Social supply of cannabis in Australia (NDLERF Monograph Series 59)

While cannabis is the most prolifically used illicit drug in Australia, there is a gap in our understanding concerning the social interactions and friendships formed around its supply and use. The authors recruited cannabis users aged between 18 and 30 years throughout Australia, to explore the impact of supply routes on young users and their perceived notions of drug dealing in order to provide valuable insight into the influence that reciprocal relationships have on young people’s access to cannabis. Findings reveal that the supply of cannabis revolves around pre-existing connections and relationships formed through associates known to be able to readily source cannabis. It was found that motivations for proffering cannabis in a shared environment were related more to developing social capital than to generating financial gain. Given this, often those involved in supply do not perceive that they are breaking the law or that they are ‘dealers’. This social supply market appears to be built on trust and social interactions and, as such, presents several challenges to law enforcement. It is suggested that there would be benefit in providing targeted education campaigns to combat social supply dealing among young adults

Are Cannabis Use Problems Comparable Across Individuals Using for Recreational and Medical Purposes? : An International Cross-Sectional Study of Individuals Who Use Self-Grown Cannabis

Background: Little is known about cannabis use problems among individuals who use cannabis for medical purposes and whether rates and determinants of cannabis use problems in medical users differ to those observed among individuals using for recreational reasons. This study examines whether Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) scores differ across individuals who use self-grown cannabis for the following reasons: “recreational only”, “medical and recreational” and “medical only”. Furthermore, the study tests whether cannabis use frequency, cannabis strain, and type of cannabis influences the strength of the association between purpose of use and cannabis use problems. Methods: Data (n = 5,347) were collected from a subsample of the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium project, focusing on small-scale cannabis growers in 18 countries. Robust regressions analyzed differences in SDS scores across the three use motivation groups. Results: Compared with respondents reporting only recreational motivations of cannabis use, those with medical (with and without recreational) motivations were associated with lower SDS scores (B: -0.190 and B: -0.459, p < 0.001 respectively). Daily use was associated with significantly higher SDS scores across all cannabis motivation groups, albeit the magnitude of the association was significantly smaller among individuals with medical motivations of use. Conclusion: The extent to which people experience cannabis use problems, and the determinants of these problems may differ depending on whether cannabis use is motivated by recreational or medical purposes. As such, the findings of the current study suggest that public education efforts, harm reduction approaches and policy responses should be tailored depending on whether cannabis is used for recreational or medical purposes

A mixed methods study of drug use at outdoor music festivals in Western Australia and Victoria

This study investigated the nature and extent of drug use associated with Australian music festivals, assessed current and potential future policy and practice strategies aimed at reducing the risk of drug-related harm at festivals, and developed evidence-based recommendations aimed at improving current strategies. Key recommendations included: expanding drug-checking services; ceasing the use of drug detection dogs; removing barriers to seeking medical attention; shifting to a harm reduction policy; and creating more enabling environments for harm reduction

Trends in pharmaceutical stimulant use among a sample of people who regularly use ecstasy and/or other illicit stimulants in Perth, WA, 2007-2022.

The Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) is a national drug monitoring system intended to identify emerging trends of local and national concern in illicit drug markets and form part of Drug Trends

Drug detection dogs at Australian outdoor music festivals: Deterrent, detection and iatrogenic effects

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Background: Recent drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals have led to increasing concern about the risk of future harm, but contention about how to effectively respond. One hotly debated strategy has been the use of drug detection dogs which currently operate at festivals across Australia, despite claims they are ineffective and contribute to risky drug use practices. This paper aims to investigate responses to the expected presence, and sightings, of drug dogs at the last festival attended. Methods: An anonymous online survey was completed by almost 2000 Australian festival-goers. The largest subsample used in the analyses for this paper (n = 647) was 59% male and had a median age of 20 (IQR = 18–22). Results: Of those who expected dogs to be present at their last festival (n = 647), only 4% reported that this threat led them to decide not to take drugs. Other responses included: concealing their drugs well (48%), getting someone else to carry their drugs (15%), buying their drugs inside (11%), taking less easily detected drugs (10%) and taking drugs before entering (7%). Of those who carried drugs in (n = 418), 10% concealed them internally and 1% swallowed them to retrieve inside. Of those who had drugs on their person when seeing a dog (n = 189), 10% reported consuming drugs in response. No respondents reported being detected with drugs due to a positive identification. Conclusion: Almost all festival-goers surveyed did not report being deterred from drug usage by the expected presence of drug dogs. Instead, a variety of alternative responses to avoid detection were reported, many of which could place festival-goers at greater risk of experiencing drug-related harms. In the face of mounting evidence of both ineffectiveness and iatrogenic effects, the use of drug detection dogs at Australian music festivals should be urgently reconsidered