Statistics on Illicit Drug Use in South Australia
Illicit drug use in the general population
Illicit drug use among South Australian secondary school students
Indicators of harm associated with illicit drug use
Illicit drug use in the general population
Lifetime use
Findings from the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey show that almost 40% of the South Australian population aged 14 years and over had ever used any illicit drug (Table 1):
- The substance most commonly ever used was cannabis, with over a third of the population aged 14 years and over reporting they had used cannabis at least once in their lifetime.
- Meth/amphetamine was the second most commonly used type of illicit substance, followed by hallucinogens and ecstasy.
- The prevalence of lifetime use of all illicit substances was similar in South Australia compared to nationally. Slightly larger proportions of the South Australian population aged 14 years and over reported lifetime use of cannabis and meth/amphetamine, while a smaller proportion reported lifetime use of ecstasy and cocaine, compared to nationally.
Table 1: Summary of illicit drugs ever used*: proportion of the population aged 14 years and over, South Australia and Australia, 2007.
| Substance/behaviour |
South Australia |
Australia |
|
(percent) |
||
|
Marijuana/cannabis |
34.9 |
33.5 |
|
Painkillers/analgesics** |
4.6 |
4.4 |
|
Tranquillisers/sleeping pills** |
3.2 |
3.3 |
|
Steroids** |
0.2# |
0.3 |
|
Barbiturates** |
0.9 |
0.9 |
|
Inhalants |
3.4 |
3.1 |
|
Heroin |
1.3 |
1.6 |
|
Methadone or Buprenorphine*** |
0.5 |
0.3 |
|
Other opiates/opioids** |
0.9 |
0.9 |
|
Meth/amphetamine (speed) ** |
7.3 |
6.3 |
|
Cocaine |
4.4 |
5.9 |
|
Hallucinogens |
7.1 |
6.7 |
|
Ecstasy**** |
6.9 |
8.9 |
|
Ketamine |
0.6 |
1.1 |
|
GHB |
0.2# |
0.5 |
|
Injected drugs |
1.8 |
1.9 |
|
Any illicit |
39.2 |
38.1 |
|
None of the above |
6.4 |
8.2 |
Source: 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (AIHW)
* Used at least once in lifetime.
** Used for non-medical purposes.
*** Non-maintenance use.
**** This category included substances known as 'designer drugs' prior to 2004.
# Relative standard error greater than 50%
National data sourced from: 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), First Results (Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, April 2008)
South Australian data sourced from analysis of the South Australian dataset of the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (unpublished).
Recent use (last 12 months)
Findings from the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey show that 14.7% of the South Australian population aged 14 years and over had used any illicit drug in the last 12 months (Table 2):
- The substance most commonly used recently was cannabis, with 10.2% of the population aged 14 years and over reporting they had used cannabis in the last 12 months.
- Ecstasy was the second most commonly used illicit substance in the last 12 months, followed by meth/amphetamine.
- The prevalence of recent use of illicit substances was similar in South Australia compared to nationally.
Table 2: Summary of recent illicit drug use*: proportion of the population aged 14 years and over, South Australia and Australia, 2007.
|
Substance/behaviour |
South Australia |
Australia |
|
(percent) |
||
|
Marijuana/cannabis |
10.2 |
9.1 |
|
Painkillers/analgesics** |
2.8 |
2.5 |
|
Tranquillisers/sleeping pills** |
1.2 |
1.4 |
|
Steroids** |
<0.1 # |
0.1 |
|
Barbiturates** |
- |
0.1 |
|
Inhalants |
0.1 # |
0.4 |
|
Heroin |
0.1 # |
0.2 |
|
Methadone or Buprenorphine*** |
- |
0.1 |
|
Other opiates/opioids** |
0.1 # |
0.2 |
|
Meth/amphetamine (speed)** |
2.6 |
2.3 |
|
Cocaine |
1.3 |
1.6 |
|
Hallucinogens |
0.9 |
0.6 |
|
Ecstasy**** |
2.9 |
3.5 |
|
Ketamine |
0.3 # |
0.2 |
|
GHB |
0.1 # |
0.1 |
|
Injected drugs |
0.3 |
0.5 |
|
Any illicit |
14.7 |
13.4 |
|
None of the above |
12.1 |
14.1 |
Source: 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (AIHW)
* Used in the last 12 months. For alcohol and tobacco, 'recent use' means daily, weekly and less-than-weekly smokers and drinkers respectively.
