Australian city named as the meth capital of the world
A study monitoring illicit drug use around the world has found Adelaide to have the highest methamphetamine use out of 120 cities.
The research, published in the journal Addiction on Wednesday, analysed wastewater samples from 37 countries in a seven-year project.
Data collected in Adelaide over a one-week period in 2017 showed between 507 and 659 milligrams of methamphetamine or “ice” per 1,000 people each day, compared with between 270 and 331mg in Canberra and Toowoomba.
The findings followed the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s June report, which revealed Adelaide as the methamphetamine capital of the nation.
Despite the staggering record, the prevalence of methamphetamine has declined since the study was conducted, said one of the study’s lead authors Dr Richard Bade.
“To put into a bit of context, the study was from 2017 and in fact since that time methamphetamine use in South Australia has actually been on the decrease,” Bade told the ABC.
“And there's been plenty of initiatives around that reduction of methamphetamine use in Adelaide [since 2017].”
The city coming closest to Adelaide’s levels was Seattle, with a 418mg average over a three-year monitoring period.
The report said cocaine use increased across Europe, with London, Bristol, Amsterdam, Zurich, Geneva, St Gallen and Antwerp having the highest levels of between 600 to 900mg per 1,000 people.
Canberra had a significantly higher cocaine use than the other two Australian cities.
The Netherlands recorded the highest use of ecstasy, also known as MDMA.
“It’s important we determine the scale of the illicit drug market so that countries can work out the best way to tackle a $100 billion industry, which is contributing to the global burden of disease and affecting the economic development of many countries,” Bade said.