Amphetamine‐type drug‐related fatalities in the context of 8 years of methamphetamine use measured by wastewater analysis in South Australia

Abstract

AbstractMethamphetamine is the illicit stimulant of choice in Australia. Countless initiatives have been employed to reduce methamphetamine use and drug‐related harm. Wastewater analysis (WWA) has been used effectively as an objective measure of drug use at a population level and can be compared to indicators of harm, such as the number of drug‐related fatalities. This paper attempts to describe methamphetamine use in the context of changes in levels measured in wastewater in South Australia whilst recognising considerable interventions over an 8‐year period. Validated liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry methods were used to determine methamphetamine (and MDMA) levels in wastewater over an 8‐year interval. The number of drug‐induced deaths and driver fatalities involving methamphetamine (and MDMA) was presented and described in the context of changes in use measured by WWA. A rise in methamphetamine use according to WWA was evident up to 2017, followed by a gradual decrease to 2020 back to 2015 levels. Both driver fatalities and drug‐induced deaths correlated well with use measured by WWA over the 8‐year period. Multiple initiatives to curb supply, distribution and harm within the state and nationally have been implemented. The decrease in methamphetamine use after 2017 suggests that timely interventions have successfully reduced overall drug use and has led to fewer fatalities. This study shows that the response to increasing methamphetamine use in South Australia has resulted in a reversal of the upward trend in consumption and fewer drug‐related fatalities.