when that figure was 98 per cent.

But crystal methamphetamine was still the “easiest” drug to find according to the group, with 100 per cent of users describing it as “easy” or “very easy” to obtain.

It rated higher than hydroponic cannabis (97 per cent) and cocaine (87 per cent).

Social media was the most popular means to organise drug purchases (84 per cent) while more than 90 per cent of regular stimulant users were either working full time or studying.

Of the 70 self-reported drivers in the group, one in four admitted to drunk driving, while 45 per cent drove within three hours of consuming an illicit drug, most commonly cannabis.

Almost 40 per cent of participants had committed a crime in the past month, the most common of which was property crime, followed by drug dealing.