NCJ Number
239007
Date Published
June 2012
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study describes Queensland's (Australia) measurement of drug-use patterns by chemically analyzing sewage water to provide daily estimates of the consumption of methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine.
Abstract
Unlike the other drug-use measurement systems in Australia (arrestee self-reporting and household survey), waste-water analysis (WWA) is population-based and cannot provide information on individuals' drug consumption, including frequency of use or polydrug use; however, it can provide reliable, objective chemical data on the use of methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine in both small and large population groups. WWA facilitates daily readings and permits comparisons of drug use across jurisdictions. This paper presents findings from a national team that sampled a waste-water treatment plant in a major municipality of Queensland (Australia) with a population of over 150,000 people. The research objective was to compare Australia's drug monitoring systems with waste-water data sampled over two time points in 2009 and 2010. The analysis focused on methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA. The study demonstrates that WWA has potential to supplement information collected by current drug monitoring systems. By producing time-sensitive chemical data from large populations, the WWA method provides detailed, but anonymous, information on the size and evolution of drug markets. Future WWA studies could contribute to the evidence base for the National Drug Strategy for 2010-2015 by sampling over longer time periods and comparing findings from catchments in different regions within and between jurisdictions. This may be the best way to assess the true size of the cocaine market and how it is influenced by the strategy and actions of law enforcement and drug-prevention programs. Combined with current price data, WWA can be used to estimate the amounts of cash that exchanges hands in the drug market. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 31 references