Ice use soars in regional Victoria amid rise in heroin addicts

The abuse of meth has jumped across the state as Melbourne is revealed to be the nation’s heroin capital.

ICE use in regional Victoria has jumped more than 30 per cent, according to the latest comprehensive drug watch ­report.

There was a spike in ice use from December 2020 to April 21 in country Victoria, with doses per 1000 people a day increasing from about 34.1 to 45.2, or 32 per cent.

The drug’s use is also rising in Melbourne, climbing 11 per cent between December 2020 and April 2021, from 37.1 to 41.2 doses per 1000 people a day.

And fentanyl use in Melbourne increased by 18 per cent from 1.85 doses per 1000 people per day in December 2020 to 2.2 doses per 1000 people per day in April 2021.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s study, released on Thursday, has compared drug use across Australia and the world.

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program Report 14 found people in Melbourne were the biggest heroin users in the country.

Regional Victoria was home to the second-highest number of heroin users, and the worst abusers of prescription drugs like oxycodone.

As debate rages about state government plans for a heroin injecting room on Flinders Street, the report offers proof the problem in Melbourne is getting worse.

Melbourne had about 9.3 doses of heroin used per 1000 people a day in June, the report found.

However, the ACIC warned ice remained the main drug scourge, with Australians the second-highest users in the world. The bombshell report found only people in the United States used more ice on average.

Ice use has risen in regional Victoria.

There were 51 hits of the drug a day for every 1000 people in the US, while Australians used 48 hits a day for every 1000 people in April 2020.

That use dipped in April this year to 41 doses a day for every 1000 people in Australia, but the nation is still clear in second place.

The ACIC described methylamphetamine (ice) use as a “wicked problem” because the drug was both imported by organised crime elements and made here.

Australia was ranked seventh in the world for ecstasy and cannabis abuse, and came in 16th for total cocaine consumption.

Michael Phelan, chief executive at the ACIC, said: “Much of the harm that Australians suffer at the hands of organised crime is due to illicit drugs. Serious and organised crime groups profit from the importation, manufacture, trafficking and sale of drugs that cause harm.”

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Originally published as Ice use soars in regional Victoria amid rise in heroin addicts