** Used for non-medical purposes.
*** Non-maintenance use.
**** This category included substances known as 'designer drugs' prior to 2004.
# Relative standard error greater than 50%.
Data sourced from:2007 NDSHS State & Territory supplement (AIHW, August 2008)
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Illicit drug use among South Australian secondary school students
Lifetime use
Figure 1 shows the percentage of secondary school students who had ever tried illicit drugs, or had used medications non-medically, from 1996 to 2005:
- With the exception of cannabis, sedatives and inhalants, the percentage of students that had ever tried illicit substances has been low (less than 5% for each substance type in 2005).
- Results from the 2005 survey show significant decreases in lifetime use of several substances, compared to 2002. Specifically, there were significant decreases in the percentages of students reporting lifetime use of cannabis (26.8% to 18.2%), amphetamines (7.3% to 4.5%), hallucinogens (4.2% to 2.0%), heroin or other opiates (2.5% to 1.4%), and inhalants (15.3% to 13.0%).
Figure 1: Lifetime use* of substances among secondary school students 1996-2005.
Source: 2005 Australian Secondary Students' Alcohol & Drug Survey
* Tried at least once in their lifetime.
Recent use (last week)
Figure 2 shows the percentage of secondary school students that reported use of illicit drugs, or non-medical use of medications, in the week prior to the survey:
- Cannabis and inhalants were the most prevalent recently used substances in 2005, with 4.7% of students reporting use of cannabis, and 2.5% of students reporting use of inhalants, in the last week. All other substances were used in the last week by less than 2% of students.
- There has been a significant decline in the percentage of students reporting recent use of cannabis and inhalants from 1996 to 2005 (from 13.5% to 4.7% for cannabis, and from 5.6% to 2.5% for inhalants).
Figure 2: Recent use* of substances among secondary school students, 1996-2005.
Source: 2005 Australian Secondary Students' Alcohol & Drug Survey
* Used at least once in the last week.
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Indicators of harm associated with illicit drug use
Illicit drug use requiring treatment services
Figure 3 shows the percentage of all closed treatment episodes in publicly funded treatment services where clients were seeking treatment for their own alcohol or other drug use that involved cannabis, amphetamines or heroin as the principal drug of concern in South Australia during 2006-07.
- Amphetamines was the most common principal drug of concern (19%), followed by opioids (14%, with heroin accounting for 8%) and cannabis (10%).
- There was a lower percentage of South Australian episodes with cannabis and heroin as the principal drug of concern, compared to Australia as a whole.
- There was a higher percentage of South Australian episodes with amphetamines as the principal drug of concern, compared to Australia as a whole.
Figure 3: Percent of closed treatment episodes with cannabis, amphetamines or heroin as the principal drug of concern, South Australia and Australia 2006-07.
Source: Alcohol & Other Drug Treatment Services in South Australia: Findings from the National Minimum Data Set (NMDS) 2006-07 (AIHW).
Figure 4 shows the percentage of all closed treatment episodes for each age group of clients, where cannabis, amphetamines or heroin were the principal drug of concern.
- The percentage of closed episodes with cannabis as the principal drug of concern decreased rapidly with age. Cannabis was the most common principal drug of concern among 10-19 year olds (38% of all closed episodes of treatment for this age group).
- The proportion of closed treatment episodes with cannabis as the principal drug of concern was highest among 20-29 and 30-39 year olds (at around 25% of episodes for each of these age groups).
- Heroin as the principal drug of concern was also most common among 20-29 and 30-39 year olds (at around 10% of episodes for each of these age groups).
Figure 4: Percent of closed treatment episodes for each age group with cannabis, amphetamines or heroin as the principal drug of concern, South Australia 2006-07.
