CANBERRA, Australia – April 2020: Based on an analysis of samples collected from 58 wastewater treatment plants covering about 57% of Australia’s population in August 2019, the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program has detected the presence of methylone and mephedrone use in the country. However, these substances were only detected sporadically and at very low levels compared to other substances included in the analysis. The Program finds that, though low, the detection frequency for mephedrone has been on the rise since 2016, whilst the detection frequency for methylone has decreased since peaking in 2017. Both substances were placed under international control in Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 in 2015. 

During the three-year study period between August 2016 and August 2019, the Program finds that the population-weighted average consumption of methamphetamine and cocaine has increased whilst the consumption of oxycodone and fentanyl has decreased across the sampled population. It should be noted that this analysis cannot differentiate between prescribed and non-medical use of oxycodone and fentanyl, though the relative scale of their use remains of interest due to their liability for abuse and dependence inducing potential. Amongst illicit drugs with available dose data, methamphetamine remains the most consumed drug in Australia. Using the Program’s data, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission estimates that the annual national consumption of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and heroin has also increased over the three-year study period.