Drug Use Trends in the Upper Hunter

IN Scone Court last month Ben Hoffman a solicitor with Equilaw said he was seeing an increasing number of clients who expected to return a positive test to cannabis, but were shocked to find they also tested positively to methylamphetamine.

“Over the past year we’ve seen an increase in people coming before the court with driving with illicit drug present,” said Mr Hoffman.

“Anecdotally it is now becoming common for people claim surprise at the positive reading for ICE with the only explanation being that the cannabis they purchased was laced with ICE to make it more addictive,” he said.

“The penalties for driving with illicit drug present start at a three month driving disqualification and a fine of up to $1,100 and rise for subsequent offences and a conviction will often have serious ramifications for the defendant’s employment and home life,” Ben Hoffman said.

Acting Inspector Ryan Froml, from the Hunter Valley Police District, said while it is possible for this to occur he believes it is more likely due to the rise of ICE use in the community and people wanting to save face.

“Drug dealers are scumbags with a bit of entrepreneurialism about them and it makes no sense for them to lace a low-cost drug like cannabis, with a relatively higher-cost product like ICE and lose money on the deal, it just doesn’t make sense and is actually very rare,” said  Acting Inspector Froml.

“Cannabis is considered a softer drug and there is a heavier sentence for amphetamines so they may be trying to mitigate the seriousness of the offence or save face by claiming they don’t use amphetamines,” he said.

Magistrate Prowse, who formerly presided over Scone Local Court, would often challenge people coming before the court as to why they would trust drug dealers to be ethical with their products.

“I’d have to agree with Prowse, you are not dealing with people who have good morals and ethics,” said Acting Inspector Froml.

“ICE is often cut with other product; some of the best amphetamine that we’ve seized would be around the 10 percent purity mark and typically up here it will float around 2 to 5 percent so for such a minute amount to then lace cannabis with it does make sense,” he said.

“When you hear people claim they’ve been cheated by their drug dealer you’ve got to think – really?

“You should’ve come down the station first and told us all about it, we’d happily put them out of business for you and if you can’t make it to the station, you can always call crime stoppers on 1800 333 000,” Acting Inspector Ryan Froml said.

Mine sites in the Upper Hunter have been drug testing their workforce for decades and while their drug use may be lower than the broader population due to the threat of losing their job, it does indicate the types of drugs being used in the local community.

Andrew Leibie, forensic toxicologist for Safe Work Laboratories, the largest workplace drug testing company in Australia, said the rate of methamphetamine detection is increasing in the Upper Hunter and was surprised to observe the levels of cocaine and fentanyl use in the area.

“Because the mining industry in the Hunter has been testing for more than 20 years we do see that drug use is much lower here compared to more remote mines in Queensland for example,” said Mr Leibie.

“But we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of methamphetamine detection over the last three to five years,” he said.

“With labor hire firms and contractors where they may be moving from one job to another they have a much higher rate of positives and in one analysis I did it was up to three times as much as the more settled workforce,” he said.

“What is interesting with the waste water analysis which the government is doing looking at the sewerage systems in Australia, is that the Central Coast and Hunter was the highest level of cocaine use outside of Sydney; they are actually higher than other capital cities,” he said.

“Five years ago you saw a bit of cocaine in Sydney and that was it, but it is definitely something that stands out for that area, but it is still nowhere near as much as methamphetamine use,” said Andrew Leibie.

Some companies in the Upper Hunter have asked for their tests to include fentanyl, an opiate drug, after hearing rumours of its use.

“I’m not aware of any other regional area in Australia that are seeing the same levels we seem to be seeing here for fentanyl, again three to five years ago we wouldn’t have seen it, as it is an inner-city hard drug up there with heroin,” said Mr Leibie.

“It is a prescription drug typically given after surgery as a potent pain killer and it’s been causing huge problems in the US with overdoses, it is extremely addictive,” he said.

“People might feel the affect for an hour or so, but it will affect you for at least 24 hours after you have taken it so to be driving and operating heavy machinery it can be dangerous,” Andrew Leibie said.