Source: Alcohol & Other Drug Treatment Services in South Australia 2006-07. Supplementary tables (AIHW unpublished).
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia 2006-07: report on the National Minimum Data Set
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in South Australia 2006-07: findings from the National Minimum Data Set
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in South Australia 2006-07, Supplementary Tables (AIHW, unpublished)
Figure 5 shows the percentage of pharmacotherapy clients by the type of prescriber for South Australia and Australia, as at 30 June 2007.
- In South Australia, 2,559 individuals were receiving pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence.
- The majority of individuals in South Australia were receiving pharmacotherapy treatment from private prescribers (55%). A larger percentage of individuals were receiving pharmacotherapy through private prescribers for Australia as a whole (64%).
Figure 5: Percent of pharmacotherapy clients, by type of prescriber, as at 30th June 2007
Source: National Opioid Pharmacotherapy Statistics Annual Data (NOPSAD) collection 2007 report (AIHW).
Figure 6 shows the number of pharmacotherapy clients in South Australia across the period 1998-2007.
- Overall, there has been a steady increase in the number of pharmacotherapy clients, from 1,839 in 1998 to 2,559 in 2007.
Figure 6: Number of pharmacotherapy clients in South Australia, as at 30th June 1998-2007
Source: National Opioid Pharmacotherapy Statistics Annual Data (NOPSAD) collection: 2007 report (AIHW).
National Opioid Pharmacotherapy Statistics Annual Data (NOPSAD) collection: 2007 report
Overdose
The use of heroin and other opioid substances is associated with risk of accidental overdose. Figure 7 shows the South Australian and national trends with regard to accidental deaths where opioids were determined to be the underlying cause of death (that is, they were the primary factor responsible for the person's death).
- In 2005, 374 accidental deaths due to opioids were recorded Australia-wide, 37 in South Australia, among 15-54 year olds.
- The number of accidental deaths due to opioids decreased dramatically in 2001, coinciding with a decrease in heroin availability across Australia, and has remained relatively low since then.
- However, an increase in accidental opioid deaths has been recorded for two consecutive years in South Australia, so that double the number of deaths were recorded in 2005 (37 deaths) compared to 2001 (18 deaths).
Figure 7: Number of accidental opioid deaths, among those aged 15-54 years, in South Australia and Australia, 1988-2005
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics morbidity database (taken from Degenhardt, L. and Roxburgh, A. (2007). Accidental drug-induced deaths due to opioids in Australia, 2005. Sydney: National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre)
Blood-borne virus infection
The risk of acquiring blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is greater among injecting drug users. Blood-borne viruses can be transmitted by the sharing of needles, syringes and other injecting equipment.
State and Territory health departments report viral hepatitis notifications to the Communicable Diseases Australia - National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (CDA-NNDSS). The CDA-NNDSS differentiates between incident infections (i.e. newly acquired) and unspecified infections (i.e. those where the timing of disease acquisition is unknown). Readers should note that the data reported here does not identify whether cases were injecting drug users or not.
Figure 8 shows that the number of both incident and unspecified cases of HCV in South Australia has remained relatively stable or declining over the last five years depicted (2004-2008).
Figure 8: Number of HCV incident and unspecified notifications in South Australia and Australia, 1995-2008
Source: CDA-NNDSS (Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing)
The annual Australian Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) Survey reports on the prevalence of HCV and HIV among a sample of injecting drug users.
Figure 9 shows that the prevalence of HCV among the South Australian NSP Survey samples has also remained relatively stable across the years 2002-2007, with less than half of the surveyed injecting drug users testing positive for HCV.
Figure 9: HCV antibody prevalence among NSP Survey participants in South Australia, 2002-2007
Source: Australian NSP Survey National Data Report 2002-2007 (NCHECR, 2008)
Figure 10 shows that the NSP Survey also found a low prevalence of HIV among the South Australian samples from 2002-2007, with 1% or less of surveyed injecting drug users testing positive for HIV in each year.
Figure 10: HIV antibody prevalence among NSP Survey participants in South Australia, 2002-2007
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