Boku_
Bluelighter
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https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/h...s/news-story/1534dd33c8a416cc527d14448a9a89c5
AUSTRALIANS are consuming more pure forms of ecstasy, and cocaine use is as its highest level ever recorded, a new report into our drug consumption has revealed.
About 800 Aussies who regularly take illicit drugs were interviewed as part of the Australian Drug Trends Report.
The report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) found cocaine use continues to increase, with 59 per cent of those surveyed saying they used it, up from 48 per cent in 2017.
But most consumers do so infrequently ? only seven per cent used cocaine weekly or more frequently.
The use of crystal and capsule forms of ecstasy, often referred to as MDMA caps, were at some of the highest levels since the survey began in 2003. These forms of ecstasy are considered to be more pure than pills.
Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (72 per cent) reported taking crystal ecstasy and more than two in three (63 per cent) take the capsule form.
One in four people surveyed said they consumed ecstasy weekly or more frequently.
Half (51 per cent) of those surveyed reported use of LSD, one in three (35 per cent) reported use of ketamine and one in five (18 per cent) reported taking capsules with unknown contents in the past six months.
In the last six months, nearly all participants reported use of alcohol (98 per cent), 90 per cent reported use of cannabis, and of the 85 per cent who used tobacco, 44 per cent of these were daily users.
More than half of those surveyed (54 per cent) reported using heroin in 2018 and one of five (20 per cent) self-reported a non-fatal overdose in the last year.
Methamphetamine remained the drug injected most often in the past month (45 per cent).
Weekly or more frequent use of crystal methamphetamine increased in 2018 to 47 per cent.
The average age of the survey respondents was 21 and they were 59 per cent male.
About a quarter were employed full-time while less than one-fifth were students. One in five were unemployed.
The results were presented at NDARC?s annual symposium in Sydney on Monday.
The program lead for drug trends at NDARC, Dr Amy Peacock, said consuming drugs with higher purity can increase the associated short and long-term health risks.
?Use over long periods of time without sleep or in combination with other substances can increase the risk of these types of effects,? Dr Peacock said in a statement.
Dr Peacock said the survey results do not reflect the drug consumption of the average Australian.
Drug use in Australia is currently under the spotlight following the deaths of two young people at a Sydney music festival last month.
The deaths of a 23-year-old man and 21-year-old woman reignited calls for festivals to offer pill testing, so potential users are able to see exactly what is in the drugs they plan on taking.
Health experts say pill testing is about reducing harm, because people will take drugs anyway, but the NSW Government refuses to back that suggestion.
The Government is pushing its ?just say no? approach.
?Anyone who is advocating pill testing is giving the green light to drugs that is absolutely unacceptable,? NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at the time.
[email protected]
Yep someone famous once said "There's lies, lies and damn statistics" which is a smart way of saying a survey can be used to prove or disprove any controversial public health issue or broader topic you want. You just need to target the right people to question to narrow the results. And in the case of this drug use study they questioned 800 young Australians who were self-confessed regular or occasional drug users who had used at least one kind of illegal drug in the last 12 months. In the 2018 drug use report the two biggest illegal substances to increase in popularity were cocaine and pure Crystal MDMA also known as crystal Ecstasy
Sure the report mentioned drug use across the board of both legal and illegal drugs remains steady but there was no mention of amphetamine use, Zip nada nothing said about speed. which is highly surprising. Has speed as a drug just died in the arse??
The report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) found cocaine use continues to increase, with 59 per cent of those surveyed saying they used it, up from 48 per cent in 2017. That percentage of cocaine users is mind boggling, how do so many 21 year olds afford cocaine. But equally mind boggling how do young Australians afford to smoke tobacco and use cocaine simultaneously.
AUSTRALIANS are consuming more pure forms of ecstasy, and cocaine use is as its highest level ever recorded, a new report into our drug consumption has revealed.
About 800 Aussies who regularly take illicit drugs were interviewed as part of the Australian Drug Trends Report.
The report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) found cocaine use continues to increase, with 59 per cent of those surveyed saying they used it, up from 48 per cent in 2017.
But most consumers do so infrequently ? only seven per cent used cocaine weekly or more frequently.
The use of crystal and capsule forms of ecstasy, often referred to as MDMA caps, were at some of the highest levels since the survey began in 2003. These forms of ecstasy are considered to be more pure than pills.
Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (72 per cent) reported taking crystal ecstasy and more than two in three (63 per cent) take the capsule form.
One in four people surveyed said they consumed ecstasy weekly or more frequently.
Half (51 per cent) of those surveyed reported use of LSD, one in three (35 per cent) reported use of ketamine and one in five (18 per cent) reported taking capsules with unknown contents in the past six months.
In the last six months, nearly all participants reported use of alcohol (98 per cent), 90 per cent reported use of cannabis, and of the 85 per cent who used tobacco, 44 per cent of these were daily users.
More than half of those surveyed (54 per cent) reported using heroin in 2018 and one of five (20 per cent) self-reported a non-fatal overdose in the last year.
Methamphetamine remained the drug injected most often in the past month (45 per cent).
Weekly or more frequent use of crystal methamphetamine increased in 2018 to 47 per cent.
The average age of the survey respondents was 21 and they were 59 per cent male.
About a quarter were employed full-time while less than one-fifth were students. One in five were unemployed.
The results were presented at NDARC?s annual symposium in Sydney on Monday.
The program lead for drug trends at NDARC, Dr Amy Peacock, said consuming drugs with higher purity can increase the associated short and long-term health risks.
?Use over long periods of time without sleep or in combination with other substances can increase the risk of these types of effects,? Dr Peacock said in a statement.
Dr Peacock said the survey results do not reflect the drug consumption of the average Australian.
Drug use in Australia is currently under the spotlight following the deaths of two young people at a Sydney music festival last month.
The deaths of a 23-year-old man and 21-year-old woman reignited calls for festivals to offer pill testing, so potential users are able to see exactly what is in the drugs they plan on taking.
Health experts say pill testing is about reducing harm, because people will take drugs anyway, but the NSW Government refuses to back that suggestion.
The Government is pushing its ?just say no? approach.
?Anyone who is advocating pill testing is giving the green light to drugs that is absolutely unacceptable,? NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at the time.
[email protected]
Yep someone famous once said "There's lies, lies and damn statistics" which is a smart way of saying a survey can be used to prove or disprove any controversial public health issue or broader topic you want. You just need to target the right people to question to narrow the results. And in the case of this drug use study they questioned 800 young Australians who were self-confessed regular or occasional drug users who had used at least one kind of illegal drug in the last 12 months. In the 2018 drug use report the two biggest illegal substances to increase in popularity were cocaine and pure Crystal MDMA also known as crystal Ecstasy
Sure the report mentioned drug use across the board of both legal and illegal drugs remains steady but there was no mention of amphetamine use, Zip nada nothing said about speed. which is highly surprising. Has speed as a drug just died in the arse??
The report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) found cocaine use continues to increase, with 59 per cent of those surveyed saying they used it, up from 48 per cent in 2017. That percentage of cocaine users is mind boggling, how do so many 21 year olds afford cocaine. But equally mind boggling how do young Australians afford to smoke tobacco and use cocaine simultaneously.
