War on drugs: Raw sewage testing shows drop in meth use across WA – Perth Now

NEW figures show methamphetamine use has plunged across WA, providing the first real evidence that the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on combating the drug is paying off.

Tests in April that measured the concentration of the meth in raw sewage showed that consumption in Perth had almost halved since September when usage was at its peak.

It was also the best result since testing for meth in wastewater began two years ago, showing consumption had fallen about 25 per cent on the average recorded in the 2015-16 financial year when West Australians consumed about 2.1 tonnes of the drug.

Consumption is now estimated to have fallen by more than half a tonne.

The trend downwards in the past three test periods is obviously pleasing, but the sobering reality is WA still has a projected annual meth habit of 1.54 tonnes, with an estimated street value of just over $1.5 billion, State Crime Acting Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said.

No one is immune to this drug and it is still having a significant impact on the community.

While the sudden fall has been cautiously welcomed, it comes after a huge investment by the State and Federal governments to help tackle the supply and demand of the drug.

Mr Scanlan said WA Police had made unprecedented efforts to target meth dealers in the past two years, setting up dedicated meth teams within the organised crime squad which had helped seize almost 900kg of the drug.

From a policing perspective we have had considerable success, in tandem with our Federal partners, in interrupting supply, and in 2015-16 and 2016-17 we have so far intercepted approximately 890kg of meth headed for our streets, he said.

It could be that the major trafficking syndicates may not be viewing WA as such a soft target after those losses.

And the theory that WAs mining boom and the high disposable incomes it created contributed to our high rate of meth use in the past could, if true, be working in reverse with the end of the boom.

Since 2015, significant government funding had also been poured into education to warn users about the dangers of meth and money for rehabilitation facilities had also been boosted.

The downward trend in WA mirrored the results of a recent national survey that showed meth use around the country had been steadily falling.

The National Household Drug Survey, released this month, showed the number of Australians who admitted using meth had fallen from 2.1 per cent in 2013 to 1.4 per cent last year.

Although no new State-based figures were available, WA is still believed to be the biggest user of any State, running at almost twice the national average.

The survey also found that respondents now considered meth to be the most addictive drug on the illicit market and the drug most likely to cause serious harm to users, overtaking heroin.

Of the regional centres tested for meth, Bunbury had the biggest fall, which helped it shed its tag as the meth capital of WA.

That tag has now shifted to Kalgoorlie which has also recorded significant falls.

The rate of meth use per 1000 people in Bunbury in September was 50 per cent higher than in the Perth metro area. Bunbury was still higher than Perth in April, but consumption had more than halved.

Kalgoorlie mayor John Bowler said that though the meth capital title was obviously unwanted, his community would be pleased to see drug use overall had come down.

While it is a title we obviously do not want ... the use is coming down pretty clearly, so we take that as a positive, he said.

Police Minister Michelle Roberts said that while the local results were encouraging, tackling the meth scourge would remain a top priority for her party.

The McGowan Government wont be taking its foot off the pedal when it comes to tackling the devastation meth causes in our community, she said.

We have laws before Parliament which give life jail sentences for meth traffickers and were boosting police efforts to seize more of the drug before it hits our streets, by introducing a meth border force.

Shadow police minster Peter Katsambanis also welcomed the results which he said were a credit to the former Barnett governments commitment to tackling the meth problem.

I call on the Government to continue these initiatives to make sure our community continues to see improvements in relation to this insidious drug, he said.

Police for the first time in April also tested for the presence of meth at 11 remote Aboriginal communities, finding it was present in all, but only in low levels.

Read more:

War on drugs: Raw sewage testing shows drop in meth use across WA - Perth Now