Australia takes out unwanted drug title as Victorian ice use surges

Australians have taken out the unwanted title of the world’s second highest ice users, behind the United States.

Use of the drug has surged across Victoria.

Methylamphetamine use climbed 32 per cent in regional Victoria from December 2020 to April this year.

In Melbourne, it rose 11 per cent over the same period.

Principal Advisor Drugs at the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Shane Neilson, said Australia has a serious problem with ice.

“Methylamphetamine is both manufactured in Australia and also imported, and the demand for methylamphetamine in Australia is significantly high, even with high prices in world terms,” he told Ross and Russel.

Mr Neilson says heroin use is falling, but it remains serious concern in Melbourne.

“Melbourne continues to lead Australia in terms of heroin consumption,” he said.

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