Cocaine Demand High
The Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper and the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper claim that the Australian Federal Police have a confidential report that Australia is a target for illicit drugs because we are the most lucrative market in the world.
A kilogram of cocaine in Australia sells for up to 6 times the price of a similar quantity in the United States.
The high street value of cocaine in Australia has increased involvement of international transnational crime syndicates in targeting us.
Between 2003 and 2007 cocaine accounted for 5 per cent of illicit drug seizures but it increased to 10 per cent in 2007/8. Now cocaine represents 25 per cent of drug seizures.
Drug use is moving away from opiates towards cocaine.
Australia is being used to launder significant amounts of drug money to criminal enterprises in Europe and elsewhere.
(Source: Melbourne Herald Sun 14 December 2009)
DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-
The high demand and lucrative profit from cocaine is making Australia a target for international crime syndicates.
Cocaine is seen by users as a safer drug contrary to the medical evidence that it causes death, aggression, hallucinations, paranoid psychosis, depression, heart attack, stroke and respiratory failure.
The way to reduce demand for cocaine and illicit drugs is to divert apprehended users into compulsory and comprehensive rehabilitation to get them free of drug use.
Australia needs to start now and set up rehabilitation programs to direct known users into rehabilitation and out of addiction.
THE DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA SUPPORTS-
More detoxification & rehabilitation that gets illicit drug users drug free.
Court ordered and supervised detoxification & rehabilitation.
Less illicit drug users, drug pushers and drug related crimes.
2/2010
