By ANDREW BARCLAY
A report on the state of methamphetamine use in Australia has found that despite concerted efforts from law-enforcement agencies, the drug remains widely available with its price “stable” and the market “strong”.
The report from the National Ice Taskforce found that despite repeated attempts of successive governments to disrupt the supply of the drug, “ice usage in Australia is at high levels and is increasing”.
“The lack of any discernible market response to the efforts by Australian law enforcement agencies to prevent the supply of ice is greatly concerning,” said Ken Lay, Chair of the National Ice Taskforce.
“It is remarkable that despite very large seizures there has been no increase in the street price of the drug.”
Law-enforcement strategies, which campaigners said have focused on large-scale busts and arrests, seems to have had little impact on supply.
The continued low price of the drug, which can be as little as $50 a dose, has meant it has remained easily accessible and more likely to cause dependence.
The report’s findings directly counter the conventional narrative put forward by law enforcement agencies that large seizures “significantly dent” supply, said Drug and Harm Minimisation spokesperson for the NSW Greens, Dr Mehreen Faruqi.
“Successive governments at both [the] state and federal levels have been fixated for years on the failed idea that you can stamp out drug use through a war on drugs,” she told City Hub.
The report also found that proportionally, Australians use more methamphetamine, the street name for ‘ice’, than any other country and that the figure continues to grow.
Despite the finding that seizures don’t impact supply or price, the report recommended the continued “disrupting [of] the ice supply chain through seizures and arrests of key players”.
“More than 200,000 Australians reported using the crystalline form of methamphetamine [ice] in 2013, compared with fewer than 100,000 in 2007,” the report noted.
The overwhelming focus in the report, which campaigners from the sector strongly welcomed, was an increased emphasis on a community-driven solution to the problem.
The report said the ice problem was “not something we can simply arrest our way out of” and that steps must be taken to prevent people using in the first place, by means of education.
Dr Faruqi welcomed the change in tone, but emphasised more needed to counter the “current heavy-handed ‘law and order’”.
“We agree with the National Ice Taskforce, particularly the focus on supporting the community as well as providing more effective and timely treatment services,” she said.
“We need to shift resources towards prevention, education, social services and mental health care to reduce both demand and the harm caused by drug abuse in our country.”
The quantity of ice seized at the Australian border has increased dramatically in recent years.
This increase in seizures has mirrored the trend in arrests with more than 26,000 arrests occurring between 2013-14 relating to distribution or possession of ice.
“The statistics show this punitive mindset mainly results in the arrests of a large number of people who use drugs rather than drug dealers or manufacturers,” Dr Faruqi said.
The NSW Police force, via a statement, said that their strategies focused on supply, demand and harm reduction through its support of “harm minimisation programs”.
As part of the shift in focus, $300 million in new funding was announced, with the majority of that directed towards frontline treatment for ice addiction via primary health networks.
UnitingCare ReGen CEO, Laurence Alvis, said he believed the report found “the right balance” but stressed there was no “one size fits all approach”.
“The range of measures announced yesterday should have a substantial impact on the prevention of future use, reducing the harm from current use to support impacted individuals and families,” he told City Hub.
A report in 2015 found that for every dollar spent on drug treatment, which represents a $7 dollar saving to the community compared with $2 for stronger policing.
