It appears the Tasmanians like cannabis more than the rest of the country.
Here’s who likes what!
The Guardian reports
Sydneysiders consume the most cocaine, Melburnians the most heroin, Darwin ranks highest for alcohol while cannabis is most popular in Hobart, wastewater analysis reveals.
The findings from the latest national wastewater drug monitoring report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission were based on wastewater testing at 57 treatment plants in capital cities and regional areas from December 2022 to February 2023.
They show that illicit drug use in Australia jumped over summer, even after a string of high-profile drug busts.
The report writers said the rise in average consumption of drugs including methylamphetimine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine was a disturbing reminder of the “ongoing threat posed by serious and organised crime groups and their responsiveness to perceived market opportunities”.
Report 19 of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has commissioned The University of Queensland, and through it the University of South Australia, to undertake the data collection and analysis that underpins the report.
Report 19 of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program covered sampling in December 2022 and February 2023. In December, 57 wastewater sites were monitored nationally, covering a population of 13.9 million Australians.
This report found that Australians are the sixth largest consumers of illicit stimulants out of 28 countries monitored between March and May 2022. Report 19 included comparable 2022 data from the Sewage Core Group Europe (SCORE), which covered 161 cities from 28 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania.
For the first time in our wastewater reporting, a reliable dose figure for cannabis has been determined and this permits cannabis consumption to be readily compared with other major illicit drugs.
Key findings and additional data are available – by state and territory and drug type – as a guide to trends over the period the respective drugs have been monitored by the wastewater program.
