People in Australia's regional areas are using cannabis at twice the rate of people in cities and nearly $10 billion is being spent on illicit drugs each year. The annual study of waste water has revealed the extent -and the changing nature - of the nation's drug use.
Roger Antochi looks like a man who has it all ... it's hard to believe the now 36-year old was enslaved by a drug habit. Coming from a broken home in Sydney's western suburbs, drugs became simply a part of Roger Antochi's life. He says his addiction to methamphetamines, or 'ice', was easily fed, he was able to get the drug whenever he wanted.
Despite having been clean for over ten years now, he says the drug is still as accessible as ever.
A new report by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission seems to reflect those observations. The Commission monitored Australian waterways over the months of June and July 2018, revealing the extent and the changes in the country's illicit drug use. Nearly 10 tonnes of methylamphetamine is consumed in Australia each year, as well as more than 4 tonnes of cocaine, one tonne of MDMA, and more than 700 kilograms of heroin.
The street price for this quantity is valued at $9.3 billion.
