Victoria is now the Ketamine capital of Australia

There always was, and always will be a tense rivalry between Victoria and New South Wales. Melbourne is hailed as the cultural hub of Australian arts, playing host to the country's strongest underground club scene (controversial). It has now taken the crown for being the Ketamine and Heroin capital of Australia. The test was completed through analysing the concentration of the drug via sewage water test

The news was revealed via the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission's National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program reporting that Victoria has the highest number of people using Ketamine and Heroin. Interestingly, despite a large proportion of ketamine users in major cities of NSW, NT, TAS, QLD, Victoria saw more users per capita in rural areas.

The analysis also found that opioid usage increased after the COVID-19 lockdowns were implemented in Victoria and  subsequently levelled out following outbreaks in the latter half of 2021.

ACIC CEO Mr Michael Phelan APM said: "Understanding drug consumption at a population level supports effective allocation of resources to priority areas. It also allows the progress of demand, supply and harm reduction strategies to be monitored. In addition to the benefits of longitudinal analysis of drug trends, the Program is structured in a way ensures it can evolve in line with trends in drug markets. This is why the ACIC has now added ketamine to the lists of substances monitored by the Program."

Words by Parry Tritsiniotis

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