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Methamphetamine Use in Tasmania

In Australia, methamphetamine use appears to have declined from 2013 to 2017. In Tasmania, information obtained from wastewater collection sites suggest there is a lower volume of methamphetamine consumed when compared to the national average. This may suggest that there are less people consuming, less frequent consumption, lower purity methamphetamine, or a combination.


Among people who frequently inject drugs in Hobart, the overall number of people reporting recent methamphetamine was similar to reports obtained within the past 10 years – around 70% to 80%. However, within the past 5 years, the frequency of use, and in particular the frequency of higher-purity crystalline methamphetamine use has increased. Among people that frequently use ecstasy and related drugs in Hobart, methamphetamine use was similar to reports obtained within the past 4 years. Methamphetamine use within this population appears to be infrequent (less than monthly) and, like other groups, appears to have made a large shift to crystalline methamphetamine.

Similar to these reports of methamphetamine use, consumers report crystal methamphetamine as more easily available than powder forms, and that availability of powder forms has been declining over time. As for the purity of methamphetamine in Tasmania, there is limited information available. However, information obtained nationally suggests that there was a slight decrease in purity between 2015/16 and 16/17, which is consistent with the reports made by Tasmanian consumers. Treatment episodes for meth/amphetamine problems now represent around one quarter of all drug-related presentations in Tasmania, which has increased from around one tenth of presentations 10 years ago.

The IDRS and EDRS surveys include a screening tool that identifies people who have a high likelihood of experiencing meth/amphetamine dependence. In both IDRS and EDRS groups, around 60% of those identified as likely dependent were not in any form of drug treatment, and for people who injected in particular, those who were in drug treatment were typically receiving interventions appropriate for opioid, not amphetamine, dependence.



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