In Victoria, having a good time is essentially a right of passage. Notably, Melbourne is home to some of the best night life in Australia. However, a study has actually found Victorians are doing more of some dangerous drugs than any other state in the country.
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) released a study Monday 16 June showing the rates of Aussie drug use across the continent. To conduct their research, they analyzed the drug contents of wastewater they collected from 50 treatment plants in December 2018. And their finding pose some major cringe levels. Having said that, the cringe isn’t necessarily because people are doing drugs. It just seems like some people are doing some seriously dangerous ones.
Reportedly, Victorians are doing more MDMA, heroine, and oxycodone than the rest of Australia. While we probably all know someone who did MDMA at one point or another, let’s just try our best to be safe about our consumption of drugs.
I’m certainly not one to judge. It’s just a fact of life that there’s some people who are going to take drugs (especially during uni). However, there’s a difference between fun party drugs and bloody heroine. And even party drugs can be seriously unsafe.
I mean, Australia actually ranked second in the world our intake of uppers, out of the top 25 drug-using countries in the world back in 2018. Not to mention, Australians were said to use twice as many drugs on a regular basis than the third ranking country on the list—The Czech Republic. So like, Aussie drug use is definitely pretty high.
The United States is the only country we fall behind when it comes to drug use. Yet, the population of the US seriously exceeds that of Australia. The US population is roughly 327.2 million, while Australia’s is about 24.6 million. And the US has legalized shrooms and marijuana in some states. So while we’re cracking down on drug usage, some states in The US I imagine are the equivalent to being inside of a Tame Impala music video.
Why We Need Pill-Testing
With all the info above, it seems like the push for pill-testing may be super beneficial to Aussies. Since The National Wastewater Monitoring Program’s launch in early 2017, they’ve noted this year to be the highest amount of MDMA and heroine usage since their start (Seriously, like don’t do heroine). And the research notes Victoria to be a major contributer to that increase.
So, while people are definitely not doing less drugs, the least we can do is make sure they’re doing them safely.
It’s worth clarifying, the recent report doesn’t merely show illicit drug usage. It also reflects alcohol consumption, nicotine usage, and even the rates at which people use cannabis. So they’re essentially calling us out on all our vices.
To no one’s surprise, for the most part drug usage happens in the most in major cities. So, Vic and NSW are nearly neck-and-neck in competition for who’s doing the most drugs. The study found NSW is actually doing the most cocaine in comparison to other states.
The most dangerous settings for drug use tend to be where they occur the most. However, by implementing pill-testing, people can be safer when taking the drug’s they’re going to take.
Groovin’ in The Moo’s pill testing booth saved seven people from taking dangerous drugs. The push for pill testing is a good thing because it really allows people to know what’s in the drugs they’re taking and how dangerous they can potentially be.
Obviously, Aussie drug use tends to be a bit much. But if we have conversations about what we’re using, if we reach out for help if it’s gone too far, and seriously, if we don’t do heroine, party and festival culture can be safe. And it can remain fun.
High prices of alcohol and serious crack downs on night life aren’t helping the situation.
Image Source: GIPHY, AMC
