Australian police detainees employing ice at record costs: survey

Connected: No ice epidemic but growing purity is performing damage, say researchers

Australian prisoners are using amphetamines at record prices, and the most potent type, methamphetamine, is driving this rise, a survey of police detainees by the Australian Institute of Criminology has unveiled.

As component of the annual Drug Use Monitoring in Australia survey, 3,456 adult police detainees had been questioned about their drug use in between July 2013 and December 2014 at six places across Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. Urine samples were also taken to corroborate answers provided.

“Overall, in 2013–14 the most notable trend in illicit drug use within the Australian detainee sample was a 13% enhance in detainees testing positive to amphetamines,” a report on the survey findings launched on Sunday mentioned.

Connected: Methamphetamine use the largest drug issue dealing with Australian police – report

“This was largely due to an 11 percentage-level improve in detainees testing good to methamphetamine.” Methamphetamine is far more generally acknowledged as ice, and current research suggests its strength and purity has risen, triggering more harm to end users.

Of the prisoners surveyed, 37% examined optimistic to amphetamines, in contrast with 24% the previous 12 months. It marked the highest recorded rate of amphetamine use in the survey’s history, with the previous peak becoming 35% in both 2003 and 2004.

The survey has been running because 1999, generating it the largest and longest-working survey of drug use between police detainees in Australia.

The director of the Australian Institute of Criminology, Chris Dawson, said the findings meant it was important to proceed to closely monitor methamphetamine market trends, this kind of as availability and purity.

“This new information shows the continuing nationwide rise in methamphetamine use amongst Australian police detainees,” he wrote in a foreword to the report.

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“Methamphetamine use was recognized in 23% of urine samples supplied by detainees in Adelaide, 24% in Bankstown, 34% in Brisbane, 37% in East Perth and 52% in Kings Cross.

Whilst specialists are unsure why ice use has elevated provided it remains reasonably costly when in contrast to other medicines, the availability of ice as a end result of growing local awareness and sophistication in how to manufacture it is suspected to have contributed.

The majority of prisoners surveyed – 78% – reported that when ice supply was low, they managed to abstain from utilizing the drug, but did not boost their use of much more readily offered drugs, this kind of as alcohol.

“These findings suggest that provide-side reduction methods may possibly be successful in terms of harm minimisation: that is, a reduction in supply appears to lessen use of that drug with out escalating the use of other substances,” Dawson wrote.

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Nonetheless, cannabis continues to be the most typically detected drug amid police detainees. Even though peak cannabis use between prisoners was recorded in 1999, when 61% tested constructive, 46% examined positive in the most latest survey.

Alcohol use was also substantial, with 41% of detainees reporting that they had drunk alcohol in the 48 hrs prior to their arrest.

“The regular quantity of alcohol detainees reported consuming on the final occasion of drinking was 19 regular drinks, although it was as large as 31 standard drinks for the sub-group of detainees who reported consuming a combine of beer, wine or spirits on the last event,” the report found.

The regular in the earlier 12 months was 22 normal drinks, the report said.

Australian police detainees employing ice at record costs: survey