Cocaine ‘should be available like alcohol’

There are calls to take a bold step against cocaine in Australia with recent revelations showing the war against it is all but lost.

There are fresh calls to decriminalise and regulate cocaine, like alcohol or tobacco, across Australia, with recent revelations showing the war against the infamous drug is all but lost.

New South Wales Greens MP Cate Faehrmann joined Sunrise on Wednesday morning arguing “more and more people are using cocaine” despite immense policing resources dedicated to stopping it.

“We can’t stop people using cocaine. I don’t think it can get any worse,” she told the program, urging the consideration of other options.

Calls for decriminalising and regulating cocaine, similar to alcohol and tobacco, have increased in Australia.

“We have waged the war against drugs now across the world for 50 years, and there are more people taking drugs than ever before, and more drugs are being produced.

“I’m saying it’s time for another approach. We should have all options on the table.”

Ms Faehrmann argued that legislation, similar to regulations for alcohol and tobacco, could make drugs safer and less profitable for criminals.

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann argues for a new approach, suggesting that regulating drugs like cocaine could make them safer and less profitable for criminals. Picture: Seven

“Alcohol was illegal at one point. People were saying, ‘It’s bad for you, it’s dangerous, let’s prohibit alcohol’, we saw what happened; Highly dangerous alcohol was produced,” she said.

“Ideally, it would be great if people didn’t drink because it is a poison and people didn’t smoke cigarettes, but they want to, and we regulate it.

“We should start thinking about it with currently illegal drugs like cocaine.”

Host Nat Barr asked whether keeping other drugs, namely tobacco, legal was a good case study on why not to regulate a drug market.

The calls for decriminalising and regulating cocaine drew comparisons to the legal regulation of tobacco. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ms Faehrmann responded: “We can’t stop people taking cocaine. It’s illegal, but 5.5 million bags of the stuff were bought last year on the black market.

“If we didn’t legalise tobacco, a hell of a lot of people would still be smoking it, obtaining it on the black market, and now we’re taxing it, and that tax will pay for nurses wages, paramedic wages.”

On the other side of the Australian political divide, shadow Home Affairs minister James Patterson said cocaine use has “become normalised”, citing the pandemic and lockdowns as a potential catalyst for a rise in use.

Shadow Home Affairs minister James Patterson believes that cocaine use has become normalised and calls for greater enforcement to combat the rise in use. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

He, however, called for even greater enforcement.

“We’re an island nation; we have a great national asset in not having to share a border,” he told Today over the weekend.

“(Drug cartels) are sending so many drugs to us in so many different ways, and some of it does unfortunately get through.

“We have to fund our police and our Border Force adequately and give them the technology they need to get it because otherwise it is doing real harm in our communities and suburbs.”

True Crime Australia and The Times of London and Sunday Times recently travelled 50,000 km across the Netherlands, Dubai, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, England, and Australia to investigate the global trade.

An investigation revealed that Australians spend millions of dollars daily on cocaine, with usage reaching a 30-year high.

The News Corp investigation, which led to the Cocaine Inc. podcast, revealed that Australians spend up to $3.5 million daily on cocaine, with one in eight 18-24 year olds using the drug.

It was reported that cocaine use in London and Australia, especially in Sydney, has increased to a 30-year high.

For every gram of cocaine sold for more than $350 in Australia, up to $100 of that goes to the dealer promoting a ‘straight to your door’ service from dealers.

Now smaller towns like Bendigo, the Barossa Valley, Dubbo, and Toowoomba are facing a cocaine flood.

The drug continues to pour into Australia at an alarming rate.

Cocaine consumption in country areas is also at record highs, according to an Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission report in March 2024.

In Australia, the cocaine market generates over $1 billion annually. Meanwhile, drug cartels make approximately £4 billion (A$7.6 billion) in the UK.

Last October, the Australian Capital Territory decriminalised cocaine.

As a result, individuals found in possession of small amounts of illicit drugs will be fined or referred to drug counselling, rather than facing criminal penalties.

Individuals caught with small amounts of cocaine now receive a $100 fine and are directed to a health service instead of going to court and risking a conviction.

Originally published as Cocaine ‘should be available like alcohol’