UPDATE 2.30pm: While a new report says ice use is growing in regional Victoria, alcohol remains the drug causing the most harm, local health services say.
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Bendigo Community Health Services drug and alcohol program team manager Ben Cooper said alcohol was still the main drug of concern, as did Matt Jones, chief executive officer of the Murray Primary Health Network.
“It’s reasonably cheap and it’s so readily available… And culturally, it’s an acceptable drug,” Mr Cooper said, adding it was embedded within lifestyles as something to use to celebrate and to relax.
The drug monitoring program, which looked at 12 legal and illegal substances, also found alcohol and nicotine were the most common substances.
Mr Jones said the higher use of illicit drugs in regional areas than metropolitan areas was consistent with the disproportionately high representation of health risk factors in regional areas, such as smoking and obesity.
He said a multi-pronged approach was required to address the problematic use of both legal and illicit substances.
This needed a strong focus on prevention and education, he said, as well as greater coordination between health services.
Mr Cooper urges anyone who is concerned about their use of alcohol or other drugs, or simply wants more information, to contact BCHS on 5430 0500.
EARLIER: Illicit drug use in Australia is on the rise, with methylamphetamine use more common in regional areas than cities, a new report on wastewater suggests.
The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, which measured the drug consumption of about 54 per cent of the Australian population, found methylamphetamine, or ice, was the most consumed illicit drug in the country.
More than 8.3 tonnes of the illicit substance was used between August 2016 and August 2017.
Federal Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor said proportionally, methylamphetamine was used more in regional areas than capital cities.
The monitoring program found people consumed three tonnes of cocaine, 1.2 tonnes of MDMA and more than 700 kilograms of heroin in a year.
Regional areas recorded a greater average consumption of nicotine, MDA, oxycodone and fentanyl than cities.
Victoria recorded the highest regional consumption of oxycodone of any state or territory.
Oxycodone is a legal opioid available by prescription, but is bought and sold illegally.
Cocaine consumption was found to have almost tripled in regional areas, although average consumption was higher in cities.
Of the 12 substances monitored by the program this time, alcohol and nicotine remain the most common.
